Cosmetics have been used in one shape or form since 4000 BC Ancient Egypt times, surprisingly the basic concepts and applications of theses Cosmetics have not changed. Cosmetics are still used, as they were back then to enhance the appearance of the skin or bone structure and to mask any odours.

The modern Cosmetics range includes:

• Skincare
• Lotions
• Powders
• Perfumes
• Lip Colour
• Nail polishes
• Eye Makeup
• Face Makeup
• Hair Colour
• Hair Care
• Baby products
• Bath Products
• Party Makeup

As you can see, the product range that is now encompassed in the Cosmetics industry is wide and generates £19 billion a year, most of this money is generated from women in Western countries, where looking your best is a must in society. Many of the top name brands get heavily advertised with a celebrity in a bid to boost their percentile share of this £19 billion market place, as even a small percentage shift to their advantage is a lot of money.

Cosmetics is a rather board term as it now refers to a wide range of products and applications. Put simply the word “Cosmetics” means:

1. A powder, lotion, lipstick, rouge, or other preparation for beautifying the face, skin, hair, nails, etc. 
2. Cosmetics, superficial measures to make something appear better, more attractive, or more impressive: The budget committee opted for Cosmetics instead of a serious urban renewal plan. 

The word “Makeup” defines Cosmetics down to a smaller niche as it refers to:

1. Facial Cosmetics, as eye shadow or lipstick. 
2. Cosmetics used on other parts of the body, as to cover birthmarks. 

Makeup basically refers to coloured Cosmetics that are used to alter the appearance of a person when applied.

The Cosmetic manufacturing industry is currently dominated by a small amount of large international companies that had established themselves in the early part of the 20^th century.

The oldest and now one of the largest of these company’s is L’Oréal. Eugene Schueller dealing in harmless hair colouring products founded L’Oreal in 1909 in France. By 1910 the USA cosmetic market had been developed and had established by Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Max Factor. These firms were joined by Revlon just before World War II and Estée Lauder just after.

Over the years governing bodies have been set up in most countries to regulate the Cosmetics industry and the ingredients used, naturally this has been met with some resistance within the industry. The USA for example has the FDA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is an agency off the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for the safety regulation of many things including Cosmetics. The European Union is governed by the directive EU 76/768 EEC - The Rules Governing Cosmetic Products in the European Union, This includes the UK as is intended to be read with the UK HSE guides.

The Cosmetics industry is now quite heavily regulated to ensure the safeness of the Cosmetics products sold on the shelves. There are many health concerns that come from harmful chemicals in some cosmetic products. Some products carry carcinogenic contaminant 1,4- dioxane. We are seeing a current trend for Natural, Organic products as there are no synthetic ingredients within the Cosmetics to cause harm. Natural products contain mineral and plant ingredients and organic products are made with organic agricultural products.

Update: 02/07/08

The Almay brand is now discontinued in the UK.

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Since 1931, Almay has helped women look and feel their best with good-for-you Cosmetics in the most flattering shimmers and shades-all while staying true to our heritage of using pure, hypoallergenic ingredients.
It all began with one woman’s delicate skin. In 1930, Cosmetics were heavy and thick, made with strong pigments and powerful chemicals, too harsh for the complexion of one Fanny May Woititz. But her husband Alfred was a professional chemist, and a relentless tinkerer. He started experimenting with his wife’s makeup, testing and trying to figure out which ingredients were irritants.
He enlisted a renowned dermatologist, Dr. Marion Sulzberger, to help with the experiments. Together they devised a formula for Cosmetics that were pure and gentle enough for Fanny May to use every day.
When need meets invention, beautiful things happen. Combining the names of the founders, Alfred and Fanny May, Almay was established in 1931 to manufacture their new, gentler Cosmetics for women everywhere.
Since then, Almay has consistently been an innovator in skincare purity and safety. Almay was the first hypoallergenic Cosmetics brand and continued to lead the beauty industry in firsts. Almay was the first brand to make 100% fragrance-free products, the first brand to disclose all ingredients (long before it was mandatory), the first brand to perform safety testing for allergy and irritation, the first brand to formulate for contact lens wearers and the first brand to create cosmetic regimens for specific skin types.
New ingredients and technologies are stringently tested before Almay uses them. Fewer than 500 of the 10,000 ingredients available for use in Cosmetics meet Almay’s standard for superior performance.
Almay understands how difficult it can be to find products that are right for you. That’s why there’s Almay® Beauty 1-2-3^TM. It makes looking your best easier than ever before. All you need to do is answer 3 simple questions: “What is your skin type?” “What is your eye color?” and “What is your favorite lip shade?” Then Almay gives you the expertly coordinated collection that’s made for you-helping you look your most beautiful.
There’s more. Almay has a full line of skincare products including cleansers, toners and moisturizers. Our experts combined Almay’s hypoallergenic heritage with the natural ingredients that work best with your skin type. The results? Healthy, radiant skin!
Almay is so easy to shop in stores-with color-coded graphics and clean, elegant packaging. You’ll find everything you need, from color-coordinated Cosmetics to breakthrough anti-aging treatments. It truly is one-stop shopping.
And as always, every single product stays true to the Almay hypoallergenic promise, using only pure, safe ingredients that are good for the most sensitive skin.
It’s beauty made as easy as 1-2-3. It’s a revolutionary way to find products that give you the fresh, natural beauty you need-without all of the guesswork. When it comes to getting the look you want, consider Almay your personal beauty expert!

Do you know your true skin tone?

The first thing that should be looked at closely before any make up is purchased, is the skin shade.

Why do you need to know this?

Knowing this will help you chose the right shade of makeup needed to compliment your skin.

Are you a cool or warm shade? This needs to be known to enable the best selection of makeup colours that will best flatter the skin tone.

These two shades have been devised by colour experts over the years to be Warm Peach and Cool Rose.

Warm Peach

Warm types of skin have a yellow or peach undertone that react to warm fiery colours, giving the skin a glow.

Cool Rose

Cool types of skin have a blue or pink undertone that react better to cool icy colours.

How to find out what shade you are.

By using a simple technique of two different coloured cards, Orange and Pink.
By looking in a mirror under natural light and holding each of these cards in turn under your chin, your skin tone will become apparent.
The right colour will light up your face and make blemishes disappear. The wrong colour will make your skin look drained and uneven.
If your right colour is orange you are a Warm Peach, if it was pink you are a Cool Rose.

Other ways of testing your skin shade without using coloured cards are

• Jewellery. Warm skin shimmers in gold jewellery, cool skin looks great in silver.
• The inner arm. Check the veins on your inner arm, warm people have veins that are tinged with green, cool people have blue veins.

Great! What Now?

Well, now we need to try and find out where you fall in regards to a light, medium or dark version of your shade.

Cool Roses.

Cool Roses know they are cool, but the light, medium and dark factor depends on the colour of your skin, hair and eyes, as represented by the following.

Cool Light.

Typically cool light shades have hair that is a pale blond, ashy blond or white. Eyes that are pale blue, blue-grey, cool green or hazel. The skin is normally milky white that either burns easily or goes pink when exposed to the sun.

Best Colours:

Eyes.Pale silver, aqua, sky blue and lilac.

Cheeks.Baby Pinks

Lips.Pale Pink.

Worst Colours: Apricot and gold can make cool eyes seem red and tired, while heavy Kohl pencil and black mascara can look overpowering. Bright tangerine on the lips only works if you have a tan.

Cool Medium.

Typically cool medium shades have brown or medium dark hair. Eyes are normally brown or blue, occasionally with a hint of grey or green. The skin is milky and often accompanied with rosy cheeks. they also tan slowly.

Best Colours:

Eyes.Slate grey, denim blues, cool taupe’s and charcoal browns.

Cheeks.Dusky pink.

Lips.Pinks with a hint of blue (Cerise etc)

Worst Colours: Lime greens can make you look unwell and any shade of orangey brown on the cheeks or lips will drain your face of colour.

Cool Dark.

Typically Cool dark shades have hair that is deep brown or jet black hair that can glint an inky blue in the sun. Eyes are bright blue, cool grey, pale green or hazel. The skin can range from the palest of white through to the darkest black.

Best Colours:

Eyes.Black, cool purple and blue.

Cheeks.Dep pink.

Lips.Blue/red or Burgundy.

Worst Colours: Pearlescent peachy pastels will wash out cool eyes and terracotta on the lips and cheeks can make cool skin look blotchy and unhealthy.

That covers the three variants under Cool Roses, lets move on to Warm Peaches.

Warm Peaches.

Warm Peaches again can be light, medium or dark and range from pale strawberry blonds to olive-skinned Mediterranean types.

Warm Light.

Typically Warm lights have strawberry blond, golden or auburn hair that has a warm glow in the sunshine. Eyes are normally hazel, green or blue-green. The skin appears like peaches and cream, often with freckles.

Best Colours:

Eyes.Delicate colours like champagne, ivory, honey and pale green.

Cheeks.Salmon Pink

Lips.Apricot or bright red.

Worst Colours: Black can be too intense if applied heavily to the eyes, bright pinks look garish and pale lilacs can make warm skins look lifeless.

Warm Medium.

Warm Mediums are typically known as redheads. Their hair is auburn, chestnut brown or a deep brown that glows golden in the sun. Eyes are normally green, brown, hazel or blue-green. Skin is usually peachy or olive with a tendency to tan deeply.

Best Colours:

Eyes.Antique gold, earthy browns and olive greens.

Cheeks.Sheer bronzer.

Lips.Coral or golden berry browns.

Worst Colours: Clean whites, icy pastels and cool purples make eyes look puffy and tired, while fuchsia pink and burgundy are a no-no for the lips.

Warm Dark.

Warm darks are recognised by their chestnut brown, mahogany or black hair. Their eyes are either brown, hazel or green. The skin is is either olive, Asian or African Caribbean.

Best Colours:

Eyes.Bronze, warm chocolate brown, leafy green or aubergine.

Cheeks.Deep terracotta.

Lips.Flame reds or nude glosses.

Worst Colours: Silvery metallics look washed out on the eyes, while blue-pinks stand out rather than sit comfortably on the lips and cheeks.

I am hoping that this has enabled you to understand your skin colours a little more. This article is one of many useful pieces from the Essential Guide to Beauty from Eaglemoss publications.

Eyeko has been dubbed “Londons Cutest” cosmetic discovery, and as such try lead the cosmetic fashion and not follow it. After all fashion is continually evolving and so should your make up bag.

This season Eyeko embraces lady-like chic from retro Riviera to Park Avenue Princess. Think Brigitte Bardot crossed with a candy store!

We are proud to introduce some of the new Eyeko products to our store. These are available for release on Wednesday April 16th, but you can reserve your order now though our shopping cart. 

Eyeko manga make Up Book Set

This Eyeko Manga Make Up Book Set is a luxury make up Book with 5 eye shadows, 3 Lip glosses, Concealer and a cream blush. Providing a ham bag size beauty kit accessible with ease, this book also comes complete with applicator and Mirror.

Eyeko Shimmery Powder Puff

This Eyeko Shimmery Powder Puff is a cute little pot with a pink body puff inside. Just like the other products in this range it is cute, sweet smelling and great quality.

Eyeko 5 in 1 Eye Beauty Eyeshadow Tins

Eyeko 5 in 1 Eye Beauty Eyeshadow Tins are a cute pocket size tin with five strips of eyeshadow colour, providing Instant Eye Beauty. With a selection of five complimentary shades per tin, mix and match your beauty shades to suit your mood.

Come and have a browes at these new Eyeko products and the rest of their range in our store for a full run down of Eyeko stock.