Iran proud1/31/2024 ![]() Iranian women have creatively and consistently turned to cosmetics, especially lipstick, nail polish, eyeliner, and sormeh, to express their individuality for decades. ![]() And your identity is defined right here in your eyes, your lips, your skin, and your gaze.” “So they treat their faces very differently than a woman in any other part of the world. shortly before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. “The majority of Iranian women’s self-expression is right here on their faces, because most of the rest of their body is covered,” says Shirin Neshat, a Brooklyn-based artist and director who moved to the U.S. Meanwhile, "stealth sormeh" allegedly made its wearers invisible. In one such tale, "Soleimani's sormeh" was said to give people the power to discover the world's secrets. Some Persian myths even endowed sormeh with magical properties. Sormeh's historical significance is evident in Persian literature, poetry, and art, with Ancient Elamite sculptures featuring eyes adorned with the pigment. Throughout the Qajar period, after bathing, many court women would incorporate sormeh into their self-care routines along with henna. Using sormeh was common for most, from nomads and tribe members to urban and rural women. Sormeh also denoted a woman's marital status, and so, in some ways, it served as a marker of womanhood. The dark makeup was used to protect the eyes from harsh weather, to ward off evil spirits, to strengthen the eyelashes, and for medicinal purposes. People in Iran have long turned to sormeh for reasons that transcend beautification. ![]() Historically, the preparation of sormeh involved the grinding of various stones, with the resulting fine powder soon after being poured into a vial. ![]() Sormeh's recipes date back at least two millennia wearing the cosmetic in Ancient Persia was a cultural norm for both men and women. Amid the heightened scrutiny of women's appearances in the country, whereby the morality police has stepped up its enforcement of the hijab law, sormeh offers a nuanced exploration of makeup's role in the Islamic Republic, not only as a beautifier, but also as a symbol of self-expression and identity. Yet, in Iran, the use of sormeh, a loose black powder with roots in Ancient Persia, has endured for centuries-despite the rising popularity of eyeliner.īeyond being a potent beautifier for the eyes of many Iranian women, including those in the diaspora, the pigment carries great nostalgic and symbolic meaning, connecting them to their heritage and ancestral traditions. The beauty staple is ubiquitous in our cultural landscape this year alone, it was at the forefront of countless trends flaunted on runways, film, television, and especially on TikTok and Instagram. Eyeliner has been a mainstay in the Western makeup kit for decades. ![]()
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