But first, a little history…
Mascara can be dated all the way back from ancient Egyptian times. Records from around 4000 BC refer to a substance called kohl that was used to darken eyelashes, eyes, and eyebrows. Kohl was used to mask the eyes, believed to ward off evil spirits and protect the soul, and used by both men and women. Often composed of galena, malachite, and charcoal or soot, crocodile stool, honey, and water was added to keep the kohl from running. Clearly we’ve come a long way from crocodile stool to keep us from looking like a raccoon by the third hour!
However, the product that people would recognize as mascara today did not develop until the 19th century.
A chemist named Eugene Rimmel developed a cosmetic using the newly invented petroleum jelly. The name Rimmel became synonymous with the substance and still translates to “mascara” in the Portuguese, Spanish, Greek, Turkish, Romanian, and Persian languages today. Oceans away, but at roughly the same time, in 1913, a man named T. L. Williams created a very similar substance for his sister Maybel. Not long after, in 1917, T. L. Williams started a mailorder business from the product that grew to become the company Maybelline. But ultimately, we have Mrs. Helena Rubinstein to thank. It wasn’t until 1957, that Rubinstein created a formula that evolved mascara from a hard cake into a lotionbased cream. She packaged the new mascara in a tube to be sold with a brush. The cream was squeezed onto the brush and then applied to lashes. Although still messy, it was a step toward the modern mascara product. Thanks to the constant efforts of those with a passion for makeup, a grooved rod was patented and designed to pick up the same amount of mascara for each use. The grooved rod was later altered to a tool similar to the ones we use today. These changes led mascara to be even easier to use, increasing its popularity.
Whether you’re a minimalist or makeup junkie, every woman I’ve ever known has had this one staple in their makeup bag. Some mascaras lengthen, some define, some curl, some do all of the above! Mascara has a magical way of opening up the entire face and making you look put together even on the worst of days or most upset of mornings.
Through the years, I’ve tried hundreds, with no exaggeration, HUNDREDS of mascaras. And through trying the worst, I’ve compiled a list of my absolute faves.
Maybelline Great Lash: $5 - $7