From when it was first introduced, mascara has certainly evolved. It is now classified into different types and is obtainable in a variety of shades or colors. It has come a long way into positioning itself as one of the best selling cosmetic products.

A Brief History

Mascara has its history rooted to the citizens of early Egypt. During this period, Egyptians were fond of darkening theirs eyebrows, eyelashes and eyelids. They performed this with the use of kohl, which is a mixture of different elements. This type of cosmetics referred to as black eye, found its way to the Babylonians, the Greeks and the Romans.

Forms of Mascara

Mascara is available in three forms - pressed cake or cake, cream or liquid form.

Mascara was first created in the form of a cake or pressed cake. You apply it to your lashes with the help of a brush, preferably a wet one. The principal ingredients for cake mascara were soap and black pigments, measured in equal amounts.

Cream mascara came in the form of a lotion. Packed in a tube, you need to squeeze the exact amount you want to a tiny brush. Use it the same way as the cake. Apply it on your eyelashes until you get the desired look.

Using cream mascara often led to messy makeup preparation. This problem was corrected when the mascara applicator was developed.

The mascara applicator utilized mascara in liquid form contained in a modernized tube. A wand, which is in reality a round brush, is used to pick up just the right amount of mascara. This innovation started the growing popularity of mascara use.

Mascara Ingredients

As there as many types and brands of mascara, so are there different formulations. The common, primary ingredients are pigments, oils, waxes and water.

As regards color, if you want your product to be black then use carbon black as your pigment ingredient. For shades of brown, iron oxide should do the trick.

The choices for oils are many. You may use lanolin, eucalyptus oil, mineral oil, castor oil, linseed oil, or oil of turpentine. Sesame oil can even be one of your ingredients.

For waxes, you can choose from carnauba wax, beeswax, and paraffin, among others.

Nylon fibers or rayon provide your eyelashes more length as well as volume. Sometimes, vitamins are added such as pro- vitamin B5. This is claimed to condition your lashes to soften it.

Some Products Formulations

In addition to the major mascara ingredients, companies come up with different formulas for their products. This is to distinguish each one from their competitors in the cosmetics industry. Big players that include Estee Lauder, Avon, L’Oreal, Maybelline, and Lancôme have developed their own mascara formula mix.

Below are some of the variations performed by certain companies on top of the common mascara ingredients:

Avon boasts of its Lash Fidelity Technology in its Perfect Wear Longlasting Mascara. The key ingredients include special fibers, waxes and polymers.

L’Oreal’s Featherlash Softly Sweeping Mascara, Black makes use of glycerin and vitamin E formula.

Maybelline’s Great Lash Waterproof Mascara utilizes specially-formulated synthetics. Since it is waterproof mascara, the main purpose of this product is to prevent moisture attraction.