[ News
| Homes
| Life
| Entertainment
| History
| Science
| Community
| Shop ]
| Sport
| Culture
| Cars
| Money
| Broadband
| Learning
| Health
| Dating
| Games ]
[ Text Only: Homepage ]
[ Graphical: Channel4 Homepage ]
Home | Decades of beauty | The make-up moguls | The changing faces of power | Because they're worth it | Find out more
Celebrity feeding off cosmetics feeding off celebrity... | Pulp phenomenon | Doing it for herself | Role reversal | A step too far?
The effect of seeing their Hollywood idols' faces up-close on a huge screen was mesmerising for early cinema-goers and increased their desire to emulate movie-star looks. Max Factor, the Oscar-winning Hollywood make-up artist, was the first cosmetics giant to cash in on star appeal, by securing the industry's biggest names to get behind his products. Sales soared.
Now, the Factor effect seems to have come full circle. As the worship of the lifestyles of the rich and famous continues, star endorsement can make or break a product, with certain items acquiring cult status as soon as they hit the shelves.
When Uma Thurman starred in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, a close-up of the actress's lusciously lacquered nails resulted in an international scramble to acquire the polish and create the look. Stocks of Chanel's Rouge Noir - a red so dark it looked black - sold out throughout the world. 'It was a complete phenomenon,' says a representative for Selfridges' make-up hall. 'It got to the point where people would come in and offer us three to four times the going price just for the tester!'
Other products that have acquired cult status on the back of a celebrity preference include St Tropez self-tanning lotion, favoured by the likes of Victoria Beckham, and 'miracle' creams, such as Dr Hauschka's Rose Day Cream and Crème de la Mer - this last a skin-care treatment so expensive (£60 an ounce) that you would have to be rich and famous to be able to afford it.
Some well-known names have used their star status to promote cosmetics lines of their own. Somali supermodel Iman was so frustrated by the continuing under-representation and 'tokenising' of black women in the make-up industry that, in 1994, she developed her own range. 'Ninety per cent of make-up artists I worked with did not have a clue what make-up to use on my skin. They thought that setting the same products they used on Western models with a darker powder would do,' she recalls. 'I found it insulting as a consumer that I had to buy three foundations just to get the mix right. My cosmetics are suited to women of colour, whether they be Asian, Pakistani, Middle Eastern.'
The prevailing penchant for copying movie-star looks has resulted in another modern-day phenomenon: the celebrity make-up artist. Until the 1990s, a handful of cosmetics conglomerates - Max Factor, Estée Lauder, Chanel - dominated cosmetics counters. Now, however, not only has the rise of eponymous lines from top make-up artists such as François Nars - whose client list includes Madonna - widened consumer choice, it has brought us closer to achieving a celebrity 'makeover' as never before. These days, top make-up artists are as much in demand as the stars themselves.
Perhaps one of the most unsettling developments in the modern-day beauty industry is the increase in the number of celebrities - and members of the more common herd - who are willing to have surgery and other medical procedures to enhance their appearance and prevent the signs of ageing.
In the past, people hid the fact that they had had some form of cosmetic surgery. A major exception was the comedian Fanny Brice, a headliner in the first half of the 20th century best known today for Barbra Streisand's portrayal of her in the musical Funny Girl. However, Brice's bravery in admitting to a nose job was forgotten among accusations that she was trying to disguise her Jewishness - 'She cut off her nose to spite her race,' someone quipped.
These days, relatively radical changes to the appearance of the face can be achieved without a knife in sight. The availability of instant treatments such as 'Botox' and collagen lip implants has led to a nonchalant attitude towards facial alteration.
In 'Botox', tiny amounts of the toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum (a little more of which would lead to the fatal condition botulism) are injected into the face. This paralyses muscle tissue and so eliminates 'ageing' lines. So popular is this technique that 'Botox parties' are becoming increasingly common. Such is the instantaneous effect of the treatment that groups of women - and men - can be attended to by a cosmetic surgeon in the space of an evening, while enjoying a bottle of wine with friends.
Some beauty pundits believe that the way forward is to eliminate the stigma of having plastic surgery. 'All make-up highlights your best assets. What's the problem with having it surgically done?' they ask. Others strongly disagree. 'If anyone mentions to me that they might be considering plastic surgery, I have only two things to say: "Michael" and "Jackson",' says writer Kathy Lette.
Graphical version (including images and layout)
Access advice