Make science more accessible to women

Exhibition: "Le bain et le miroir" (The Bath and the Mirror)

The exhibition "Le bain et le miroir” arose from the work carried out by the teams of L’Oréal Research and the C2RMF (research and restoration centre of the Museums of France), in collaboration with the Réunion des Musées Nationaux (RMN). It covers two fundamental periods in human beauty. The period from Antiquity to the Middle Ages was hosted by the Musée du Moyen-âge de Cluny in Paris. The Renaissance was presented at the Musée National de la Renaissance at the Château d’Ecouen in the Val d’Oise.

This exhibition shed valuable light on the fundamental role given to cosmetics in everyday life. The mastery of techniques updated by science enables better understanding of the many uses of make-up, perfume and colouring illustrated by ancient texts, sculptures and paintings.

The exhibition, exclusively supported by the L’Oréal Corporate Foundation, took place from 20 May to 21 September 2009, and was attended by over 150,000 visitors.