The history of cosmetics spans 7,000 years and is present in almost every society on earth. Cosmetic body art is argued to have been the earliest form of a ritual in human culture. The evidence for this comes in the form of utilized red mineral pigments (red ochre) including crayons associated with the emergence of Homo Sapiens in Africa. Cosmetics are mentioned in the Old Testament - 2 Kings 9:30 where Jezebel painted her eyelids - approximately 840 BC - and the book of Esther describes various beauty treatments as well.

Cosmetics were also used in ancient Rome, although much of Roman literature suggests that it was frowned upon. It is known that some women in ancient Rome invented makeup including lead-based formulas, to whiten the skin, and kohl was used to line the eyes.

Across the globe

North Africa

Egypt: The use of cosmetics in Ancient Egypt is well documented. Kohl has its roots in north Africa. Remedies to treat wrinkles contained ingredients such as gum of frankincense and fresh moringa. For scars and burns, a special ointment was made of red ochre, kohl, and sycamore juice. An alternative treatment was a poultice of carob grounds and honey or an ointment made of knotgrass and powdered root of wormwood. To improve breath the ancient Africans chewed herbs or frankincense which is still in use today. Jars of what could be compared with setting lotion have been found to contain a mixture of beeswax and resin. These doubled as remedies for problems such as baldness and greying hair. They also used these products on their mummies, because they believed that it would make them irresistible in the afterlife.

Asia

China: Chinese people began to stain their fingernails with gum arabic, gelatin, beeswax, and egg white from around 3000 BC. The colors used represented social cases: Chou dynasty (first millennium BC) royals wore gold and silver; later royals wore black or red. The lower classes were forbidden to wear bright colors on their nails.

Flowers play an important decorative role in China. Legend has it that once on the 7th day of the 1st lunar month, while Princess Shouyang, daughter of Emperor Wu of Liu Song, was resting under the eaves of Hanzhang Palace near the plum trees after wandering in the gardens, a plum blossom drifted down onto her fair face, leaving a floral imprint on her forehead and enhanced her beauty further. The court ladies were said to be impressed, that they started decorating their own foreheads with a small delicate plum blossom design. This is also the mythical origin of the floral fashion, meihua zhuang (梅花妝; literally "plum blossom makeup"), that originated in the Southern Dynasties (420-589) and became popular amongst ladies in the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties.

Mongolia: Women of royal families painted red spots on the center of their cheeks, right under their eyes. However, it is a mystery why.

Japan: In Japan, geisha wore lipstick made of crushed safflower petals to paint the eyebrows and edges of the eyes as well as the lips and sticks of bintsuke wax, a softer version of the sumo wrestler's hair wax, were used by geisha as a makeup base. Rice powder colors the face and back; rogue contours the eye socket and defines the nose. Ohaguro (black paint) colors the teeth for the ceremony, called Erikae, when maiko (apprentice geisha) graduate and become independent. The geisha would also sometimes use bird droppings to compile a lighter color.

Western Asia: Cosmetics were used in Persia and what today in Iran from ancient periods. Kohl is a black powder that is used widely across the Persian Empire. It is used as a powder or smeared to darken the edges of the eyelids similar to eyeliner. After Persian tribes converted to Islam and conquered those areas, in some areas cosmetics were only restricted if they were to disguise the real look in order to mislead or cause uncontrolled desire. In Islamic law, despite these requirements, there is no absolute prohibition on wearing cosmetics; the cosmetics must not be made of substances that harm one's body.

An early teacher in the 10th century was Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi, or Abulcasis, who write the 24-volume medical encyclopedia Al-Tasrif. A chapter of the 19th volume was dedicated to cosmetics. As the treatise was translated into Latin, the cosmetic chapter was used in the west. Al-Zahrawi considered cosmetics a branch of medicine, which he called "Medicine of Beauty" (Adwiyat al-zinah). He deals with perfumes, scented aromatics, and license. There were perfumed sticks rolled and pressed in special molds, perhaps the earliest antecedents of present-day lipsticks and solid deodorants. He also used oily substances called Adhan for medication and beautification.

Europe: In the Roman Empire, the use of cosmetics was common amongst prostitutes and rich women. Such adornment was sometimes lamented by certain Roman writers, who thought it to be against the castitas required of women by what they considered traditional Roman values; and later by Christian writers who expressed similar sentiments in a slightly different context. Pliny the Elder mentioned cosmetics in his Naturalis Historia, and Ovid wrote a book on the topic.

In the Middle Ages, it was thought sinful and immoral to wear makeup by Church leaders, but many women still did so. From the Renaissance, up until the 20th century, the lower classes had to work outside, in agricultural jobs and the typically light-colored European skin was darkened by exposure to the sun. The higher a person was in status, the more leisure time he or she had to spend indoors, which kept their skin pale. Thus, the highest class of European society was pale resulting in European men and women attempting to lighten their skin directly, or using white powder on their skin to look more aristocratic. A variety of products were used including white lead paint which also may have contained arsenic, which also poisoned and killed many. Queen Elizabeth I of England was one well-known user of white lead, with which she created a look known as "the Mask of Youth". Portraits of the queen by Nicholas Hilliard from later in her reign are illustrative of her influential style.

Pale faces were a trend during the European Middle Ages. In the 16th century, women would bleed themselves to achieve pale skin. Spanish prostitutes wore pink makeup to contract pale skin.  13th-century Italian women wore red lipstick to show that they were upper class.

Americas and Australia: Some Native American tribes painted their faces for ceremonial events or battles. Similar practices were followed by Aboriginals in Australia. 

Recent History

19th Century: During the late 1800s, the Western Cosmetics Industry began to grow due to a rise in "visual self-awareness", a shift in the perception of color cosmetics, and improvements in the safety of products. Prior to the 19th Century, limitations in lighting technology and access to reflective devices stiffed people's ability to regularly perceive their appearance. This, in turn, limited the need for a cosmetic market and resulted in individuals creating and applying their own products at home. Several technological advancements in the latter half of the century, including the innovation of mirrors, commercial photography, marketing, and electricity in the home and in public, increased consciousness of one's appearance and created a demand for cosmetic products that improved one's image.

Face powders, rogues, lipstick, and similar products made from home were found to have toxic ingredients, which deterred customers from their use. Discoveries of non-toxic cosmetic ingredients, such as Henry Tetlow's 1866 use of zinc oxide as a face powder, and the distribution of cosmetics products by established companies such as Rimmel, Guerlain, and Hudnut helped popularize cosmetics to the broader public. Skincare, along with "face painting" products like powders, also became in demand for the product. These advertisement and cosmetic marketing styles were soon replicated in European countries, which further increased the popularity of the advertised products in Europe.

20th Century: During the early 1900s, makeup was not excessively popular. In fact, women hardly wore makeup at all. Make-up at this time was still mostly the territory of prostitutes, those in cabarets and on the black & white screen. Face enameling (applying actual paint to the face) became popular among the rich at this time in an attempt to look paler. This practice was dangerous due to the main ingredient often being arsenic. Pale skin was associated with wealth because it meant that one was not out working in the sun and could afford to stay inside all day. Cosmetics were so unpopular that they could not be bought in department stores; they could only be bought at theatrical costume stores. A women's "makeup routine" often only consisted of using papier poudre, a powdered paper/oil blotting sheet, to whiten the nose in the winter and shine their cheeks in the summer. Rouge was considered provocative, so was only seen on "women of the night". Some women used burnt matchsticks to darken eyelashes and geranium and poppy petals to stain the lips. Vaseline became high in demand because it was used on chapped lips, as a base for hair tonic, and soap. Toilet waters were introduced in the early 1900s, but only lavender water or refined cologne was admissible for women to wear. Cosmetic deodorant was invented in 1888, by an unknown inventor from Philadelphia and was trademarked under the name Mum (deodorant). Roll-on deodorant was launched in 1952, and aerosol deodorant in 1965.

Around 1910, make-up became fashionable in the United States of America and Europe owing to the influence of ballet and theatre stars such as Mathilde Kschessinska and Sarah Bernhardt. Colored makeup was introduced in Paris upon the arrival of the Russian Ballet in 1910, where ochers and crimsons were the most typical shades. The Daily Mirror beauty book showed that cosmetics were now acceptable for the literature classes to wear. With that said, men often saw rouge as a mark of sex and sin, and rouging was considered an admission of ugliness. In 1915, a Kanas legislature proposed to make it a misdemeanor for women under the age of forty-four to wear cosmetics "for the purpose of creating a false impression". The Daily Mirror was one of the first to suggest using a pencil line (eyeliner) to elongate the eye and an eyelash curler to accentuate the lashes. Eyebrow darkener was also presented in this beautiful book, created from gum Arabic, Indian ink, and rosewater. George Burchett developed cosmetic tattooing during this time period. He was able to tattoo on pink blushes, red lips, and dark eyebrows. He also was able to tattoo men disfigured in the First World War by inserting skin tones in damaged faces and by covering scars with colors more pleasing to the eye. Max Factor opened up a professional makeup studio for stage and screen actors in Los Angeles in 1909. Even though his store was intended for actors, ordinary women came in to purchase theatrical eye shadow and eyebrow pencils for their home use.

In the 1920s, the film industry in Hollywood had the most influential impact on cosmetics. Stars such as Theda Bara had a substantial effect on the makeup industry. Helena Rubinstein was Bara's makeup artist; she created mascara for the actress, relying on her experiments with kohl. Others who saw the opportunity for the mass market of cosmetics during this time were Max Factor, Sr., and Elizabeth Arden. Many of the present-day makeup manufacturers were established during the 1920s and 1930s. Lipsticks were one of the most popular cosmetics of this time, more so than rouge and powder, because they were colorful and cheap. 

21st Century: Beauty products are now widely available from dedicated internet-only retailers, who have more recently been joined online by established outlets, including the major department stores and traditional bricks and mortar beauty retailers.

Like more industries, cosmetic companies resist regulation by government agencies. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve or review cosmetics, although it does regulate the colors that can be used in hair dyes. The cosmetic companies are not required to report injuries resulting from the use of their products.

Although modern makeup has been used mainly by women traditionally, gradually an increasing number of males are using cosmetics usually associated with women to enhance their own facial features. Concealer is commonly used by cosmetic-conscious men. Cosmetics brands are releasing cosmetic products specially tailored for men, and men are using such products more commonly. There is some controversy over this, however, as many feel that men who wear makeup are neglecting traditional gender, and do not view men wearing cosmetics in a positive light. Others, however, view this as a sign of ongoing gender equality and feel that men also have right to enhance their facial features with cosmetics if women could.