This book was so much fun to read. I loved walking through the history of beauty from so many different cultures and what it means to men, women, and third genders around the world, as well as drag queens, geisha, performers, and generally anyone who needs to put on armor or a persona. She somehow went as far back as Nefertiti and came back to modern day, circling much of the globe along the way, all the while addressing important topics like revolutions, suicide, deportation, homophobia, and cultural appropriation, among others. It was enough to make me want to go back to wearing makeup too (except I hate the nightly cleanup and constantly being afraid of an eye infection, but for a moment, I sure did want to try again 😂).

An exploration of eyeliner across history, gender, and cultures in a way that highlights its importance to people's confidence, heritage, and activism. Hankir travels the world, across 5 continents interviewing people about their relationship with eyeliner. Not only does she explore kohl's history and roots in ancient Egypt, she explores each culture's relationship with eyeliner historically, up through present day practices, from Iranian women who use it as a form of political protest, to traditional dancers in India, to courtship practices in Africa, to drag queens and other queer performers who use makeup to develop their personas, to Black and Brown beauty inflencers trying to carve out a space for themselves in modern day. Hankir, a Lebenese-British writer, is not afraid to discuss topics of racism in the beauty industry, but also begrudges nobody their own personal styles.

‘Eyeliner: A Cultural History’ by Zahara Hankir is an insightful look at the impact eyeliner has had throughout history. Hankir looks at specific people and moments shaped by eyeliner. These include looking at Nefertiti and her iconic eyeliner look, how eyeliner has been a source of resistance in Iran, how eyeliner is used by different cultural groups like Bedouins and dancers in India, Amy Winehouse and her relationship with her iconic makeup look, the impact of eyeliner in the lives of drag queens, and more. Though the history isn’t exhaustive, Hankir has selected a great cross section of moments and people to explore and gives a good amount of time to each. Some may easily dismiss eyeliner as just makeup, but Hankir demonstrates the impact of the cosmetic across time and people. A truly excellent cultural history, I’ll definitely be looking forward to what Hankir writes next and searching for more cultural histories.