In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, both men and women used various minerals and substances, including ground lapis lazuli, to create vibrant blue eye colors. During the Middle Ages, makeup was associated with vanity and immorality, and its use declined in many parts of the world. However, blue eyeshadow experienced a renaissance during the Renaissance period (no pun intended), especially among the upper classes since blue paint was so expensive to create; Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo rarely used blue in their paintings due to its high cost. Those who could afford it used blue eyeshadow to enhance the eyes and create a more youthful appearance.
Blue eyeshadow looks kicked off in the 1960s, in part thanks to the increased accessibility of colored film, both in photography and movies. Hollywood was able to easily bask in a cinemascope world filled with bright colors that were not initially possible when film was strictly black and white. Elizabeth Taylor’s starring role in Cleopatra created one of the most famous makeup looks in film history with its daring eyeliner and blue-covered eyelids. Models like Twiggy embraced the mod style of the time and wore blue cut-crease eye looks that have been immortalized in beauty history. And of course, the first Barbie, which was released in 1959, and the Barbie dolls that came for much of the 1960s sported blue eyeliner with a bold red lip.
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