Synopsis: Read on Amazon
Author: Lisa Eldridge

Combining 2 things I enjoy very much, history and makeup, Face Paint provides a very interesting view of the history of cosmetics, more specifically makeup and different trends and products used throughout history. Written by celebrity makeup artist (and more recently famous YouTuber) Lisa Eldrige, the books gives us a very interesting trip down memory lane on the art of painting our face that goes beyond the “frivolity” that some tend to associate makeup with today, but how this was a reflection on the times (interesting fact, makeup is a women-only thing for the last century, really. Men were very much “made up” in various cultures and periods in history, too!)

Rather than a chronological approach, the author divides the book into certain themes. The first part of the book focuses on colors and ingredients / raw material used and how their use evolved across time. The second part speaks about the actual business of beauty and it’s evolution. This is the part that most people would recognize, since makeup as a business is really more of a 20th century to-date kimd of thing. In many ways you are still getting a sort of timeline, but in structure that makes it a very easy read. You also get a few pages of “makeup muses” spread througout the book. These are women whose style and looks (amongst other things, of course) inspired during their time and are still recognized today (from Marie Antoinette in the 18th century to our own century’s Amy Winehouse)

The book reads with incredible ease and the stunning visuals enhance the experience. I thought sometimes the captions to some of the pictures where kind of pointless and specially at the beginning I felt Eldridge’s writting felt a little inexperienced, but I it is not very obvious anyway, and maybe it was a baiased thought since I follow her YouTube channel, so perhaps I was reading in my head with her hush tones from her videos.

Overall, this is a great and beautiful book! Makeup lovers and history geeks alike will enjoy it very much!