The Ultimate Makeup Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
2 min
The Ultimate Makeup Quiz
Image: Hemera/Thinkstock

About This Quiz

There's a lot of talk these days about makeup ingredients. Are they natural? Are they harmful? Are they tested on animals? If you knew what women used to put on their faces, though, maybe you wouldn't be so worried about the ingredients in your new lip gloss. Hey, it might not be 100 percent organic, but at least it won't slowly kill you, right?
The ancient Egyptians made the first makeup out of ________.
copper and lead
zinc and copper
silver and lead
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Copper and lead ore were the ingredients in the earliest cosmetics.

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Why did the Egyptians wear eye makeup?
for good luck
for good health
to ward off evil spirits
to attract the opposite sex
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The thick kohl eyeliner sported by ancient Egyptians was said to ward off evil spirits and improve eyesight.

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What type of makeup did the ancient Chinese wear as a symbol of social status?
face powder
red blush
lipstick
fingernail polish
eyeliner
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was more fingernail stain than polish in those days, but the lower classes were forbidden to wear bright nail color. Members of the Chou dynasty stained their nails gold or silver.

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What did ancient Roman women use to lighten their skin?
chlorine bleach
chalk
talcum powder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Romans had a pretty extensive range of makeup to choose from, including face-lightening creams made with chalk.

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Women from the ancient Roman period through the Renaissance used drops from this poisonous plant to dilate their pupils, making them look sexually aroused.
oleander
belladonna
poison oak
larkspur
bleeding heart
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

One theory holds that belladonna got its name, "beautiful lady," from the women who unknowingly poisoned themselves in the name of cosmetic enhancement.

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Queen Elizabeth I of England's signature thick white makeup probably contained this harmful ingredient.
lanolin
titanium
lead
chlorine
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

White lead paint was de rigueur for fashionable women in Elizabeth's day. It also most likely contained arsenic.

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The first mascara was named after the sister of its inventor and spawned this makeup line.
Estée Lauder
L'Oreal
Maybelline
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

T.L. Williams watched his sister, Mabel, apply petroleum jelly and coal dust to her eyelashes and knew there had to be a better way. Soon, mascara (and, eventually, Maybelline) was born.

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In the early 1900s, George 'the Beauty Doctor' Burchett made a career out of tattooing this on women's faces.
lipstick
eyeliner
blush
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The success rate for Dr. Burchett's tattooed lipstick was apparently a little spotty (and can you even imagine the pain?), but women flocked to him.

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What's the world's largest makeup company?
Revlon
L'Oreal
Estée Lauder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

French giant L'Oreal owns Maybelline and Lancome, among others, and commands a 22 percent share of the worldwide cosmetics market.

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What cosmetics brand owns the M.A.C and Bobbi Brown makeup lines?
Cover Girl
Revlon
Estée Lauder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Estée Lauder is no slouch, either, with high-end brands M.A.C and Bobbi Brown on its books.

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Every two seconds, a tube of this product is sold in the United States.
Maybelline Great Lash mascara
Revlon Fire and Ice lipstick
Cover Girl Long-Lasting Lipcolor
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Great Lash mascara was an instant hit when it was introduced in 1971 -- and it's still going strong.

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What's the top-selling brand of makeup in the world?
Maybelline
Cover Girl
Revlon
Avon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Maybelline, thanks to Great Lash, is tops, with 7.4 percent of the market in 2004.

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This iconic shade was an instant best-seller when Revlon introduced it in a lipstick-and-nail-polish combo in 1952.
Fire and Ice
Cherry Bomb
Pretty Penny
Ruby Royale
Toast of the Town
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Revlon revolutionized cosmetic marketing with the Fire and Ice campaign and forever linked the company name with fire-red lips.

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This cosmetics company's longtime slogan, 'Because I'm worth it,' was changed to 'Because you're worth it' and then finally 'Because we're worth it' in 2009.
L'Oreal
Maybelline
Cover Girl
Max Factor
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ah, the vagaries of advertising. L'Oreal made these subtle changes in response to market analyses and consumer psychology studies.

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What's the name of the process that adds permanent makeup to your face?
perma-derma
dermaplastics
micropigmentation
cosmaderm
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In a micropigmentation treatment, you could get permanent eyeliner, in the form of iron oxide pigment, injected directly into your skin.

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This common ingredient in 'natural mineral' makeup isn't natural at all -- it's actually an irritant.
zinc oxychloride
zinc oxide
bismuth oxychloride
titanium dioxide
selenium bichloride
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bismuth oxychloride is a byproduct of lead and copper smelting that's used in makeup for its shimmery effects. Problem is, it isn't naturally occurring, and it's known to irritate sensitive skin.

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Studies show that natural cosmetics are much better for your skin than synthetic ones.
true
false
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There's little real evidence proving that natural cosmetics are better for your skin.

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Top saleswomen from this cosmetics company drive around in pink Cadillacs.
Avon
Mary Kay
Estée Lauder
Lancome
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mary Kay has an all-female sales force, and top earners get the iconic powder-pink Cadillac.

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About how long should you keep lipstick before tossing it?
three months
eight months
a year
two years
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lipstick's shelf life is only about eight months.

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What clever company is home to such nail colors as Kennebunk-port, Argenteeny Pinkini, La Paz-itively Hot, Teal the Cows Come Home, Silent Mauvie and I'm Not Really a Waitress?
L'Oreal
Maybelline
Lancome
Avon
Chanel
OPI
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

OPI is responsible for these cleverly named colors.

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You Got:
/20
Hemera/Thinkstock