User:Djbaumgarten/Cosmetics advertising

History
Multiple American publications aimed towards women featured joke ads for cosmetics in the 1800s that mention the moral implications of wearing cosmetics, with other publications expressing concern about the ingredients used in cosmetics.

Opera singer Lillian Russell is considered one of the original celebrities to endorse a cosmetics line, after she appeared in 1885 in an advertisement for makeup to change her appearance on stage after a brand of cosmetics caused a physical reaction, with an endorsement of different products.

Magazines like Harper’s Bazaar and Good Housekeeping would weigh in on whether makeup was an appropriate cultural practice well into the 1800s. By the 20th century, Vogue would go on to begin offering tips and advice on makeup application and purchasing.

Multiple Black women would find great success in the cosmetics industry over the course of the 20th century. Most significant included Madam C.J. Walker and Sarah Spencer Washington, who were able to achieve millionaire status by catering to Black women in the United States for hair and cosmetics needs.

Walker founded her line of hair products – “Madame Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower” – in 1905, building a factory for her products in 1910. Walker also founded the National Negro Cosmetics Manufacturers Association in 1917, and hired over 40,000 Black Americans in the course of her career.

Washington created her company – the Apex News and Hair Company – in 1919. Based out of Atlantic City, she created the Apex School of Scientific Beauty Culture, as well, which would expand to 12 states.

In the 1920s, the cosmetics company – and its creator – Max Factor would go on to become a significant player in the development of accessible cosmetics after creating products for use in movies. Celebrities would exist as the advertisers for Max Factor products, and the company would advertise lectures on how to apply makeup like the famous actresses at the time across the country. The company also distributed advertisements on its creator’s theory of Color Harmony – which advised on how to purchase makeup products based on a person’s hair color; either blonde, brunette, “brownette”, or red. Max Factor would stay prominent into the 1930s, revealing specific beauty secrets of A-list celebrities like Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford.

In an article from 1930, the New York Times reported that Americans gave an estimated $750 million in sales to the cosmetics industry that year. Advertisement began to flourish with the presence of both print and radio. Cosmetic companies would distribute pamphlets on how to apply makeup, with advice from makeup experts of the time like Madame Helena Rubinstein. Brands of the time like Armand Cosmetics began pushing for consumers to buy their specific products to achieve specific makeup results, as opposed to generalized makeup application instructions. Women’s magazines like Ladies’ Home Journal and Good Housekeeping had changed to advertising cosmetics, as well. Instead, magazines began to place emphasis on the correct application for social dividends, like respectability and being seen as beautiful for suitors.

In 1938, Congress passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which prohibited the misbranding of cosmetics products, as well as adulterated – or compromised, in some way – products.

During World War II, The War Production Board created regulation on specific materials that would become necessary for fighting the war in July 1942. Included in that was materials used to develop cosmetics products, with women also encouraged to recycle their makeup packaging for the purpose of them being repurposed for the war effort. In the midst of women entering the workforce, advertisements and magazines would emphasize femininity among the new employees, with companies like Revlon emphasizing nail polish and lipstick for that purpose.

In the 1950s, the teenager became a target of cosmetics advertising. Magazines targeting teens like Seventeen began advertising around youth culture as opposed to adult women, as well as publishing articles on makeup application and how cosmetics impacted a teen’s social life, as American teenagers were in a position to buy products for themselves as a distinct market. Advertisers began recommending using cosmetics at a younger age in order to instill proper grooming techniques for young women.

Television opened up how cosmetics advertising could be delivered to American consumers. A major example is Hazel Bishop, who worked as a chemist to develop “Hazel Bishop’s No-Smear Lipstick” and launched her own cosmetics brand in 1950. Seeing how successful the product was, advertiser Raymond Specter pushed for Bishop’s products to be broadcast on television for the first time.

Youth culture would continue to grow into the 1960s, with Seventeen magazine working to keep up to date with trends in fashion and beauty. Cosmetics companies would continue to buy into advertisements for teen girls and young adults. Revlon worked to set fashion-forward trends  through their advertisements in womens’ magazines like Cosmopolitan. The growing feminist movement added complication to the style of advertising that came before, with critics arguing that cosmetics were incompatible with the fight for women’s liberation. However, youth culture still led advertisers as they attempted to reach the new generation of consumers. Brands like House of Dior attempted to keep up with the women's liberation movement by branding products after feminist principles and promoting natural-looking makeup.