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Eyeliner
A dazzling exploration of the intersections of beauty and power around the globe, told through the lens of an iconic cosmetic'Awe-inspiring and fascinating' Funmi Fetto'A treat to read' Kassia St ClairFrom the distant past to the present day, humans have been drawn to lining their eyes. The aesthetic trademark of figures ranging from Nefertiti to Amy Winehouse, eyeliner is one of our most enduring cosmetic tools; ancient royals and Gen Z beauty influencers alike would attest to its uniquely transformative power. It is undeniably fun - yet it is also far from frivolous.Seen through Zahra Hankir's (kohl-lined) eyes, this ubiquitous but seldom-examined product becomes a portal to history, proof both of the stunning variety among cultures across time and space and of our shared humanity. Through intimate reporting and conversations - with nomads in Chad, geishas in Japan, dancers in India, drag queens in New York, and more - Eyeliner embraces the rich history and significance of its namesake, especially among communities of colour. What emerges is a delightful, surprising, and unexpectedly moving journey through streets, stages, and bedrooms around the world, and a thought-provoking reclamation of a key piece of our collective history.
331 pages, Hardcover
First published November 14, 2023
About the author
Zahra Hankir
2 books298 followersZahra Hankir (زهرة حنقير) is a Lebanese-British journalist who writes about the intersection of politics, culture, and society in the Middle East. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Conde Nast Traveller, Guernica, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Los Angeles Times, Vice, BBC News, Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg Businessweek, Roads & Kingdoms, and Literary Hub, among others. She was awarded a Jack R. Howard Fellowship in International Journalism to attend Columbia Journalism School and holds degrees in politics and Middle Eastern studies from the American University of Beirut and the University of Manchester, respectively.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
March 21, 2024
shamelessly rating my own book
July 31, 2024
In her upcoming (Audiobook) - Eyeliner, Hankir takes the listener on an intriguing exploration of the world of eyeliner that extends beyond fashion to survey its cultural values and historical depth.
From its roots in ancient Egypt, where both women and men wore eyeliner, to Hankir's cultural inspiration from the bust of Nefertiti, the reader is taken on a journey that crosses various moments in social history, mixing personal anecdotes with broader social history. Hankir takes us on a journey across the Middle East, India, and Japan, peeling back the rich layers of tradition and symbolism embedded in this centuries-old cosmetic.
In Islamic cultures, where there is less tolerance of cosmetics, eyeliner has a unique historical acceptance, associated with the Prophet Muhammad's use of kohl to protect his eyes. In the Western world, eyeliner has been predominantly gendered as female and found its corner in certain corners of the queer community and diverse creativity.
The way in which Hankir (Author) tells this story explores how eyeliner shifts from empowerment to a tenant of cultural heritage, especially in which women of color start to engage in reclaiming their cultural lineage and reclaim the role of beauty in their own lives.
This story is an invitation to appreciate the global diversity and personal connections behind this collectively simple cosmetic. Although her writing is cogent and engaging, Hankir educates us to appreciate the heroic nature of eyeliner, taking listeners on an emotional and transformative journey that invites them to look at how eyeliner connects not just culturally but in deeply personal ways.
From its roots in ancient Egypt, where both women and men wore eyeliner, to Hankir's cultural inspiration from the bust of Nefertiti, the reader is taken on a journey that crosses various moments in social history, mixing personal anecdotes with broader social history. Hankir takes us on a journey across the Middle East, India, and Japan, peeling back the rich layers of tradition and symbolism embedded in this centuries-old cosmetic.
In Islamic cultures, where there is less tolerance of cosmetics, eyeliner has a unique historical acceptance, associated with the Prophet Muhammad's use of kohl to protect his eyes. In the Western world, eyeliner has been predominantly gendered as female and found its corner in certain corners of the queer community and diverse creativity.
The way in which Hankir (Author) tells this story explores how eyeliner shifts from empowerment to a tenant of cultural heritage, especially in which women of color start to engage in reclaiming their cultural lineage and reclaim the role of beauty in their own lives.
This story is an invitation to appreciate the global diversity and personal connections behind this collectively simple cosmetic. Although her writing is cogent and engaging, Hankir educates us to appreciate the heroic nature of eyeliner, taking listeners on an emotional and transformative journey that invites them to look at how eyeliner connects not just culturally but in deeply personal ways.
September 10, 2024
This book was so much fun to read. I loved walking through the history of beauty from so many different cultures and what it means to men, women, and third genders around the world, as well as drag queens, geisha, performers, and generally anyone who needs to put on armor or a persona. She somehow went as far back as Nefertiti and came back to modern day, circling much of the globe along the way, all the while addressing important topics like revolutions, suicide, deportation, homophobia, and cultural appropriation, among others. It was enough to make me want to go back to wearing makeup too (except I hate the nightly cleanup and constantly being afraid of an eye infection, but for a moment, I sure did want to try again 😂).
January 13, 2024
I love eyeliner in a way that mystifies me. Is it in my top three desert island frivolous cosmetics, not counting sunscreen? Yes. Am I particularly artful at applying it, or do I think it makes me look better? No, not at all! - but I still just like for it to Be There. If I had to choose between being eyeliner-free (or my least favorite expression of all time, “fresh-faced") or looking as though my eyeliner were applied in the dark with a fragile twig, which would I choose? The latter! If I were in a zombie or mushroom-based apocalypse and the only available potential eyeliner ingredients were a handful of used Lipton tea bags, half of an old squeeze bottle of Elmer’s school glue, and a dried up Crayola Pip-Squeak Washable Marker, would I opt to forgo or amateurly manufacture my own eyeliner? I think you know the answer. And I would especially require the empowerment of eyeliner in an apocalypse situation.
This excellent microhistory was incredibly validating in helping me to better understand my aforedescribed mystical relationship to eyeliner: It turns out I am far from alone, across the span of space and time! Through the ages and around the globe, lining the eyes with a variety of available substances has served purposes far beyond those of mere beauty and fashion. As this book details, eyeliner and its use have been heavily weighted with social, cultural, spiritual and religious, political, and biological/physiological significance and import, across age and gender and other identities. It’s been applied not just for “looks,” but for health and wellbeing, faith and fortune, communication, artistic expression, worship, ceremony and ritual, passing through life’s transitions, including into the great beyond - and yes, for personal empowerment, although not - YET - in the event of specifically fungal or zombie-centric catastrophe.
Tackling a universal social history of a very small and specific thing across an incredibly broad scope - this is the daunting task of the microhistorian, who must be armed with a strategy for the job. The author here chooses disparate chapters that each focus on a specific timeframe, place, culture, and context for use. For example, one chapter will have you in Ancient Egypt examining the origins of when Queen Nefertiti broke their version of the Internet. Other chapters focus on coming of age ceremonies in Africa, religious and political protest in the Arab World, and performance arts in Japan, India, and the USA (including a perhaps too short chapter on the art of Drag). One of my favorite chapters focuses on Chola culture in California, and another fave focuses more generally on popular music between roughly the 70s and 00s, with a central focus on Amy Winehouse.
For the most part, each chapter contains a more dissertation-like historical narrative component framed by a more journalistic, own-voices component in which the author presents info from interviewing someone involved in the culture described. I would describe this as a scholarly book rather than a pop culture-y book, perhaps except for the final chapters, and especially the very last one, which felt a little unfocused/trivial and “too recent” to be as timeless as the rest. (I am sorry, I’m just not yet willing to put any reality TV or social media “stars” up there with real queens like Nefertiti.)
May we mention the beautifully-designed cover here as well? This designer was given a Job to do and totally nailed it. I have this on Kindle, sadly, but this book + your coffee table or ottoman would probably make you the coolest person on the block. Or should I say, the Kohl-est…?
This excellent microhistory was incredibly validating in helping me to better understand my aforedescribed mystical relationship to eyeliner: It turns out I am far from alone, across the span of space and time! Through the ages and around the globe, lining the eyes with a variety of available substances has served purposes far beyond those of mere beauty and fashion. As this book details, eyeliner and its use have been heavily weighted with social, cultural, spiritual and religious, political, and biological/physiological significance and import, across age and gender and other identities. It’s been applied not just for “looks,” but for health and wellbeing, faith and fortune, communication, artistic expression, worship, ceremony and ritual, passing through life’s transitions, including into the great beyond - and yes, for personal empowerment, although not - YET - in the event of specifically fungal or zombie-centric catastrophe.
Tackling a universal social history of a very small and specific thing across an incredibly broad scope - this is the daunting task of the microhistorian, who must be armed with a strategy for the job. The author here chooses disparate chapters that each focus on a specific timeframe, place, culture, and context for use. For example, one chapter will have you in Ancient Egypt examining the origins of when Queen Nefertiti broke their version of the Internet. Other chapters focus on coming of age ceremonies in Africa, religious and political protest in the Arab World, and performance arts in Japan, India, and the USA (including a perhaps too short chapter on the art of Drag). One of my favorite chapters focuses on Chola culture in California, and another fave focuses more generally on popular music between roughly the 70s and 00s, with a central focus on Amy Winehouse.
For the most part, each chapter contains a more dissertation-like historical narrative component framed by a more journalistic, own-voices component in which the author presents info from interviewing someone involved in the culture described. I would describe this as a scholarly book rather than a pop culture-y book, perhaps except for the final chapters, and especially the very last one, which felt a little unfocused/trivial and “too recent” to be as timeless as the rest. (I am sorry, I’m just not yet willing to put any reality TV or social media “stars” up there with real queens like Nefertiti.)
May we mention the beautifully-designed cover here as well? This designer was given a Job to do and totally nailed it. I have this on Kindle, sadly, but this book + your coffee table or ottoman would probably make you the coolest person on the block. Or should I say, the Kohl-est…?
December 27, 2023
I am hesitant to share my feelings as I see that the author is going through comments here. Reviews by readers are for other readers, not authors. Once, I read a book about being blonde in which the author basically stated that being blonde was every good character trait, meaning most dark hair women were, by default of the leftover personalities, dull. The book went for a vague feeling over compelling arguments or history. The author found my review and told me that I was too stupid to understand her book. I mention this because Eyeliner is only slightly better at making its argument. (To her credit, this author seems much nicer than The Blonde.)
Eyeliner is a frustratingly repetitive book. It's divided by cultures: Iranian, Worso, Chola, drag, etc. I understand wanting to highlight separate people and their history with the product, but it results in quote after quote that can be summed up as “I like wearing eyeliner. It makes me feel pretty and powerful. It connects me to my heritage." That's wonderful, but it's an essay, not 11 hours of content. (As an aside, I had to speed up the book because the reader read every sentence in the exact same vocal pattern. I kept dozing off.)
Instead of dividing the book by geography, I wish it was divided by purpose. Chapters centered on creation, beauty, rebellion, religion, community, appropriation, etc would have included much of the same content, but would have cut down on repetative statements.
Even that wouldn't have saved this book though. The writing was sloppy, with the author occasionally, jarringly inserting herself in the narrative. That's just one form of filler. As other people have said, why was there an entire chapter on Amy Winehouse, going into details of her career and tragic death? Why not just talk about eyeliner in the music scene? To go into detail about her life and death felt not just off topic, but exploitative, especially when the very next chapter claims that white women wearing eyeliner is cultural appropriation. (Not the author’s assertion, but she did choose the quote.)
I did enjoy some parts of this book. I had no idea that kohl was used medicinally or that it promoted lash growth. The standout chapters (perhaps because they were early so they didn't feel repetitive) were about the Worso beauty pageant and eyeliner as political subversion in Iran.
Eyeliner is a frustratingly repetitive book. It's divided by cultures: Iranian, Worso, Chola, drag, etc. I understand wanting to highlight separate people and their history with the product, but it results in quote after quote that can be summed up as “I like wearing eyeliner. It makes me feel pretty and powerful. It connects me to my heritage." That's wonderful, but it's an essay, not 11 hours of content. (As an aside, I had to speed up the book because the reader read every sentence in the exact same vocal pattern. I kept dozing off.)
Instead of dividing the book by geography, I wish it was divided by purpose. Chapters centered on creation, beauty, rebellion, religion, community, appropriation, etc would have included much of the same content, but would have cut down on repetative statements.
Even that wouldn't have saved this book though. The writing was sloppy, with the author occasionally, jarringly inserting herself in the narrative. That's just one form of filler. As other people have said, why was there an entire chapter on Amy Winehouse, going into details of her career and tragic death? Why not just talk about eyeliner in the music scene? To go into detail about her life and death felt not just off topic, but exploitative, especially when the very next chapter claims that white women wearing eyeliner is cultural appropriation. (Not the author’s assertion, but she did choose the quote.)
I did enjoy some parts of this book. I had no idea that kohl was used medicinally or that it promoted lash growth. The standout chapters (perhaps because they were early so they didn't feel repetitive) were about the Worso beauty pageant and eyeliner as political subversion in Iran.
June 1, 2024
I really, really enjoyed this history of eyeliner!
I DNF'd the print book because it wasn't holding me, but I'm so happy that my library purchased the audiobook so I could listen through Libby. What a gamechanger. Listening to nonfiction is the best.
Anywho, this is a lovely overview of how various cultures and cross-sections of humanity wear eyeliner. The history, purpose and meaning behind this most (seemingly) simplistic of make-up options.
A microhistory that shouldn't be overlooked.
I DNF'd the print book because it wasn't holding me, but I'm so happy that my library purchased the audiobook so I could listen through Libby. What a gamechanger. Listening to nonfiction is the best.
Anywho, this is a lovely overview of how various cultures and cross-sections of humanity wear eyeliner. The history, purpose and meaning behind this most (seemingly) simplistic of make-up options.
A microhistory that shouldn't be overlooked.
March 25, 2024
You’re going to an abandoned island and you’re allowed to bring three items with you. What do you choose? I’m going with an eyebrow pencil, eyeliner, and idk - a book? I often hear lots of judgy people pointing out if a woman uses eyeliner at the gym, but to be fair, I used to (I do my eyebrows though haha). The pandemic changed things, but eyeliner is something I still need (?) to wear if I’m going to be seen by humans.
Anywhoo - this is a book about eyeliner in different cultures, Hankir does fieldwork amongst the bedouin, Iranian women, Muslim women around the world, the Chicano and Black communities in the US, Japan, drag queens, etc. and talks about what type of product they use to color the eyes and how relevant it is for the community regardless of gender. I saw this book and I was like ‘it’s about eyeliner, I need to read it.’ It was more of an inside joke and I am surprised and amazed at everything I learnt.
I appreciated Zahra Hankir’s book because 1) I’m not alone (and if we’re all crazy, it’s a whole bunch of us). 2) Eyeliner is so cool. I had no idea other cultures used other products (I guess tattoos and henna were all I knew about), but knowing kohl protects the eyes from the sun and has medical properties (!!!) was really cool. I may buy kohl and try it out. Knowing how eyeliner is tied to female empowerment and feminist movements in countries like Iran was maybe not surprising but also interesting. As well as how some countries only allow eyeliner usage for women as long as they aren’t trying to attract men and then comparing it to the main body of the text, in which Hankir brilliantly connects the identity of a woman with her eyeliner. To the point that some cultures used to bury women with kohl and powders for their eye make-up. It was just so interesting.
I offer a special mention to my favorite bit in the book: the Néstor Carbonell reference haha Néstor doesn’t use eyeliner and I love how he has to go to interviews to say it. In LOST, Sawyer once pointed at him and said something like ‘your buddy out there with the eyeliner’. It just made me crack up. I love Néstor.
Fun fact: I’ve broken my right arm and the first thing I discovered the day after is that, yup, I cannot do my eyeliner with my left hand. So what am I doing? Not leaving the house, yeah haha This was honestly the perfect read for these trying times.
Anywhoo - this is a book about eyeliner in different cultures, Hankir does fieldwork amongst the bedouin, Iranian women, Muslim women around the world, the Chicano and Black communities in the US, Japan, drag queens, etc. and talks about what type of product they use to color the eyes and how relevant it is for the community regardless of gender. I saw this book and I was like ‘it’s about eyeliner, I need to read it.’ It was more of an inside joke and I am surprised and amazed at everything I learnt.
I appreciated Zahra Hankir’s book because 1) I’m not alone (and if we’re all crazy, it’s a whole bunch of us). 2) Eyeliner is so cool. I had no idea other cultures used other products (I guess tattoos and henna were all I knew about), but knowing kohl protects the eyes from the sun and has medical properties (!!!) was really cool. I may buy kohl and try it out. Knowing how eyeliner is tied to female empowerment and feminist movements in countries like Iran was maybe not surprising but also interesting. As well as how some countries only allow eyeliner usage for women as long as they aren’t trying to attract men and then comparing it to the main body of the text, in which Hankir brilliantly connects the identity of a woman with her eyeliner. To the point that some cultures used to bury women with kohl and powders for their eye make-up. It was just so interesting.
I offer a special mention to my favorite bit in the book: the Néstor Carbonell reference haha Néstor doesn’t use eyeliner and I love how he has to go to interviews to say it. In LOST, Sawyer once pointed at him and said something like ‘your buddy out there with the eyeliner’. It just made me crack up. I love Néstor.
Fun fact: I’ve broken my right arm and the first thing I discovered the day after is that, yup, I cannot do my eyeliner with my left hand. So what am I doing? Not leaving the house, yeah haha This was honestly the perfect read for these trying times.
November 11, 2023
There are elements of Zahra Hankir’s study of eyeliner that take an interesting perspective on an often underappreciated historical subject. The use of cosmetics by Iranian women, and how far it can be seen as a political act, along with the use of kohl by Jordanian men and the increase in eyeliner sales in the West inspired by the bust of Nefertiti are all thought-provoking chapters. However, at times the book veers from a history of eyeliner to a history of people who have worn eyeliner, but as part of a wider aesthetic. The chapters on drag queens and Amy Winehouse are interesting in their own right, but have little to say about the history of eyeliner itself, leaving the book feeling unfocused and perhaps a little thin.
Reviewed for the Press Association.
Reviewed for the Press Association.
November 2, 2023
AHHH! What a perfect book to read to kick off Non-Fiction November. I am such a massive fan of women's stories and women throughout history. Eyeliner by Zahra Hankir did an excellent job of encapsulating those historical reclamations through time as women everywhere and anywhere have utilized makeup, specifically eyeliner, as cultural and personal exhibitions and exclamations of defining themselves. Eyeliner hits shelves on November 14, 2023, and I'm so eager to pick up more works from this author and expand my horizons on women and how they project their beings.
From Drag Queens to Pirates of Jordanian cultures to icons such as Amy Winehouse and Kylie Jenner, eyeliner is such a profoundly utilized piece of feminine equipment that is both tough to master and easy to put your character into, making it yours and true. I really enjoyed learning about the many cultural groups that paint their faces for ethnic dressing and traditions, allowing me to love women more for all of their qualities.
From Drag Queens to Pirates of Jordanian cultures to icons such as Amy Winehouse and Kylie Jenner, eyeliner is such a profoundly utilized piece of feminine equipment that is both tough to master and easy to put your character into, making it yours and true. I really enjoyed learning about the many cultural groups that paint their faces for ethnic dressing and traditions, allowing me to love women more for all of their qualities.
August 11, 2024
I have used eyeliner and/or kajal since I was in my teens to accentuate my eyes. I always felt and continue to feel to this day that darkening my eyes with eyeliner brings my face into focus. I like looking at myself in the mirror. Most of my baby pictures show my eyes lined with kajal with a black dot on my forehead to ward off evil eye. Being Indian, I grew up knowing the importance of kajol in both Hindu and Muslim cultures but I never knew about the various meanings, implications, and symbolism of this dark powder for eyes amongst different ethnicities, tribes, communities all across the world.
April 30, 2024
Westernized ideas of beauty are often dumb and boring, and you see that when you look at an everyday cosmetic, like eyeliner, through another culture's lens. This cultural history traces some of the origins of eyeliner (spoiler: not white people!) and its many uses, including improving health and well-being, ritual, and religion. It's addictive, not just for its aesthetic properties, but its healing and symbolic ones, too.
For someone who came to eyeliner, and most makeup, extremely late in life, this was a cool microhistory.
For someone who came to eyeliner, and most makeup, extremely late in life, this was a cool microhistory.
June 7, 2024
Is there any nonfiction better than a deep dive into a familiar but overlooked topic? The author took a ubiquitous thing and full explored the cultural significance of eyeliner as a spiritual, personal, medical, and historical choice across multiple cultures. I loved the attention to detail and wide variety of perspectives profiled here, from Egyptian or Persian tradition going back generations to modern influencers like Huda Kattan and the proliferation of drag makeup. Everything was handled with grace and respect, leaving no relevant question uncovered. Telling these stories in such a conversational way made them resonate deeply and personally, and I found myself actively listening to this much more than I expected. This is how you show diversity and make a statement cohesively (and with excellent eye makeup)!
Content warning for general bigotry (misogyny, homophobia, racism), discussions of suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, death, and mental illness.
Content warning for general bigotry (misogyny, homophobia, racism), discussions of suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, death, and mental illness.
May 17, 2024
This is such a fun and breezy read! But at the same time, informative and nuanced with great attention to historical accounts + contemporary beauty debates at the nexus of race, class, and subcultures.
October 23, 2023
This is a history book on eyeliner. How many different cultures use it to outline their eyes both men and women. I don't wear make-up but I enjoyed reading the history and significance of eyeliner.
January 24, 2024
fun, interesting, unique, and informative!
July 19, 2024
Some parts are really interesting and insightful and some parts bored me!
May 30, 2024
i truly felt like i was being walked through time, countries, and makeup routines with Hankir’s guidance and excellent use of fact sprinkled with engaging commentary. she went from the macro scale of geopolitical to the deeply personal deftly and with great personal care. i will never look at eyeliner the same and i thank her for that.
January 21, 2024
This book validated my feelings about eyeliner being more about power than beauty and was sooooo much fun to read as a lifelong eyeliner addict. I also learned so much and appreciate the talented storytelling of Zahra Hankir. Can’t wait to read more from her!
December 23, 2023
Fascinating subject and something I would never thought to think that deeply about!
May 1, 2024
I learned a lot about the cultural and social significance of eyeliner, and I got some hot tea on historical figures 💅✨ What's not to love about that?!
100% recommended
100% recommended
June 8, 2024
Really enjoyed this. Definitely worth a read for anyone interested in the global history of makeup.
My favorite tidbit from this book by far was the discussion of how Heian Period architecture in Japan was intertwined with makeup trends and gender roles of the era.
My favorite tidbit from this book by far was the discussion of how Heian Period architecture in Japan was intertwined with makeup trends and gender roles of the era.
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May 16, 2024Finished my first audiobook!! I definitely would have rather read this physically as I noticed I don’t follow nonfiction through just listening, but having said that, it was so cool to learn about so many different cultures in this book. I really enjoyed feeling like I traveled all around the world and all throughout time by reading this!
March 20, 2024
The chapters that were interesting were good, but I did skip like half of it because some of the chapters made me a little uncomfy, specifically the ones about cultures different than the author's own which at times read to me as a bit exoticizing. What I didn���t realize going into it is that each chapter is fully separate from all the other chapters, so it doesn't read like a cultural history and more is just a handful of deep dives into how eyeliner is used in certain cultural contexts. There isn't even a conclusion which attempts to connect the chapters into some greater through line. It just kind of ends talking about instagram influencers and eyeliner. Would recommend just reading the chapters that are interesting but not trying to take it all in as one thing.
April 29, 2024
*sigh* i really wanted to like this book. Her previous book was phenomenal and the eyeliner theme seemed quite catchy.
The research is extensive and mostly well delivered. I have learned a lot and i do appreciate that. However, most of the writing was redundant and the editing could have been much better. The preface gave me a bad impression from the start, that i tried to shake off while reading the rest of the book: I dont really care that people think the author looks like queen nefertiti (she goes on about it for pages)… I generally wish there was less personal narrative !
The research is extensive and mostly well delivered. I have learned a lot and i do appreciate that. However, most of the writing was redundant and the editing could have been much better. The preface gave me a bad impression from the start, that i tried to shake off while reading the rest of the book: I dont really care that people think the author looks like queen nefertiti (she goes on about it for pages)… I generally wish there was less personal narrative !
February 4, 2024
Beautifully written and thoroughly researched. Zahra Hankir really created a book that makes me feel seen, and reflected parts of my culture as well as others to me. First book of the year, starting strong 🐈⬛
January 18, 2024
i’m so obsessed with this book. it spans cultures, centuries, genders, and more. i can’t even say anything that would do it justice.
March 24, 2024
Conceptually? Cool
Writen-ly? Snooze
Writen-ly? Snooze
July 22, 2024
I was so looking forward to this book and I just felt kinda meh about it. I wanted something more like Salt (the history of salt book) but instead got sort of the author's musings on a bunch of different cultures that all use eyeliner. It was interesting; but it was more like a cultural review instead of a history history.
“It was as if I could finally see myself. As if I had somehow come into focus.” (first time wearing eyeliner)
“The origin of the word alcohol in English is from the Arabic [for coal] Al kahal. Al kahal became how Europeans used to refer to spirits around the 17th century because of how coal was produced.”
“Wearing less makeup is something of a class distinction in Iran. The old upper-middle class wears less. The new post-1979 middle class, which is the former culturally working class, wears loads. So this dynamic also muddles the notion of makeup as disobedience or resistance. Or perhaps is another layer of it?”
“Given the importance of aesthetics, the makeup class is as rigorous as the dance and theory classes.”
“Geiko get paid at the end of every month via invoices that are referred to as ‘love letters’.”
“According to Ishida the growing focus on eye power was partly spurred by westernization and the proliferation of western beauty ideals as well as the idea that people would need to improve their appearances if they were to optimize their lives and be successful in their careers.”
“The media often portrayed [Amy] Winehouse as ‘a trainwreck’, its default for women celebrities who fall short of perfection.”
“...instagram face. A term popularized by Gia Tolentino in a 2019 New Yorker article. ‘A single cyborgian face that is distinctly white but ambiguously ethnic’.”
“Simultaneously beautifying and distorting the face.” (of facetune usage)
“It was as if I could finally see myself. As if I had somehow come into focus.” (first time wearing eyeliner)
“The origin of the word alcohol in English is from the Arabic [for coal] Al kahal. Al kahal became how Europeans used to refer to spirits around the 17th century because of how coal was produced.”
“Wearing less makeup is something of a class distinction in Iran. The old upper-middle class wears less. The new post-1979 middle class, which is the former culturally working class, wears loads. So this dynamic also muddles the notion of makeup as disobedience or resistance. Or perhaps is another layer of it?”
“Given the importance of aesthetics, the makeup class is as rigorous as the dance and theory classes.”
“Geiko get paid at the end of every month via invoices that are referred to as ‘love letters’.”
“According to Ishida the growing focus on eye power was partly spurred by westernization and the proliferation of western beauty ideals as well as the idea that people would need to improve their appearances if they were to optimize their lives and be successful in their careers.”
“The media often portrayed [Amy] Winehouse as ‘a trainwreck’, its default for women celebrities who fall short of perfection.”
“...instagram face. A term popularized by Gia Tolentino in a 2019 New Yorker article. ‘A single cyborgian face that is distinctly white but ambiguously ethnic’.”
“Simultaneously beautifying and distorting the face.” (of facetune usage)
April 29, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this blend of sociopolitical history with fashion and beauty history - nothing exists in a vacuum and eyeliner is no different.
Each chapter works as a standalone, exploring the importance and impact of eyeliner (or various types of it) in different culture/community, including ancient and modern Egypt, Iran (Persia), drag communities, geishas in Japan, cholas in the USA, and more.
The artwork at the front of each chapter was lovely too.
If you have an interest in beauty/cultural history, I definitely recommend.
Each chapter works as a standalone, exploring the importance and impact of eyeliner (or various types of it) in different culture/community, including ancient and modern Egypt, Iran (Persia), drag communities, geishas in Japan, cholas in the USA, and more.
The artwork at the front of each chapter was lovely too.
If you have an interest in beauty/cultural history, I definitely recommend.
July 3, 2024
This was such a fun, yet informative history read. I appreciated the scope it covered — ranging from ancient Egypt to modernity, across cultures, genders and class. It was cool to see some common historical threads in so many people in places, from Nefertiti to Chola culture.
My one critique is some sections were just much more fleshed out. I kind of wish it was more balanced in the level of information on each demographic covered in that sense. But still cool, nonetheless.
My one critique is some sections were just much more fleshed out. I kind of wish it was more balanced in the level of information on each demographic covered in that sense. But still cool, nonetheless.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews