While this book remains a "bible" in its field, my students complain about the price and the lack of color demonstrations. I was hoping the Ninth Edition of this book would have more color photos spread throughout the chapters, but the format has remained very much the same, with many of the same demonstrations and photo descriptions. The new chapters for film and television are a breath of fresh air and I applaud the new techniques aditions.

I am a film-maker out of Ohio. I used to use Tom Savini's Bizarro, Grande Illusions 1, Grande Illusions 2, and Dick Smith's Do-It-Yourself guides....BUT, after meeting Tom Savini and learning that he considers this book his "bible", I checked it out for myself. WOW! This is the book to get for anyone interested in stage make-up or special effects makeup. It IS a little pricey, but for the information and detail, it cannot be beat. I consider this a companion to the ones listed above. Get em all if you can, but make sure you OWN this one!!!!!

This is the bible of stage make-up. It has wonderful step-by-step pictures so you see the process. I loved the fact that there was no flowery language to complicate learning. It caters to the beginner and the professional. If you are serious about learning the trade, this is the investment to make. This was a recommended book for me in college and it helped give me an edge over my classmates. If you don't know where to start, or would like to brush up on your technique, this is a great resource.

This book has been an invaluable resource for our period play productions as well as a wonderful reference for the general public who want that "period" look for presentations, skits, and parties

I had been looking for a good history of beards and unfortunately the only two titles I could find specifically on this topic were unsatisfactory in historical breadth and research value. Thanks to Amazon.com reviews I was alerted to this title which covers the entire history of hair (face and head) throughout the centuries. There are literally hundreds of illustrations of beards and hairstyles from ancient Egypt to the present and highly detailed and entertaining chapters on the social, historical and religious elements that influenced something as "trivial" as hairstyle. If you're looking for a good book on the history of hairstyles this is it and if you're looking for a good, solid history of beards this is definitely the book to buy...perhaps the only one. If one could possibly have any quibble it would be that it focuses primarily on North America and Europe with much less comprehensive coverage of Asian or Middle Eastern societies. The book was first published in the 1960's and has been updated every few years since. I'm certain that the only reason it's less known than it should be is because of the price which appears to be aiming the title toward the professional stage and film artisan rather than the "lay" reader who would find the text an unmitigated pleasure.

This is a wonderfull book that details hair fashions for the past five thousand years. A must for anyone doing stage productions. Lots of well done drawings with both front and rear views. For the stage hair stylist this book will be the one you turn to over and over again.