Exploring Ancient Roman Makeup

 While researching and making Roman cosmetics, I realized that very little has changed when it comes to beauty. They found the smooth complexion, rosy cheeks, and dark eyes to be considered beautiful, which is still popular today, It doesn't surprise me that what is considered hasn't changed much because these components are flattering and highlight a woman's facial features.

i found the process of making the cosmetics to be a lot more difficult and messy than I assumed. The oil and beeswax were difficult to mix. The wax took a while to melt because every time I pulled it out of the microwave, it would cool and harden very quickly, so it took a couple times to get the majority of the wax in the container. Oil got everywhere when I tried to stir the two ingredients. The eyeshadow took a long time to make because getting a good amount of soot is hard to do, especially when I was only burning a tiny little popsicle stick. The process of burning the spoon and scraping the soot off was very inefficient because I did not have the right tools for getting it off the metal. I hardly got any of that soot, so that's why I just left the burn marks on the spoon and rubbed it off with my finger as I presented my project.

I think of myself as a pretty creative person, so this project was a lot of fun for me. I love painting, sculpting, and drawing in my free time, but it was hard for me to think of a project that I could do with those things. Making the makeup was a good choice because I was able to be creative and make something while applying chemistry, which is my area of study, so it was two topics in one.

Presenting my makeup was fun, because I felt like I had something to show and demonstrate. It was a bit messy and my hand was covered in makeup at the end, but I liked showing everybody that my makeup actually worked. i liked mixing in the chemistry behind everything that I had made. If I didn't , I don't think I would have as much to talk about.

Overall, this was a great project for me. It was something different, and it kept me sane while I wrote papers and studied for exams. Due to my majors and minors, I do not have room for art classes, so this allowed me to be creative and it pulled me away from the equations and definitions for a bit. I really hope I get to do more projects like this in the future.