Cosmetics were used in Persia and what is today the Middle East from ancient periods.[citation needed]Kohl is a black powder that is used widely across the Arab world. It is used as a powder or smeared to darken the edges of the eyelids similar to eyeliner.

 

Eye paints, mascara, lipstick and powder puffs can also be traced to the Middle East. Both Egyptians and Mesopotamians colored their lips and cheeks with small pieces of red ochre inserted in a hollow reed, while the Sumerians used a face powder made of yellow ochre and called it "Golden Bloom." Max Factor couldn't do better.

 

Ancient men and women also used perfumes. Unlike today's alcohol-based scents, though, they were made from animal fats or vegetable oils—radish, lettuce and sesame seed oils impregnated with natural perfumes.

 

Bitter almonds and anise seeds, jasmine, rose, peppermint, cassia, and heliotrope flowers, ginger root, cinnamon bark, citrus fruits, and cedar and sandal woods were just some of the things used in providing the scent for perfumes.