Dangerous eye makeup
If you’ve ever seen Ancient Egyptian paintings and carvings, then the chances are that you’ve noticed how much they liked to emphasize their eyes. This was more than just a trend. It’s believed that people were trying to honor the ancient god Horus while also protecting themselves from the evil eye. They achieved the look by using a mineral-based makeup called kohl.
They would apply it around their eyes and in their eyebrows to make them seem as dramatic as possible. Plenty of people used kohl, but the wealthy kept theirs in specially decorated boxes. They were even buried with the stuff. Sadly, it was eventually discovered that the kohl contained a high amount of lead and would have been toxic to use on the skin.
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