Sob Story

In a time of shared anxiety, Judy, and next-gen waterproof mascaras, the glamorous cry is having a moment

- Rachel Syme

When the first waterproof mascaras hit counters in the 1940s, they were not intended to guard against the occasional midafternoon emotional collapse. This was a side benefit, of course—that a person could bawl her eyes out without ruining her pristine maquillage—but really, the stuff was for swimming. The German cosmetics company Leichner created a black liquid “sealer” called Wimperlack specifically for the champion swimmer and actress Esther Williams, who rose to fame at San Francisco’s Aquacade (essentially a grand outdoor circus that took place in a giant chlorinated pool). Williams, who went on to star in the Technicolor musical Bathing Beauty, epitomized perpetual sunniness in a ruched one-piece. Behind the scenes, she was flailing—she married four times and dabbled in hallucinogenic drugs after suffering from chronically low self-esteem—but on the outside, she was impeccable. Her lacquer never ran, even when she was in the deep end.