Face Paint: The Story of Makeup

For someone who loves a bit of history, Lisa Eldridges wisdom and collectibles are a treat. This book is for all who want to understand a little about the origins of makeup and enjoy a good read.

This book is so good! It covers some of the major trends in makeup (red lipstick, black eyeliner, foundation, etc.) since time immemorial, and the pictures in the book are beautiful. It doesn't go into detail about each era, as it would probably take several books to do that. It's a great overview and very nicely written. A must-have for anyone who is into makeup. Lisa Eldridge is amazing!

love it

I love Lisa Eldridge so when I found out that she was bringing out a book about makeup I was ecstatic. It contains exquisite pictures of beautiful vintage makeup and pictures of Lisa's makeup muses such as Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe. This is a must have for anyone who loves everything about makeup. It contains everything right back to where makeup originated from to how it has been used since then. Absolutely fascinating and a brilliant coffee table book!

Interesante, bien explicado, bien documentado, con preciosas imágenes y muy didáctico. Aborda la historia del maquillaje no de manera cronológica, sino por bloques temáticos. Muy recomendable para toda aquella persona interesada en la historia del maquillaje. No es un manual de cómo aplicar los productos, sino un libro de historia.

I've been a huge fan of Lisa Eldridge for several years, and eagerly pre-ordered this book when it was first available for pre-order several months ago. When Eldridge first revealed more details about the book, I had initially been disappointed that this was going to be more of an overview of makeup throughout history rather than a how-to book, but the more I read about it on her blog -- and now that I have it in my hands -- the happier I am with it. If you love makeup and are interested in how we have used it throughout history to define and create our personae, you'll really love this book. This is a big, colorful book -- one full of glossy images and lots of eye candy. Eldridge not only looks at how we have used makeup throughout history to add glamour into our lives, but she also takes a look at the appeal of icons like Twiggy and of certain colors, like red, white, and black. The book is really well-researched, and Eldridge teases out all the interesting bits about makeup, like how it was made in ancient times and why we have always seemed to be intrigued by using it to empower ourselves. As a history devotee, I loved reading all of this information, and both the inclusion of historical photos and the retro photos added a special dimension to this book. If you're looking for how-to books, I'd recommend Making Faces and Sonia Kashuk Real Beauty (which is out of print, but which is worth tracking down since it has so much great information in it, much better than the information in the two Bobbi Brown books I have). Although makeup can be used to hide features we'd rather keep hidden, Eldridge emphasizes that it's makeup's ability to allow us to tap into our creativity and sense of play that has continued to make us obsess about it for so many hundreds of years. Eldridge captures that spirit of fun throughout this book, and I highly recommend it.