Inventing Beauty: A History of the Innovations that Have Made Us Beautiful
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.23 (886 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0767914511 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-04-13 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
So is it any surprise that the male of the human species has been fooled by lips painted cherry red and breasts built up into silicone summits? Riordan explores that strange intersection of science, fashion, and business where beauty is engineered and finds that, for generations, social trends and technological innovations have fueled a nonstop assembly line of potions and contraptions that women have enthusiastically put to use in the quest for feminine flawlessness. We learn why the first lipsticks were orange. When it comes to the opposite sex, males from many species are easily deceived. Inventing Beauty is a delightful history of that noble effort, from head to tail.. And why, but for mascara, Greta Garbo might have been just another chunky Swede with bad teeth.Beauty inventions, Teresa Riordan has found, can put the resourceful and the imaginative on an even playing field with the congenitally beautiful. Countless women have pushed, pulled, tweezed, squeezed, and spackled themselves into synthetic loveliness. There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.—Helena RubinsteinIn this fascinating, meticulously researched romp through the annals of the beauty industry, New York Times patents columnist Teresa Riordan throws back the curtain on a century of shrewd, canny women who
"Interesting and entertaining." according to Rose. This was the first book I have ever read about the history of the beauty industry. I really enjoyed it and I thought that it had a lot of interesting information. My only complaint is that the book did not go into a lot of detail about hair products, there was a whole chapter about hair removal techniques but there wasn't any information about hair dye, hair curlers, ect. I wish that the book would have gone into more dept. Janis Jaquith said What A Fascinating Book!. My copy of 'Inventing Beauty' arrived just the other day, and I find myself carrying it wherever I go, dipping into it for "just one more" section.I keep wanting to tap complete strangers on the shoulder and say, "Did you know" and then share with them some bizarre tidbit such as the fact that movie stars in the 19What A Fascinating Book! Janis Jaquith My copy of 'Inventing Beauty' arrived just the other day, and I find myself carrying it wherever I go, dipping into it for "just one more" section.I keep wanting to tap complete strangers on the shoulder and say, "Did you know" and then share with them some bizarre tidbit such as the fact that movie stars in the 1940s used a mechanical contraption called a Hollywood Lift -- made of glue, silk thread, and rubber bands -- to. 0s used a mechanical contraption called a Hollywood Lift -- made of glue, silk thread, and rubber bands -- to. Yup. said Nice Overview. I work in product development for the cosmetics industry and have found this book to be quite interesting. It provides a nice overview of some of the innovations and inventions in the beauty industry.
Among other tales, she recounts how hydrogenated cottonseed oil revolutionized the eyebrow pencil, how the nail polish industry borrowed from the automobile industry and how Hazel Bishop invented a kiss-proof formula for lipstick but found her product eclipsed by Revlon's shrewd advertising campaign. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Riordan's meticulous research delves into an age before federal health regulations, uncovering such nasties as the phenol face peel, which required the face to be painted with three coats of carbolic acid. All rights reserved. The combination of Riordan's brilliant style, which perfectly captures the pathos and comedy of the subject, and her relish for the minutiae of technological history makes this an irresistible and sometimes macabre treat for anyone curious about the history of everyday life. Beginning with the eyes and ending with the "derr