There was a substance named kohl in Egypt thousands years ago. It was used to darken eyes, eyelashes and eyebrows by ancient people. Kohl contained charcoal, soot, honey and water. Moreover kohl was used in Babylonian, Greek and Roman empires. In Victorian times women made great efforts to create long and dark eyelashes. They made their own mascara. It was a mixture of ash and juice. Victorian women tried to draw their eyelashes with its help. The product that we know as mascara today was invented by the English merchant Eugene Rimmel in the middle of the XIX century. Nowadays the word ‘rimmel’ means " mascara" in several languages, including Portuguese, Turkish, Romanian, etc. The word “ mascara” comes from the Italian word “maschera”, which means “mask”.

But history of mascara didn’t finish with this fact. Modern mascara was created in 1913 by a chemist Terry L. Williams for his sister Maybel. That time it was a mixture of coal and petroleum jelly. Williams began selling a new product by the mail. But he as well as Eugene Rimmel failed their attempts to make mascara popular, because it was extremely messy. But among famous actresses such as Theda Bara, Pola Negri, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich it became very popular, as it made eyes bright, expressive and glamorous. Then average women began to mimic them while using this product. In 1957 Helena Rubinstein created the new mascara in a tube with a brush. It was very convenient. And therefore the mascara in tubes quickly gained popularity in the market.