INTRODUCTION

Cosmetics have been in use for thousands of years. The absence of regulation of the
manufacture and use of cosmetics has led to negative side effects, deformities, blindness, and
even death through the ages. Examples are the prevalent use of ceruse (white lead), to cover
the face during the Renaissance, and blindness caused by the mascara Lash Lure during the
early 20th century.

Egyptian men and women used makeup to enhance their appearance. They were very
fond of eyeliner and eye-shadows in dark colours including blue, red, and black.
Ancient Sumerian men and women were possibly the first to invent and wear lipstick, about
5,000 years ago. They crushed gemstones and used them to decorate their faces, mainly on
the lips and around the eyes. Also around 3000 BC to 1500 BC, women in the ancient Indus
Valley Civilization applied red tinted lipstick to their lips for face decoration. Ancient
Egyptians extracted red dye from fucus-algin, 0.01% iodine, and some bromine mannite, but
this dye resulted in serious illness. Lipsticks with shimmering effects were initially made
using a pearlescent substance found in fish scales. Six thousand year old relics of the

According to one source, early major developments include:

 Kohl used by ancient Egypt as a protectant of the eye.

Nefertiti Bust showing the use of eye liner made of kohl

  Castor oil used by ancient Egypt as a protective balm.

 Skin creams made of beeswax, olive oil, and rose water, described by Romans.

 Vaseline and lanolin in the nineteenth century.

 The Ancient Greeks also used cosmetics as the Ancient Romans did. Cosmetics are
mentioned in the Old Testament, such as in 2 Kings 9:30, where Jezebel painted her eyelids
approximately 840 BC and in the book of Esther, where beauty treatments are described.

One of the most popular traditional Chinese medicines is the fungus Tremella fuciformis,
used as a beauty product by women in China and Japan. The fungus reportedly increases
moisture retention in the skin and prevents senile degradation of micro-blood vessels in the
skin, reducing wrinkles and smoothing fine lines. Other anti-aging effects come from
increasing the presence of superoxide dismutase in the brain and liver; it is an enzyme that
acts as a potent antioxidant throughout the body, particularly in the skin. Tremella fuciformis
is also known in Chinese medicine for nourishing the lungs.

In the Middle Ages, it seemed completely natural that the face should be whitened
and the cheeks rouged.

During the sixteenth century, the personal attributes of the women who used make-up
created a demand for the product among the upper class.

Cosmetic use was frowned upon at many points in Western history. For example, in
the 19th century, Queen Victoria publicly declared make-up improper, vulgar, and acceptable
only for use by actors.

Many women in the 19th century liked to be thought of as fragile ladies. They
compared themselves to delicate flowers and emphasized their delicacy and femininity. They
aimed always to look pale and interesting. Sometimes ladies discreetly used a little rouge on
the cheeks and used "belladonna" to dilate their eyes so it would make them stand out more.
Make-up was frowned upon in general, especially during the 1870s when social etiquette
became more rigid. Teachers and clergywomen specifically were forbidden from the use of
cosmetic products.

During the 19th century, there was a high number of incidences of lead-poisoning
because of the fashion for red and white lead makeup and powder. This led to swelling and
inflammation of the eyes, weakened tooth enamel, and caused the skin to blacken. Heavy use
was known to lead to death. However, in the second part of the 19th century, great advances
were made in chemistry from the chemical fragrances that enabled a much easier production
of cosmetic products.

It was socially acceptable for actresses in the 1800s to use makeup, and famous
beauties such as Sarah Bernhardt and Lillie Langtry could be powdered. Most cosmetic
products available were still either chemically dubious or found in the kitchen amid food
colouring, berries and beetroot.

By the middle of the 20th century, cosmetics were in widespread use by women in
nearly all industrial societies around the world. The cosmetic industry became a multi-billion
dollar enterprise by the beginning of the 21st century.

In 1968 at the feminist Miss America protest, protestors symbolically threw a number
of feminine products into a "Freedom Trash Can." This included cosmetics, which were
among items the protestors called "instruments of female torture" and accoutrements of what
they perceived to be enforced femininity.

Although modern make-up has been traditionally used mainly by women, an

increasing number of men are using cosmetics usually associated to women to enhance or
cover their own facial features such as blemishes, dark circles, and so on. Cosmetics brands
release products specially tailored for men, and men are increasingly using them.
INTRODUCTION TO PERCEPTION

Human beings may differ because of their differences and uniqueness. People often
see the same situation phenomenon differently within the organization and outside the
organization. For example: when there is an accident in the factory, the supervisor may treat
it as the carelessness of worker while the worker may treat it as lack of adequate provision of
security measures. Thus the situation remaining the same, cause has been assigned differently
by different group of people. In order to understand why people see the same situation
differently, one has to understand perception and its different aspect.

WHAT IS PERCEPTION?

Perception is a cognitive process. Cognition is basically bit of information; cognitive

process involves the way in which people process or understand that information. Perception
process involves selecting, organising and interpreting the stimulus. Thus perception is the
process selecting, organizing and interpreting or attaching meaning to the events happening
in the environment. However, what one can perceive can be different from object reality.
Their need not be but there is often, disagreement.

DEFINITION

“Perception may be defined as a process by which individual organize and interpret

their sensory impression in order to give meaning to their environment.”

FEATURES OF PERCEPTION

 Perception is the intellectual process through which a person selects the data from the
environment, organizes it, and obtains meaning from it.
 Perception is a psychological process also the manners in which people perceive the
environment affects his behaviour.
 Perception, being an intellectual and psychological process, becomes a subjective
process and different people may perceive the same environmental event differently.
PERCEPTUAL PROCESS

Perception process is explained by input-throughput-output approach. This approach

emphasizes that there is input which is processed and gives out. Perceptual process present
three elements of perception. These are: existence of stimuli (objects, event, and people)
perceptual mechanism (selecting, organising, and interpretation) and perceptual outputs (
attitude, opinion and values). Perceptual output along with other determinant of human
behaviour affects and shape behaviour. Let us see how perceptual process works in terms of
its three basic elements.

 Perceptual input
 Perception mechanism
 Selection of stimuli
 Organisation of stimuli
 Interpretation of stimuli
 Perceptual output

PERCEPTUAL SELECTIVITY

Perception is a selective process. While selection, certain aspects of stimuli are

screened out and others are admitted. And this is caused by variety of factors which may be
grouped into two categories:

 External factor

 Internal factor

EXTERNAL FACTORS

The external factors are

 Nature
 Location
 Size
 Intensity
 Repetition
 Novelty and Familiarity
  Contrast
 Motion

INTERNAL FACTORS

While external factors are related to environment stimuli, internal factors are related
to the individual’s complex psychological makeup or oneself. People generally select those
stimuli and situation which are compatible to their personality, motivation, and other personal
factors. Such factors are self-concept, inner-needs, response disposition, individual attitude,
interest, learning and experience.

 Self-concept
 Inner needs
 Response disposition
 Individual attitude
 Interest
 Learning
 Experience

PERCEPTUAL ORGANISATION

People tend to organize the stimuli rather than perceiving it as a whole. Following
ways:

 Figure and ground relationships

 Grouping
 Closure

Dose the consumer perceive the stimuli as intended? Perceptual distortion can occur due to a
variety of reasons:

 Physical appearance
 Stereotypes
 First impressions
 Jumping to conclusions
 Halo effect
1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY