Cosmetic make-up is believed to have first been used over 600 years ago in Ancient Egypt and also progressed through the Ancient Greek and Romans through the decades. They produced colourful products by using dangerous elements such as mercury and white lead, this lead to a lot of eye problems such as conjunctivitis. Kohl, which was used to outline the eyes, is made up of lead, copper, burned almonds, soot, and other ingredients. It was believed that eye make-up could ward off evil spirits and improve the sight. This was the beginning of make-up and are the basis of the cosmetics we use nowadays. 
An era that I found very influencial to make-up was 1960's, makeup was an essential part of the mod look, with a heavy emphasis on the eyes. The effect was really an echo of the smoldering dark-eyed, dreamy look of the 1920s, only more so and minus the coloured lipstick. In the 60s, foundation was natural in colour and the lips pale. Pale foundation was used to cover blemishes and even out skin tone, optional blusher in pale pink or peachy tones was used sparingly. Black eyeliner and lashings of mascara were used as the main focal point in this look with very long lashes under the eye. Neutral or pastel eyeshadow on the lid, dark eyeshadow in the crease was used so that they exaggerated the eyes. Pale lipstick in baby pink, beigey pearl or silvery white were common colours for lips as they got rid of the bright reds and pinks from previous era's.
