I agree with you that in our age this is driven to exasperation because of the way everything in modern life seems to be so exasperated, as if exasperation itse

I agree with you that in our age this is driven to exasperation because of the way everything in modern life seems to be so exasperated, as if exasperation itself is being marketed ... but this is off topic. w.r.t cosmetics and aesthetics, don't forget that humanity invented cosmetics and jewellery way before most of the practical technologies. Whether that was a male (warrior paintings) or female thing, I don't know. "luxury", as you put it, is what makes us humans, do the useless, for the sake of it, create cultures around that stuff. We have that strive deeply embedded inside us.