Cosmetics

Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect the body or skin. Cosmetics designed to enhance one's appearance can be used to conceal blemishes, enhance one's natural features, add color to a person's face and can be used to change the appearance of the face entirely to resemble a different person, creature or object. Cosmetics can also be designed to add fragrance to the body.

Definition
The word cosmetics derives from the Greek κοσμητικὴ τέχνη ("kosmetikē tekhnē"), meaning "technique of dress and ornament", from κοσμητικός ("kosmētikos"), "skilled in ordering or arranging" and that from κόσμος ("kosmos"), meaning "order" and "ornament". Cosmetics are constituted from a mixture of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones.

Use
Cosmetics designed for skin care can be used to cleanse, exfoliate and protect the skin, as well as replenishing it, through the use of cleansers, toners, serums, moisturizers, and balms. Cosmetics designed for more general personal care, such as shampoo and body wash, can be used to cleanse the body. Cosmetics can also be designed to add fragrance to the body.

History
Cosmetics have been in use for thousands of years, with ancient Egyptians and Sumerians using them. In the Europe, use of cosmetics continued into the Middle Ages—where the face was whitened and the cheeks rouged— though attitudes towards cosmetics varied throughout time, with the use of cosmetics being openly frowned upon at many points in Western history. Regardless of the changes in social attitudes towards cosmetics, ideals of appearance were occasionally achieved through the use of cosmetics by many.

Types
Though there are a large number of differing cosmetics used for a variety of different purposes, all cosmetics are typically intended to be applied externally. These products can be applied to the face, to the body, and to the hair. These products may be intended for use as skincare, personal care or to alter the appearance, with the subset of cosmetics known as makeup primarily referring to products containing color pigments intended for the purpose of altering the wearer's appearance; some manufacturers will distinguish only between "decorative" cosmetics intended to alter the appearance and "care" cosmetics designed for skincare and personal care.

Industry
The manufacture of cosmetics is dominated by a small number of multinational corporations that originated in the early 20th century, but the distribution and sales of cosmetics is spread among a wide range of businesses. The world's largest cosmetic companies are L'Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Shiseido, and Estée Lauder. In 2005, the market volume of the cosmetics industry in the US, Europe, and Japan was about EUR 70 Billion/a year.

In Germany, the cosmetic industry generated €12.6 billion of retail sales in 2008, which makes the German cosmetic industry the third largest in the world, after Japan and the United States. German exports of cosmetics reached €5.8 billion in 2008, whereas imports of cosmetics totaled €3 billion.