The history, practice and aesthetic of the soft focus lens in photography is elucidated and developed from its earliest statements of need to the current time with a particular emphasis on its role in the development of the Pictorialist movement. Using William Crawford's concept of photographic 'syntax', the use of the soft focus lens is explored as an example of how technology shapes style. A detailed study of the soft focus lenses from the earliest forms to the present is presented, enumerating the core properties of pinhole, early experimental and commercial soft focus lenses. This was researched via published texts in period journals, advertising, private correspondence, interviews, and the lenses themselves. The author conducted a wide range of in-studio experiments with both period and contemporary soft focus lenses to evaluate their character and distinct features, as well as to validate source material. Nodal points of this history and development are explored in the critical debate between the diffuse and sharp photographic image, beginning with the competition between the calotype and daguerreotype. The role of George Davison's The Old Farmstead is presented as well as the invention of the first modern soft focus lens, the Dallmeyer-Bergheim, and its function in the development of the popular Pictorialist lens, the Pinkham & Smith Semi-Achromatic. The trajectory of the soft focus lens is plotted against the Pictorialist movement, noting the correlation betwixt them, and the modern renaissance of soft focus lenses and the diffuse aesthetic. This thesis presents a unique history of photography modeled around the determining character of technology and the interdependency of syntax, style and art.

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Throughout the ages makeup has been used to hide blemishes, blur imperfections and provide an oil free look of the skin. In the past few years, more attention has been given to face powders ingredients as some of them may be associated with health risks as well as impact the environment. Therefore, there is a need for new safe cosmetic ingredients with improved performance.  It has previously been shown that Upsalite®, a mesoporous magnesium carbonate with an extraordinary high surface area and narrow pore size distribution, has great potential to replace other powder ingredients used as fillers and absorbers in powder cosmetics. In this work functional and physical attributes of Upsalite in powder cosmetics have been further investigated to generate comparative data for claim support. Oil uptake, speed and interaction were investigated and compared with other powders. In addition, a method to quantify transparency and blurring effect of Upsalite compared to other materials has been developed and applied.  It was shown that Upsalite has exceptional absorption capacity of oil and is able to absorb oil much quicker than silica and other cosmetic powders. Preferential interaction with polar compared to non-polar oils was found and the dual interaction of Upsalite with oil and moisture was further substantiated. Transparency studies of Upsalite revealed that Upsalite is more transparent on a glass substrate but was found opaquer on skin than talc and mica. This is explained by that its measured refractive index of 1.62 is slightly higher leading to a somewhat improved coverage. The blurring effect study showed that Upsalite has a blurring index in the range of the best existing cosmetic powders, improving blurring index of mica, talc and BN-12 by up to 60% and can replace silica and microplastics such as Nylon-12. Upsalite was found to visually blur imperfections without looking white.