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Selling Beauty: Cosmetics, Commerce, and French Society, 1750–1830 (The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science, 127)

by Morag Martin (Author)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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Morag Martin’s history of the cosmetic industry in France examines the evolution of popular tastes and standards of beauty during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. As the French citizenry rebelled against the excesses of the aristocracy, there was a parallel shift in consumer beauty practices. Powdered wigs, alabaster white skin, and rouged cheeks disappeared in favor of a more natural and simple style.

Selling Beauty challenges expectations about past fashions and offers a unique look into consumer culture and business practices. Martin introduces readers to the social and economic world of cosmetic production and consumption, recounts criticisms against the use of cosmetics from a variety of voices, and examines how producers and retailers responded to quickly evolving fashions.

Martin shows that the survival of the industry depended on its ability to find customers among the emerging working and middle classes. But the newfound popularity of cosmetics raised serious questions. Critics―from radical philosophes to medical professionals―complained that the use of cosmetics was a threat to social morals and questioned the healthfulness of products that contained arsenic, mercury, and lead. Cosmetic producers embraced these withering criticisms, though, skillfully addressing these concerns in their marketing campaigns, reassuring consumers of the moral and physical safety of their products.

Rather than disappearing along with the Old Regime, the commerce of cosmetics, reimagined and redefined, flourished in the early 19th century, as political ideals and Enlightenment philosophies radically altered popular sentiment.

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Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    0801893097
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0801893094
  3. Publisher
    Johns Hopkins University Press
  4. Publication date
    October 5, 2009
  5. Part of series
    The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  8. Print length
    240 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Selling Beauty is a well-written and impressively researched book.
―Jennifer M. Jones, H-France

This book makes a scholarly and critical contribution to histories of the consumer revolution, commercial culture, and gender.
―John Shovlin, American Historical Review

A well-researched analysis.
―Pieter Francois

Martin's study valuably contributes to the recent wealth of scholarship on the eighteenth-century consumer market.
―Katharine Hamerton, Journal of Modern History

Well-written and enjoyable.
―Jennifer Heuer, European History Quarterly

An important contribution to the history of fashion.
―Tijl Vanneste, European Review of History

An impressively wide-ranging and well-researched study of an important element of the new ‘consumer’ society of late 18th- and early 19th-century France, which will be welcomed by French historians, historians of women and gender, as well as historians of material culture and consumption.
―Clare Crowston, University of Illinois

Review

An impressively wide-ranging and well-researched study of an important element of the new ‘consumer’ society of late 18th- and early 19th-century France, which will be welcomed by French historians, historians of women and gender, as well as historians of material culture and consumption.

-- Clare Crowston

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Johns Hopkins University Press (October 5, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0801893097
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0801893094
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

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Morag Martin

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Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Josette
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on an area never really studied
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2023
I find I re-read this book quite a bit. How I wish the book was even larger with more pictures! I also wish there were more books out there like this, going into great detail about the creation and purchasing of cosmetics and perfumes in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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Laurel
5.0 out of 5 stars Marketing Person's Review
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2012
This book is an exciting find that provides both a historical and marketing perspective of the development and details of the cosmetics commerce during the late 18th and early 19th century. I was extremely pleased since this book starts with a historical perspective that details the meanings and use of cosmetic during the noted time period then proceeds to document the development of commerce in the industry. The text is easy to read and understand, but not simplistic. I thank the author for such a unique interest in a topic that has greater meaning than most individuals realize. I find the text helpful when read along with another book that provides more visual depictions of historical costume dress and customs during the period; however, I find the book was well worth the cost. If you are planning to read the book simply for a historical backdrop to romantic novels or simply for because you have an interest in the topic, I also recommend the book since the author's style is not stilted nor pretentious.
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Fabienne ADAM
5.0 out of 5 stars Pas de photos, mais bien plus: les mots!
Reviewed in France on August 29, 2013
Verified Purchase
Oui, savoir comment se maquillaient les hommes et les femmes en ce temps et le voir sur des photos, c'est intéressant.
Mais savoir POURQUOI il le faisait comme çà, quelles étaient les codes et les traditions....c'est encore mieux!
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