Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture by Kathy Peiss (New York: Metropolitan Books, 1998) ISBN 0-805-05550-9 hb. 334 pp.

Cosmetics. Lipstick, nail polish, moisturizer, anti-wrinkle cream, hair colouring, scented body wash, soothing bath oils. There are very few among us who have not, at one time or another, taken delight in a new package of powder or felt drawn by the possibilities of a new shade of hair colour (do blondes have more fun?). However, women's relationship with paint and powder has not been one without controversy and contradiction. The use of cosmetics, for both cure and colour, has long been the subject of public comment from those who see exploitation either by women, who use makeup to hide their "true" self, or of women, by unscrupulous manufacturers who promise more than they can safely deliver. This new study by Kathy Peiss uncovers the history of this controversy, from its early beginnings in the closing decades of the nineteenth century, through to the emergence of a multi-billion dollar cosmetics industry just over a hundred years later. That this is done through a comprehensive analysis which combines race, class and gender underscores the complexity of the issues involved as they expand to encompass far more than face powder and hair straightener.

Peiss explores the progress of "cosmetical physic" as it grew from a humble beginning in home remedies, traded among women and passed down through generations. The publishing boom in the early nineteenth century helped to foster a beauty culture through the publication of beauty guides, encyclopedic compendiums, household manuals and cook books. As the century progressed a myriad of operators vied for consumer support, while beauty doctors, druggists and complexion specialists advocated secret, increasingly scientific, formulations and conflicting advice. At the turn of the century, a web of beauty parlors, mail-order manufacturers and local sales agents relied on word-of-mouth advertising and door-to-door selling to pitch their products. It was an industry founded by women, for women. Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubenstein, Madam C.J. Walker and Annie Turnbo promoted not just an ideal but a lifestyle, one in which a celebration of beauty and elegance appeared to come together in a common cause, the freedom to be a "beautiful" woman. Profits grew, and the promise of mass marketing grabbed corporate attention, and the men moved in. Advertising expenditures took off and marketing research ruled both the product and the pitch. The multi-billion dollar beauty industry was born.

The politics of beauty are brought to the fore as race becomes a point of pride in the production and promotion of hair straightener and skin whitener, while gender appears as a two-fold construct through an analysis of the intersections between masculinity and manly good grooming. Class becomes a commodity, easily traded and easily transgressed, dependent on the product. This is a fascinating study, an enjoyable read, and an excellent example of solid historical research.

M.S.

Professor Peiss will be visiting McMaster as a Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor in November 1999, as a guest of the Department of History.