Oldies but Goodies - Lapis Lazuli

When I hear lapis lazuli which is often just called lapis (Latin for "stone"), the first thing I think of is Egypt. In ancient Egypt lapis was used to make cosmetics from it, among other things of course. I don't remember if I read that in the sticker book "Adventures of the World" (to be honest, I have no idea if that's really what it was called, but I only had about 4.5 hours of sleep and can't quite think right yet) that we got from the gas station when I was a child and which we sadly could never fill up with photos completely and which had those cool stories about The Silk Road and pharaohs and adventurers of all kind and ... I'm totally digressing here, aren't I?
Cosmetics. Egypt. Oh yes, lapis. Wherever I got it from, it shocked me a little back then how someone could grind up beautiful stones for makeup. I have never been a cosmetics expert, can you tell?

The members of the Jewelry Artisans Community, however, have used lapis in these jewelry designs for the last Oldies but Goodies Challenge.
Enjoy!

1 MC Stoneworks
2 Cat's Wire
3 2 Fab Fristers
4 Violetmoon's Corner
5 The Crafty Chimp
6 RioRita