Evolution of Egyptian beauty throughout 100 years

Hana Khaled

SEE-August19th: When someone talks about ‘Egyptian beauty’, people automatically starts thinking of Ancient Egyptian queens such as Cleopatra who is famous for her mysterious beauty and queen Nefertiti.

Beauty and fashion in Egypt have gone through tremendous changes throughout the past century; beauty standards were portrayed differently in every era.

During the 1910s, wearing a veil or a niqab was not for Muslims only, but women had to wear it in public to follow the social traditions.

In 1920s, feminist leader Huda Shaarawi broke all the rules by taking off the veil in public ending the oppression of Egyptian women.

While in 1930s, women started to be portrayed differently since they started to take parts in movies. Others became famous singers like Middle East icon Umm Kulthum who was an inspiration for many designers during that time.

The 1940s was inspired by Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt. Women witnessed a new change in fashion when they first tried wearing red lipstick.

Fishnet face veil was popular among Egyptian women during the 40s in upper Egypt.

Furthermore,1950s was inspired by feminist poet,philosopher and leader of women's liberation movement Doria Shafik who introduced Universal Adult Franchise for Egyptian women.

The angelic beauty of star Zubaida Tharwat and her simple style inspired many girls of her time to embrace their natural features.

The famous cat-eye look was first introduced to Egyptians when liquid eyeliner was invented in the 50s.

Stars like Souad Hosny shaped the period of the 70s, women were seen with a different hair style of wavy hair.

Another trend of eye makeup appeared when women tried blending more than one color of eye-shadows together.

Women started gaining more freedom and rights; many welcomed the Western ideas which began to dominate in 1980.

Some of the the iconic faces of this period are super star leila Elwy and Youssra.

Egyptian actress, singer and trained dancer Sherihan who first introduced riddle shows, has made a great change in the 90's fashion

She was famous for her astonishing glittery dresses and gowns with bold makeup.

The veil was back as a trend but this time it was the woman's choice to wear it or not. Women used to wear Patterned veils with vibrant colors paired with strong make-up.

Since then ,Egypt came on an equal footing with the international world. Women are breaking free from the the beauty standards applied on them, they believe that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Some of the young female celebrities in 2018 include Amina Khalil, Yasmeen Raes, and Yousra lozy.