Max Factor Essay

586 Words3 Pages
Max Factor, now the most famous name in Western cosmetics, was born in Lodz, Poland, in 1877, and began his career as an apprentice to a wig maker. By 20, he was running his own makeup shop. Max Factor travelled to the United Sates in 1902 and took his family to the St. Louis World's Fair. They never returned. He began selling hair goods, imported cosmetics and stage greasepaints to local stage actors in St. Louis. As his local fame spread, actors from the emerging film industry also came to Max for make-up advice. Thus, the motion picture industry, then beginning in Hollywood, beckoned. He settled in Los Angeles with his family in 1909 and got a job with the Pantages Theatre. By 1914, he was perfecting make up for the movies. He had improvised a new alternative to dye greasepaint, which he thought looked dreadful and 'terrifying' on the screen. He formed flexible greasepaint, which was the first make up created for film. It helped make actresses look more natural in close up. His most notable clients were Mary Pickford, Jean Harlow, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Judy Garland, all of whom became regular visitors at his salons. In 1918, he developed his 'colour harmony' face powder range, which allowed him to create make up for each individual based on their skin tones, due to the wide range of shades on offer. Creating false eyelashes, the eyebrow pencil, lip gloss, and pancake make up, Factor created a whole new language for screen cosmetics. Inevitably, once the actresses had been made to look so stylish on screen, they wanted to maintain the same effect in everyday life, so they wore the new Max Factor 'make up' in personal appearances. Soon, women unconnected with the theatre or the film industry were asking for the make up, so that they too could look glamorous. By the 1920s, Max's sons were heavily involved in the business with

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