Did you know that there is one man singularly responsible for setting the beauty standards of the last 100 years? And did you know that this man is the same man who invented the word “makeup”.
Who is this man, I hear you asking?
Mr. Max Factor
That’s right, the iconic Mr. Max Factor, is guilty of both – along with many other startling results of his work in beauty. I would be surprised if the man himself had any idea of the deep-rooted influence he would have on pop culture. His impact has truly stood the test of time.
Max Factor moved from the Russian-controlled Congress of Poland in 1904, to Los Angeles, California, seeing an opportunity to provide cosmetics to the Hollywood film industry. In 1914, he became the first person to create makeup that was flexible enough to be applied thinly so that it was suitable for the new medium of film. It was called “flexible greasepaint” and he soon had a client base constituting the biggest names in Hollywood. Needless to say, his product began selling like hotcakes.
In 1920 he coined the term “makeup” as a replacement for cosmetics. The term came from the phrase to “make up one’s face”, which until that point was considered a vulgar, theater phrase, not to be used by the upper classes.
Beauty Artist
He honed his skills as a makeup artist and creator and gained a reputation for being able to create customized looks for the stars of the day. These looks were designed to show each individual in their best light on the screen.
He created looks for the likes of Ava Gardener, Joan Crawford, and Judy Garland. He went beyond stage makeup, discovering the marketing value of the image. He is famously quoted as having said:
“You are not born glamorous, glamour is created.”
And just like that, he began defining the beauty standards that we still live by today.
He is responsible for the two most iconic transformations in cinema history. That of the innocent Norma Jeane, into sex icon Marilyn Monroe and the startling metamorphosis of Margarita Carmen Cansino into Rita Hayworth.
He is of course the founder of, the cosmetic brand, MaxFactor.