Cosmetics are constituted from a mixture of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics designed for skincare can be used to cleanse, exfoliate and protect the skin, as well as replenishing it, through the use of cleansers, toners, serums, moisturizers, and balms; cosmetics designed for more general personal care, such as shampoo and body wash, can be used to cleanse the body; cosmetics designed to enhance one's appearance (makeup) can be used to conceal blemishes, enhance one's natural features (such as the eyebrows and eyelashes), add color to person's face and in the case of more extreme forms of makeup used for performances, fashion shows and people in costume, can be used to change the appearance of the face entirely to resemble a different person, creature or object. Cosmetics can also be designed to add fragrance to the body.

Though the legal definition of cosmetics in most countries is broader, in some Western countries, cosmetics are commonly taken to mean only makeup products, such as lipstick, mascara, eye shadow, foundation, blush, highlighter, bronzer, and several other product types. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates cosmetics, defines cosmetics as products "intended to be applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance without affecting the body's structure or functions". This broad definition includes any material intended for use as an ingredient of a cosmetic product, with the FDA specifically excluding pure soap from this category.

Etymology
The word cosmetics derives from the Greek κοσμητικὴ τέχνη ("kosmetikē tekhnē"), meaning "technique of dress and ornament".

History
Cosmetics have been in use for thousands of years. The absence of regulation of the manufacture and use of cosmetics, as well as the absence of scientific knowledge regarding the effects of various compounds on the human body for much of this time period, led historically to a number of negative adverse effects upon those who used cosmetics, including deformities, blindness and in some cases death. Examples of the prevalent usage of harmful cosmetics include the use of ceruse (white lead) throughout a number of different cultures, such as during the Renaissance in the West, and blindness caused by the mascara Lash Lure during the early 20th century.

One of the earliest cultures to use cosmetics was ancient Egypt, where both Egyptian men and women used makeup to enhance their appearance. The use of black kohl eyeliner and eyeshadows in dark colors such as blue, red, and black was common, and was commonly recorded and represented in Egyptian art, as well as being seen in Egyptian hieroglyphs. Ancient Egyptians also extracted red dye from fucus-algin, 0.01% iodine, and some bromine mannite, but this dye resulted in serious illness. Lipsticks with shimmering effects were initially made using a pearlescent substance found in fish scales, which are still used extensively today. Despite the hazardous nature of some Egyptian cosmetics, ancient Egyptian makeup was also thought to have antibacterial properties that helped prevent infections.

Ancient Sumerian men and women also wore makeup, being possibly the first culture to invent and wear lipstick roughly 5,000 years ago, by crushing gemstones and decorating the face with them, mainly on the lips, as well as around the eyes. The ancient Indus Valley Civilisation (3000-1500 BC) also utilized makeup, with women applying and tinted lipstick to their lips for decoration. Other cultures to use cosmetics include the ancient Greeks and Romans. Cosmetics are also mentioned in the Old Testament, such as in 2 Kings 9:30, where the biblical figure Jezebel painted her eyelids (approximately 840 BC). Cosmetics are also mentioned in the book of Esther, where beauty treatments are described.

According to one source, early major developments in cosmetics include:

• Kohl used by ancient Egyptians
• Castor oil also used in ancient Egypt as a protective balm
• Skin creams made of beeswax, olive oil, and rose water, described by the Romans
• Vaseline and lanolin in the nineteenth century

The use of cosmetics continued into the Middle Ages, where the face was whitened and the cheeks rouged; during the later 16th century in the West, the personal attributes of the women who used makeup created a demand for the product among the upper class. Cosmetics continued to be used in the following centuries, though attitudes towards cosmetics varied throughout time, with the use of cosmetics being openly frowned upon at many points in Western history. In the 19th century, Queen Victoria publicly declared makeup improper, vulgar, and acceptable only for use by actors, with many famous actresses of the time, such as Sarah Bernhardt and Lillie Langtry using makeup.

Many cosmetic products available at this time were still either chemically dubious from natural resources commonly found in the kitchen, such as food coloring, berries, and beetroot. During the 19th century, there was a high number of incidences of lead poisoning due to the fashion for red and white lead makeup and powder, leading to swelling and inflammation of the eyes, weakened tooth enamel, and blackening skin, with heavy use known to lead to death. Usage of white lead was not confined only to the West, with the white Japanese face makeup known as oshiroi also produced using white lead. However, in the second part of the 19th century, scientific advances in the production of makeup lead to the creation of makeup-free hazardous substances such as lead.

Regardless of the changes in social attitudes towards cosmetics, ideals of appearance were occasionally achieved through the use of cosmetics by many women. 19th-century fashion ideals of women appearing delicate, feminine, and pale were achieved by some through the use of makeup, with some women discreetly using rouge on their cheeks and drops of belladonna to dilate their eyes to appear larger. Though cosmetics were used discreetly by many women, makeup in Western cultures during this time was generally frowned upon, particularly during the 1870s, when Western social etiquette increased rigidity. Teachers and clergywomen specifically were forbidden from the use of cosmetic products.

Throughout the later 19th century and early 20th century, changes in the prevailing attitudes towards cosmetics led to the wider expansion of the cosmetics industry, with the market developed in the US during the 1910s by figures such as Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Max Factor. These firms were joined by Revlon just before World War II and Estee Lauder just after. By the middle of the 20th century, cosmetics were in widespread use by women in nearly all industrial societies around the world, with the cosmetics industry becoming a multibillion-dollar enterprise by the beginning of the 21st century. The wider acceptance of the use of cosmetics, however, led some to come to see makeup as a tool utilized in the oppression and subjection of women to unfair societal standards. In 1968 at the feminist Miss America protest, protesters symbolically threw a number of feminine products into a "Freedom Trash Can", with cosmetics among the items the protesters called "instruments of female torture" and accouterments of what they perceived to be enforced feminity.

As of 2016, the world's largest cosmetics company is L'Oreal, founded by Eugene Schueller in 1909 as the French Harmless Hair Coloring Company (now owned by Liliane Bettencourt 26% and Nestle 28%; the remaining 46% is traded publicly). Although modern makeup has been traditionally used mainly by women, an increasing number of men are using cosmetics usually associated with women to enhance or cover their own facial features such as blemishes and dark circles, as well as the use of eyeshadow, mascara, and lipstick by some. Cosmetics brands have increasingly also targeted men in the sale of cosmetics, with some products targeted specifically at men.

thewiki Cosmoline is a brand that considers breaking the stereotypes by providing the best cosmetic products and services and also questions the prevailing unethical standards set by large enterprises.

Types
Though there are a large number of differing cosmetics used for a variety of different purposes, all cosmetics are typically intended to be applied externally. These products can be applied to the face (on the skin, lips, eyebrows, and eyes), to the body (on the skin, in particular, the hands and nails), and to the hair. These products may be intended for the purpose of altering the wearer's appearance; some manufacturers will distinguish only between "decorative" cosmetics intended to alter the appearance and "care" cosmetics designed for skin care and personal care.

Most cosmetics are also distinguished by the area of the body intended for application, with cosmetics designed to be used on the face and eye area usually applied with a brush, a makeup sponge, or the fingertips.

Decorative Cosmetics

• Primers are used on the face before makeup is applied, creating a typically transparent, smooth layer over the top of the skin, allowing for makeup to be applied smoothly and evenly. Some primers may also be tinted, and this tint may match the wearer's skin tone or may color correct it, using greens, oranges, and purples to even out the wearer's skin tone and correct redness, purple shadows, or orange discoloration respectively.
• A concealer is a cream or liquid product used to conceal marks or blemishes of the skin. Concealer is typically the color of the user's skin tone and is generally applied after the face has been primed to even out the wearer's skin tone before the foundation can be applied. Concealer is usually more heavily pigmented, higher coverage, and thicker than foundation or tinted primers. Though concealer is often more heavy-duty in terms of pigment and consistency for the eyes and a heavier concealer for stage makeup - are available, as well as color correcting concealers intended to balance out discoloration of the skin specifically.
• Foundation is a cream, liquid, mousse, or powder applied to the entirety of the face to create a smooth and even base in the user's skin tone. Foundation provides a generally lower amount of coverage than concealer and is sold in formulations that can provide sheer, matte, dewy, or full coverage to the skin.
• Rouge, blush, or blusher is a liquid, cream, or powder product applied to the center of the cheeks with the intention of adding or enhancing their natural color. Blushers are typically available in shades of pink or warm tan and brown, and may also be used to make the cheekbones appear more defined.
• Bronzer is a powder, cream, or liquid product that adds color to the skin, typically in bronze or tan shades intended to give the skin a tanned appearance and enhance the color of the face. Bronzer, like a highlighter, may also contain substances providing a shimmer or glitter effect, and comes in either matte, semi-matte, satin, or shimmer finishes.
• Highlighter is a liquid, cream, or powder applied to the high points of the face such as the eyebrows, nose, and cheekbones. Highlighter commonly has substances added providing a shimmer or glitter effect. Alternatively, a lighter-toned foundation or concealer can be used as a highlighter.
• Eyebrow pencils, creams, waxes, gels, and powders are used to color, fill in, and define the brows. Eyebrow tinting treatments are also used to dye the eyebrow hairs a darker color, either temporarily or permanently, without staining and coloring the skin underneath the eyebrows. 
• Eyeshadow is a powder, cream, or liquid pigmented product used to draw attention to, accentuate and change the shape of the area around the eyes, on the eyelid, and the space below the eyebrows. Eyeshadow is typically applied using an eyeshadow brush, with generally small and rounded bristles, though liquid and cream formulations may also be applied with the fingers. Eyeshadow is available in almost every color, as well as being sold in a number of different finishes, ranging from matte finishes with sheer coverage to glossy, shimmery, glittery, and highly pigmented finishes. Many different colors and finishes of eyeshadow may be combined in one look and blended together to achieve different effects.
• Eyeliner is used to enhance and elongate the apparent size or depth of the eye; though eyeliner is commonly black, it can come in many different colors, including brown, white and blue. Eyeliner can come in the form of a pencil, a gel, or a liquid.
• False eyelashes are used to extend, exaggerate and add volume to the eyelashes. Consisting generally of a small strip to which hair - either human, mink or synthetic - is attached, false eyelashes are typically applied to the lash line using glue, which can come in latex and latex-free varieties; magnetic false eyelashes, which attach to the eyelid after magnetic eyeliner is applied, are also available. Designs vary in length and color, with rhinestones, gems, feathers, and lace available as false eyelash designs. False eyelashes are not permanent and can be easily taken off with fingers. Eyelash extensions are a more permanent way to achieve this look. Each set lasts for two or three weeks, then the set can be filled, similar to the maintenance of acrylic nails. To apply to extensions the certified lash artist would start by taping down the bottom eyelashes. The lash artist would then use two tweezers, one to isolate the natural eyelash and one to apply the false eyelash. An individual false eyelash, or lash fan, is applied to one natural eyelash. If this process is done correctly no harm will be done to the natural eyelashes.
• Mascara is used to darkening, lengthen, thicken, or enhance the eyelashes through the use of a typically thick, cream consistency product applied with a spiral bristle mascara brush. Mascara is commonly black, brown, or clear, though a number of different colors, some containing glitter, are available. Mascara is typically advertised and sold in a number of different formulations that advertise qualities such as waterproofing, volume enhancement, length enhancement, and curl enhancement, and may be used in combination with an eyelash curler to enhance the natural curl of the eyelashes.
• Lip products, including lipstick, lip gloss, lip liner, and lip balms. Lip products commonly add color and texture to the lips, as well as serving to moisturize the lips and define their external edges. Products adding color and texture to the lips, such as lipsticks and lip glosses, often come in a wide range of colors, as well as a number of different finishes, such as matte finishes and satin or glossy finishes. Other styles of lip coloration products such as lip stains temporarily saturate the lips with a dye, and typically do not alter the texture of the lips. Both lip color products and lip liners may be waterproof and may be applied directly to the lips, with a brush, or with the fingers. Lip balms, though designed to moisturized and protect the lips (such as through the addition of UV protection) may also tint the lips.
• Face Powder, setting powder, or setting sprays are used to 'set' foundation or concealer, giving it a matte or consistent finish whilst also concealing small flaws or blemishes. Both powders and setting sprays claim to keep makeup from absorbing into the skin or melting off. Whilst setting sprays are generally not tinted, setting powder and face powder can come in translucent or tinted varieties and can be used to bake foundation in order for it to stay longer on the face. Tinted face powders may also be worn alone without foundation or concealer to give an extremely sheer coverage base.
• Nail polish is a liquid to color the fingernails and toenails. Transparent, colorless nail polishes may be used to strengthen nails to be used as a top or base coat to protect the nail or nail polish. Nail polish, like eyeshadow, is available in almost every color and a number of different finishes, including matte, shimmer, glossy, and crackle finishes.

References:
1. Cosmetics retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmetics