The History of Media Makeup

Except for professional male actors and models you would think that make-up has always been used by women, but throughout history, before the twentieth century, make-up was worn primarily by men.
Paintings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, George Washington and his contemporaries wore white powdered wigs with curls on the side and a pony tail in back, as well as white powder on their faces and red rouge on their cheeks and lips. European royalty including King Louis the fourteenth of France and King George the third of England set the fashion. After smallpox swept through Europe and left many people with pox marks, the French elite covered these scars by painting large, black beauty marks over them. Some even painted the symbols of hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds in red or black over the scars, as playing cards was the main social event in the evenings. This was considered extremely fashionable at the time as electricity had not yet been invented, so there was no television or radio to provide entertainment on long, dark evenings. This was the practice of the wealthy who had time on their hands to adorn themselves

It was discovered that with the powerful lights they used at that time, the actors looked washed out and drab. Therefore, make-up had to be created for male and female actors to even out the skin tone, add color, enhance features and create drama. And then like now the general public idolized movie stars and wanted to emulate them. This created a retail need for cosmetics and the beginning of what is today one of the largest earning sectors in market history. Women are continually fascinated by cosmetics and the promise they hold and can't seem to get enough of them.

Pale skin indicated people who worked inside in offices or factories whereas, a suntan showed you were wealthy enough to vacation and jet set for most of the year. Of course when it was discovered that excessive exposure to the sun caused premature aging and skin cancer, the dark tan look faded from popularity

The earliest known use of theatrical makeup was by the Greek actor Thespis, who, in an effort to stand out from the Greek chorus, painted a toxic covering of white lead and mercuric sulphide to create a white and red face paint. 

Before 1850, materials (some of them hazardous) used for stage make-up included burnt cork to blacken the face; artist's pigments such as carmine, vermilion and red lead for lips and cheeks; lampblack for mascara; India ink to create wrinkles and folds; and white lead, flour and powdered pearls to whiten the face. Butter was used to remove the make-up.