By Maneesha Nath

As Bobbi Brown rightly said; “I believe all women are pretty without Make-up but with the right Make-up can be PRETTY POWERFUL.

Always remember Inner beauty is great but a little lipstick never hurts. 

To start with let us go back to the history of Make-up for a better understanding.  Make-up has been around for at least 6000 years and has played a role in nearly every society.

In 4000bc, Ancient Egyptians used unguent to keep their skin hydrated, supple and wrinkle free. So women apply dark green colour to the under lid. They blacken the lashes and the upper lid with kohl, which is sometimes made from soot.

In 1000bc, Persian women used henna dyes to stain their hair and faces.

In the 1st century, Romans used kohl, rouge and chalk to whiten their skin.

In late 1800s, Victorian women plucked their eyebrows, massage castor oil into their eyelashes, used rice powder on their face and buff their nails. They rubbed beetroot juice on their lips and cheeks as lipstick and blush.

In 1820, RIMMEL created the first non toxic Mascaras which today, is a well known brand across.

In 1910s, the first pressed powder was introduced and it included a mirror and puff for touch ups. Pressed blush was invented soon after this.

Vogue featured Turkish women using HENNA to outline their eyes in 1914. Max Factor started selling Make-up to movie stars in 1914 and then in 1920s Max Factor introduced Lip Gloss. The first eyelash curler was also invented then.  Mascara in cake and cream forms became popular soon after.

In the 1950s Movie star Audrey Hepburn popularised the most famous Outlined Cat Eyes. 

Eye shadows and lined eyes are so trendy that any makeup is incomplete with this. This magic (eye shadows and lined eye liner) was invented in the 1970s and continues till date.

In 1990s cosmetics begin to combat wrinkles and cellulite and Botox injections became a popular anti ageing technique in 2002 and it continues.

As the history itself suggest, there have been inventions after inventions in the Make-up world, in a bid to bring out the best in you. As a Make-up Artist, I personally feel and strongly support that it’s the basic right of a person to look his/her best and believe me, the right Make-up works wonders. 

With this introduction on Make-up, I would be explaining my readers on how to select the right Make-up for the right occasion and thus enhance the beauty in you. So watch out for our weekly column in Andaman Chronicle – “Adara – Your Make-up Expert” by your very own Maneesha Nath.  

About the Author: “It doesn’t matter what others do. What matters is, what you are capable of. The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”

Maneesha Nath hails from Andaman & Nicobar Islands and has a diploma in aviation and hospitality. She did her industrial training from the Republic of Maldives and later was placed at the Bangalore International Airport as a guest relations officer. While continuing to work, Maneesha completed her graduation through correspondence but there was something lacking in her. Not knowing how to proceed, she decided to join a diploma in Makeup Artistry.  It was the turning point in her life, when she realized, this is what she always wanted to be – a Makeup Artist.  

Maneesha has since then assisted for brand shoots, portfolio, bridal projects among others. Her first individual project as a makeup artist for a portfolio shoot was of the model/ actress Avni Modi (Madhur Bhandarkar’s movie: Calendar Girls), which was followed by more bridal projects and brand shoots, serial, portfolio and many more.