Q 01/05

The words cosmetics and cosmos share the Greek root kosmos, which meant what?

A) Beauty and youth

B) Mask and paint

C) Face and colour

D) Order and ornament

Answer · why

D) Order and ornament

Order and ornament: to the Greeks, kosmein was to arrange or adorn. Pythagoras is said to have been the first to call the universe a kosmos, for its o...

Q 02/05

Which red pigment, long used in lipstick, is made from crushed cochineal insects?

A) Vermilion

B) Carmine

C) Madder

D) Annatto

Answer · why

B) Carmine

Carmine comes from carminic acid, which the cochineal, a scale insect that lives on prickly pear cacti, produces to put off predators.

Q 03/05

The Egyptian eye cosmetic kohl was traditionally made with which lead compound?

A) Galena

B) Cinnabar

C) Antimony trisulfide

D) Malachite

Answer · why

A) Galena

Wearers believed the dark rim protected against the evil eye and the glare of the desert sun.

Q 04/05

Which singer and actress founded the makeup brand Rare Beauty in 2020?

A) Ariana Grande

B) Halsey

C) Jennifer Lopez

D) Selena Gomez

Answer · why

D) Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez named the brand after her album Rare. Part of its sales goes to the Rare Impact Fund, which she set up to pay for mental health services.

Q 05/05

Which makeup brand is best known for its Naked eyeshadow palettes?

A) Too Faced

B) Urban Decay

C) Tarte

D) Natasha Denona

Answer · why

B) Urban Decay

Urban Decay was started in 1996 by Sandy Lerner, a co-founder of Cisco Systems, as a revolt against pink and beige: its tag line asked, 'Does pink mak...