Focus on Kohl

<<  <  >  >>

 

Kohl (or Kohal) is a mix of minerals and honey that was widely used in Egyptian antiquity to emphasize the contour the eyes and eyebrows. In addition to its cosmetic use, it also plays an antiseptic role and prevents from eye diseases. In the middle of the 19th century, Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain created “La Pyrommée,” a makeup inspired from kohl that was commercialized for a century. Story had it in Paris that its creator had been initiated to the secret of this ancestral product by an Armenian pasha who had studied the art of matter in Persia.

Fragment of a grave ornament. Thoutmosis IV or Amenophis III Reign.   © Musée du Louvre. Photography Guillaume Blanchard. "La Pyrommée" of Guerlain.   © Patrimoine Guerlain.

Khol boxes and vessels. La Parfumerie moderne, 1928. This document is freely available BIU Santé Pharmacie : cote P 15270. Spoon for Khol uses.   © Musée du Louvre.

Studying kohls and eye makeup with X-ray diffraction allowed researchers from the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France to gain a better understanding of its composition, as well as to assess the chemical knowledge of the Egyptians. The presence of laurionite and phosgenite proves that synthesis and the chemistry of solutions were used in the fabrication of cosmetic materials as early as 2000 B.C. More informations