Q 01/05

Which actress told Life magazine in 1952 that what she wore to bed was Chanel No. 5?

A) Marilyn Monroe

B) Grace Kelly

C) Elizabeth Taylor

D) Rita Hayworth

Answer · why

A) Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe gave the reply on her first Life cover. Chanel later built a 2013 advertising campaign around a recording of her talking about the perf...

Q 02/05

Which animal's digestive system produces ambergris, a waxy substance long prized by perfume makers as a fixative?

A) Musk deer

B) African civet

C) Sperm whale

D) Eurasian beaver

Answer · why

C) Sperm whale

The sperm whale forms ambergris in its intestines, and lumps are found floating at sea or washed ashore. It makes a scent last much longer, though mos...

Q 03/05

Which toxic metal was the base of Venetian ceruse, a white face paint favoured by 16th-century European aristocrats?

A) Mercury

B) Lead

C) Arsenic

D) Antimony

Answer · why

B) Lead

Lead gave the paint its prized whiteness but caused skin damage, hair loss and poisoning. Elizabeth I is often said to have worn it, though historians...

Q 04/05

Which cosmetics brand began after Thomas Lyle Williams watched his sister darken her eyelashes with coal dust?

A) Bourjois

B) Maybelline

C) CoverGirl

D) Sally Hansen

Answer · why

B) Maybelline

Maybelline takes its name from that sister, Mabel. Williams copied her trick with a chemistry set and sold the result locally as Lash-Brow-Ine.

Q 05/05

Which singer used her own surname for Fenty Beauty, a cosmetics brand praised for its wide range of foundation shades?

A) Beyoncé

B) Lady Gaga

C) Selena Gomez

D) Rihanna

Answer · why

D) Rihanna

Rihanna had trademarked her surname, Fenty, three years before the 2017 launch. Many rival brands soon added more inclusive shades to their own collec...