“Lefcoderma” face powder

The use of finely ground rice powder as a cosmetic care and beauty product has been widespread among Japanese women for centuries. The industrialization of cosmetic rice powder in Europe started at the end of the 19th century. Large brands which established themselves in the international market in the beginning of the 20th century, were advertising the benefits of rice powder for a healthy skin, and for obtaining the desired pale look. The Rousso & Sons Company in Athens marketed cosmetic rice powder, under the brand name “Lefcoderma”, packaged in an attractive cardboard box, in the contemporary design of the 1920’s.

This item was donated to the JMG by the historian Dr. Leon Saltiel from Thessaloniki. On this occasion, the museum team warmly congratulates him on the award of the Yad Vashem 2021 International Book Prize for Holocaust Research, which he received for his work “The Holocaust in Thessaloniki: Reactions to the Anti-Jewish Persecution, 1942–1943,” published in 2020.