Yours Truly, Yours Falsely Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eyes

Kohl was originally applied to prevent eye disease and to protect the eyes from the sun. A black paste, it is prepared by mixing a number of ingredients, varying in different places and times. Traditionally based on galena, an ore containing lead sulfide, this has been changed to soot or charcoal by modern commercial producers to reduce the product's toxicity.

Other ingredients include oils and scents.

Answer: Fingernails

The color of this early nail polish came from natural pigments, and was chosen to reflect the colors symbolic of the regime in power. Only members of the upper classes were allowed to paint their nails; members of lower classes faced the death penalty if they chose to disregard the ban. Petals of flowers such as roses and orchids were also added as decoration.

Answer: Medicine

Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi (936-1013 CE) was a Spanish Arab physician who is considered the father of modern surgery, whose practices and writings shaped Islamic and European surgical procedure at least until the Renaissance. He wrote a chapter on cosmetics, which he called "Medicine of Beauty", in which he described many useful substances and their chemical preparation.

He is credited with developing perfumed sticks that could be used as under-arm deodorants or (different ingredients) lipstick, hair removal sticks, hair dyes (both for lightening and darkening the color), hair straighteners, suntan lotions, breath fresheners, tooth whiteners, hand creams, and more!

Answer: Geisha

After a geisha of the Heian era had covered her face, neck and shoulders with white foundation, she would paint on thick, straight eyebrows (having previously plucked away the natural hair), redden her lips with benibana (safflower) juice (which was also applied for dramatic highlights to the edge of the eyebrows and eyes) and, as a finishing touch, blacken her teeth with a mixture of oxidized iron filings soaked in an acidic solution.

This last step has been abandoned, and is now only used in by kabuki actors, and by a maiko (apprentice geisha) as ritual makeup during the last week before completing training.

Answer: Elizabeth I

In Elizabethan times (as well as before and after that era), pale skin was a sign of status - only members of the aristocracy could avoid working in the sun and were able to retain pale skin. Those whose skin was not naturally pale often either bleached their skin or applied white makeup in powder or paste form. White lead was a common, and toxic, ingredient of these products, and arsenic was also often added.

The painting from life of Queen Elizabeth I by an unknown artist in 1575 which is commonly referred to as the 'Darnley Portrait' is the source for the face pattern which art historians call 'the mask of youth'.

It was used in authorized portraits of the queen for the rest of her reign.

Answer: L'Oreal

Hair color depends on the amount of two proteins in the hair - eumalanin and phaeomelanin. The balance of the two determines the final color, with eumalin producing brown and black shades and phaeomelanin producing blonde and red shades. If neither protein is present, the hair will be grey or white.

Natural hair coloring agents, such as henna, and bleaching agents, such as vinegar, had been used for many years. Schueller's use of paraphenylenediamine (PPD) in his commercial hair color made it possible to produce a desired color reliably. PPD is an aniline dye, and its use is now considered controversial due to its toxicity. It is known to produce allergic reactions in many users, and a link to some forms of cancer has been suggested.

Answer: False eyelashes

Griffith wanted Seena Owen to have more dramatic eyelashes, swooping across her cheeks when she shut her eyes and looked down, so he had a wig maker weave strands of human hair through pieces of gauze. The hairs were trimmed to shape, and the gauze glued to her eyelids. Griffiths did not formally register his invention, and the subsequent commercial success of related products gained him no financial reward.

Answer: Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel was a style leader as well as a designer, and her suntan suddenly became a must-have fashion statement, symbolic of changing social patterns. For centuries, a suntan had been associated with agricultural labor forcing one to spend time in the sun; now it became associated with having leisure time to spend in the sun rather than indoors engaged in clerical or industrial labor. Et voila! In the 1940s suntan (not sunscreen) lotion became popular, as a tool to increase both actual tanning and the appearance of a tan. Contemporary awareness of the skin cancer risks associated with suntans has not yet completely removed the popular idea that suntans are 'a good look' - solarium's offer shortcuts for those who cannot afford the time to actually bake themselves naturally.

Answer: acrylic

Egyptian women wore nail extensions of bone, ivory and gold as a sign of wealth and class in ancient times. In modern times, nail extensions were developed that used plastic paint to cover both the fingernail and a separate extension surface that was placed under the nail before being painted into place.

The extensions were then filed to the desired shape. Now it is more common to use pre-formed acrylic nails which are given their final shaping (and frequently artistic decoration) before being glued on to the surface of the nail. Cheaper fake nails using other softer plastics are also available- easier to apply at home, they are softer and do not last as long as an acrylic nail.

Answer: filing each tooth down to make it smaller, then gluing on a synthetic material to produce a nicely shaped and colored tooth

A dental cap is also known as a dental crown. This technique is used to repair damaged teeth, and, more frivolously, to produce better-looking teeth. After the tooth has been filed down to make room for the addition of the synthetic tooth-replacement material (there are a number of different materials used), a temporary crown is glued on while a permanent crown, carefully designed to match the size and color of the patient's remaining teeth, is made.

When the aim is to replace all or most teeth with 'better' teeth, this may be done in stages, so that only a few teeth at a time are involved.