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Egyptian women and even men and children were known to wear dark eye makeup called kohl. Makeup around the eye was not only cosmetic, but it was functional as well. It served as a barrier against the sharp sun, acted as fly deterrent and even helped against eye diseases.
Makeup consisting of powdered grey galena (lead ore) and green copper oxide was mixed together on palettes from especially the early periods. The famous early palettes used by pharaohs such as Narmer (3000 BCE) was more ceremonial. An example within the Iziko collection is the palette in the shape of a fish which dates from 3150-3050 BCE and was excavated by Petrie and Guy Brunton.
In the middle of the Old Kingdom kohl was mixed with water in a small pot and used as makeup. The alabaster makeup pot was found in Rigga and dates from the 12th Dynasty (1795 BCE).
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A cosmetic palette in the shape of a fish dating from 3150-3050 BCE.
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The alabaster makeup pot was found in Rigga dating from the 12th Dynasty.
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