Good Question: Why Do We Care So Much About Makeup?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- We're so used to celebrities wearing make-up that when they don't it creates headlines.
On Wednesday, Gwyneth Paltrow made waves when she posted a makeup-free selfie for her birthday. All summer long, singer Alicia Keys has had people talking when she decided to forgo makeup -- privately and publicly.
So, how did makeup become so popular? Good Question.
Four out of five women wear makeup. Elizabeth Dens writes the BeautyBets blog.
"Makeup has been part of our beauty ideal since the beginning of time," she said. "From the time people were brushing berries and putting them on their lips and cheeks for that youthful glow that we've been trying to achieve forever."
Ancient Greeks and Egyptians used makeup. It's even mentioned in the Bible around 840 B.C.
In the early 1900s, few American women even wore makeup, but theater, Hollywood and Flappers made it popular again.
"It was theatrical, it was part of a costume, which i think is really telling," Dens said.
Max Factor and Elizabeth Arden were among the first mass marketers. Over her lifetime, the average woman spends $15,000 on makeup.
"When they put it on, they see reflected back to them this image of beauty we've defined in society," Dens said.
Alicia Keys did get some criticism for not wearing makeup at an awards show, in photo shoots and on television. She told people just because she's not wearing makeup doesn't mean she's anti-makeup. She says -- Do you!