Ever wonder how your go-to red lipstick came to be? The process is a little more complicated than simply sticking some pigment in a tube. For curious cosmetics fans, these videos showing makeup being made are incredibly informative – and oddly hypnotic. Behind-the-scenes makeup videos provide a fascinating new look at how things are made, from sparkling eye shadow to natural looking foundation. If you've ever wondered just how those pretty products get assembled, here's how you make cosmetics.
These videos show just how far the world of makeup has come. People have adorned their faces and bodies for centuries, whether in rituals or simply to emphasize their features. Luckily, technology has come a long ways from the days of grinding stones to create pigments. Give these videos a watch, and marvel at just how much work goes into your cosmetics bag.
Lipstick has to be formed into that perfect bullet shape. First, wet and dry ingredients including waxes, fats, and oils, are mixed, and then crushed into a fine paste. The paste is melted in an oven, then poured into a mold to take the form of sticks of lipstick. The sticks are then pressed into containers.
As this behind-the-scenes video from Avon shows, makeup begins with color. Various pigments are blended with mineral powders and liquids to form eyeshadows, lipsticks, foundation, and more.
There's a reason eye shadow is shimmery: it's mostly made of minerals. Manufacturers begin with a base filler, usually talc or mica. Then, they add zinc or magnesium as binders, and alcohol or vitamin E to prevent bacteria growth. Pigments add a colorful finish, and the formula is mixed up and pressed into shape.
Foundation Has To Be Carefully Mixed To Mimic Skin Tone
Making foundation is a complicated process. Most formulations begin with oil, water, or wax, in addition to talc. Red, yellow, and black colors are then put in the mix in order to make the desired color. From there, the foundation can be customized with ingredients to help combat shine, fight blemishes, or moisturize skin.
As its name implies, liquid lipstick provides the coverage of a traditional lipstick, but in a liquid form. Instead of solid wax, these tints begin with paraffin wax, petrolatum, or lanolin, blended with colorful pigments to create a lasting hue.
The wow factor comes in the packaging process – just look at how the creamy lip color is piped into the glass tubes.
It might seem incredible, but bronzer starts as a mix of white, brown, red, and, surprisingly, purple pigments. The pigments are blended with an agent to bind everything together. After that, the mixture is further refined and ground to a fine powder. It is then pressed and packaged for sale.
