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Inventing Beauty: A History of the Innovations that Have Made Us Beautiful
There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.
—Helena Rubinstein
In this fascinating, meticulously researched romp through the annals of the beauty industry, New York Times patents columnist Teresa Riordan throws back the curtain on a century of shrewd, canny women who have knowingly deployed artifice in a ceaseless battle to captivate the inherently roving eye of the male.
When it comes to the opposite sex, males from many species are easily deceived. Male fireflies will flirt with flashlights. So is it any surprise that the male of the human species has been fooled by lips painted cherry red and breasts built up into silicone summits? Riordan explores that strange intersection of science, fashion, and business where beauty is engineered and finds that, for generations, social trends and technological innovations have fueled a nonstop assembly line of potions and contraptions that women have enthusiastically put to use in the quest for feminine flawlessness.
We learn why the first lipsticks were orange. Why respectable women used the first vibrators not just for naughtiness but also to eradicate their wrinkles. Why the bustle started small but ultimately grew so impressive that a proper lady could balance an entire tea service on her rump. And why, but for mascara, Greta Garbo might have been just another chunky Swede with bad teeth.
Beauty inventions, Teresa Riordan has found, can put the resourceful and the imaginative on an even playing field with the congenitally beautiful. Countless women have pushed, pulled, tweezed, squeezed, and spackled themselves into synthetic loveliness. Inventing Beauty is a delightful history of that noble effort, from head to tail.
—Helena Rubinstein
In this fascinating, meticulously researched romp through the annals of the beauty industry, New York Times patents columnist Teresa Riordan throws back the curtain on a century of shrewd, canny women who have knowingly deployed artifice in a ceaseless battle to captivate the inherently roving eye of the male.
When it comes to the opposite sex, males from many species are easily deceived. Male fireflies will flirt with flashlights. So is it any surprise that the male of the human species has been fooled by lips painted cherry red and breasts built up into silicone summits? Riordan explores that strange intersection of science, fashion, and business where beauty is engineered and finds that, for generations, social trends and technological innovations have fueled a nonstop assembly line of potions and contraptions that women have enthusiastically put to use in the quest for feminine flawlessness.
We learn why the first lipsticks were orange. Why respectable women used the first vibrators not just for naughtiness but also to eradicate their wrinkles. Why the bustle started small but ultimately grew so impressive that a proper lady could balance an entire tea service on her rump. And why, but for mascara, Greta Garbo might have been just another chunky Swede with bad teeth.
Beauty inventions, Teresa Riordan has found, can put the resourceful and the imaginative on an even playing field with the congenitally beautiful. Countless women have pushed, pulled, tweezed, squeezed, and spackled themselves into synthetic loveliness. Inventing Beauty is a delightful history of that noble effort, from head to tail.
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2004
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136 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 12, 2017
See my other reviews at Never Enough Books
“There are no ugly women, just lazy ones.” – Helena Rubenstein
In the battle of the sexes, women have employed any number of potions and contraptions to catch the eye and win the hand. From corsets and crinolines to lipstick and hair dye, shrewd and canny women (and sometimes men) have used every means at their disposal in the quest for feminine flawlessness.
New York Times columnist Teresa Riodran delves in to the history of many of these incredible inventions. She explores that strange yet interesting intersection of fashion, business, and science. Where social trends often fueled technological innovations. And where beauty inventions have sought to put the imaginative and resourceful woman on an even playing field with the conventionally beautiful.
As a woman rapidly approaching 40 (kicking and screaming), I have found the subject of beauty and self care more and more interesting over the years. As something of a history buff, the history behind the subject is equally fascinating. To find a book that combines the two made for me a delightful read.
What could easily have been something dry and boring is instead made quite interesting with Riordan’s well researched and often amusing writing. It is obvious she finds the subject of beauty and the history behind it fascinating and she brings that to her writing. Each chapter is devoted to one aspect of appearance that women have focused on; hair, skin, nails, etc. Chapters are even devoted to the bust and the behind!
I found Inventing Beauty to be an informative read. While she concentrated on mainly the American/English aspect of beauty inventions and focused on a mere 100 years, it is a well thought out and well executed tome. I would love to read more on the subject going back further and potentially focusing on other cultures, but that will likely be another book at another time.
This is not the book for every reader as not every person finds the history of beauty interesting. Those who do (like myself) would do well to pick this book up and give it a read. It casts new light on what we women have done in the name of style and shows how primping and preening never really go out of fashion.
“There are no ugly women, just lazy ones.” – Helena Rubenstein
In the battle of the sexes, women have employed any number of potions and contraptions to catch the eye and win the hand. From corsets and crinolines to lipstick and hair dye, shrewd and canny women (and sometimes men) have used every means at their disposal in the quest for feminine flawlessness.
New York Times columnist Teresa Riodran delves in to the history of many of these incredible inventions. She explores that strange yet interesting intersection of fashion, business, and science. Where social trends often fueled technological innovations. And where beauty inventions have sought to put the imaginative and resourceful woman on an even playing field with the conventionally beautiful.
As a woman rapidly approaching 40 (kicking and screaming), I have found the subject of beauty and self care more and more interesting over the years. As something of a history buff, the history behind the subject is equally fascinating. To find a book that combines the two made for me a delightful read.
What could easily have been something dry and boring is instead made quite interesting with Riordan’s well researched and often amusing writing. It is obvious she finds the subject of beauty and the history behind it fascinating and she brings that to her writing. Each chapter is devoted to one aspect of appearance that women have focused on; hair, skin, nails, etc. Chapters are even devoted to the bust and the behind!
I found Inventing Beauty to be an informative read. While she concentrated on mainly the American/English aspect of beauty inventions and focused on a mere 100 years, it is a well thought out and well executed tome. I would love to read more on the subject going back further and potentially focusing on other cultures, but that will likely be another book at another time.
This is not the book for every reader as not every person finds the history of beauty interesting. Those who do (like myself) would do well to pick this book up and give it a read. It casts new light on what we women have done in the name of style and shows how primping and preening never really go out of fashion.
April 23, 2021
An excellent survey on the different technologies related to the concept of beauty. Riordan's dry humour made me outright laugh a couple times, and their tongue-in-cheek approach to what did or didn't work and what laid the groundwork for the next level of technological development allowed me to make connections across history which I haven't before. I enjoy watching the Queens of Historical Fashion on Youtube (Abby Cox, Karolina Zebrowska, Bernadette Banner, etc); if this was a university course, I would place "Inventing Beauty" on the supplemental readings list as it helps provide a somewhat linear line of the evolution of fashions and beauty from a technological perspective.
May 7, 2007
Very interesting. Turns out evil men really DID invent pantyhose - bastards.
July 6, 2017
While plodding at times, it's an invaluable read pertaining to the evolution of the beauty and fashion industries, chronicling the evolution of such things as: the corset, facelift, nail polish, breast enlargement, lipstick and more. Meticulous in research. The only real drawback is the author skips around a bit and the reader isn't always certain as to what time period is being referenced, nor is it always clear when certain drawings or ads date from. Overall it's a welcome addition to consumer studies.
May 13, 2020
Ignorant of it's own biases, not enjoyable to read
September 12, 2015
A very interesting and fun read. Highly informative and entertaining at the same time. There is so much information packed into this book it could easily have been a heavy, dry read, but it was not at all! It has a nice fluidity, story-telling elements, and bits of funny commentary that make it a fun, easy read. Each chapter focuses on a particular area on/of the body or face (as in lips, eyes, hair etc.). Each chapter goes into as much detail as it can within the limited amount of pages.
The book has a good amount of pictures consisting mainly of ads (which I personally enjoyed a lot) and (mostly) patent drawings. I found the patent drawings interesting but pretty hideous, they're just very ugly cartoons. They left me wishing there had been some more pretty pictures to counterbalance the ugly (it's a beauty book after all!). I won't complain too much though, since the usual complaint is that beauty books have too many pretty pictures and not much information.
Pictures notwithstanding, the book has a wealth of text and visual information about the history and evolution of beauty standards based on beauty inventions patented from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. I learned, and giggled, a lot!
As a side note, I found myself googling a lot of people, places, and things being referenced in the book as I read. There are many interesting things that are not illustrated in the book and so I encourage you do to the same!
The book has a good amount of pictures consisting mainly of ads (which I personally enjoyed a lot) and (mostly) patent drawings. I found the patent drawings interesting but pretty hideous, they're just very ugly cartoons. They left me wishing there had been some more pretty pictures to counterbalance the ugly (it's a beauty book after all!). I won't complain too much though, since the usual complaint is that beauty books have too many pretty pictures and not much information.
Pictures notwithstanding, the book has a wealth of text and visual information about the history and evolution of beauty standards based on beauty inventions patented from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. I learned, and giggled, a lot!
As a side note, I found myself googling a lot of people, places, and things being referenced in the book as I read. There are many interesting things that are not illustrated in the book and so I encourage you do to the same!
Read
July 25, 20112005- I thought the portions of the book dealing with makeup to be the most interesting. What some women put themselves through! I definitely saw some parallels to our society today. Yet when it came to the chapters about hair removal and clothing, I was bored senseless. Is it, however, fascinating to see how our definition of ""beauty"" has changed over the years. I especially like the old advertisements and pictures the author included. Not bad, but those not specifically interested in women's clothing styles of years past may be a bit bored in some sections.
October 14, 2014
I thought I would find a few sections of this useful for my research, and started reading without much interest in the book generally. After three pages I was hooked -- Riordan's book not only offers a fascinating perspective on how the technologies of beauty have developed throughout the past 150 years but she does so in a way that is incredibly readable and frequently lightly humorous. A genuinely interesting and enjoyable book.
June 29, 2007
I was expecting something more academic. BUT it was very interesting overall, some parts more than others. Four stars because the topic intrigues me and many "I've always wondered" questions were put to rest.
March 1, 2016
Eh, the history of items such as mascara and lipstick was pretty fascinating but the rest kind of lagged.
May 30, 2010
Read review at:
http://letitread.blogspot.com/2010/05...
http://letitread.blogspot.com/2010/05...
March 11, 2012
A lot more interesting than you’d think & fun to skim. The illustrations (everything from the first patent of a mascara applicator to bustles through the ages) are fascinating.
June 11, 2014
her thoughts on vanity and on women's behavior in general were spot on and I was glad I picked up the book.
February 7, 2015
Extremely interesting book on where beauty inventions came from. Planning to read it again soon.
August 22, 2014
Fascinating.
Not sure I agree with the premise, but it's not unreasonable.
Not sure I agree with the premise, but it's not unreasonable.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews