Beauty standards varied by tribes. Cosmetics was typically describing an individuals social class. These tribes tend to have the product on their bodies in addition to their face. In Colombia, cosmetic products used oil or petroleum with various colors for the face and vermillion for the body. More color indicates the woman of higher class. For Nicaragua, the arms were painted on the arm with a mixture consisting of wool and the individuals blood. Like the Colombian women, the petroleum is used with the exception of the breasts to prevent interference with child development.
The Maya utilized the color red to represent social class and also used the color in funeral processes. The pigment was produced with mercury, lead, and arsenic. Other products to make the red color includes animals and plants. These items helped create more variety of reds with various tones, intensity, and sheen. Different shades of red determine a persons social status as red was represented luxury. Other colors in Maya society were blue and green made with Indigofera', malachite, azurite, veszelyite, and copper-containing minerals. Similar to red, the colors were also used in funerals and used to represent royalty. Orange and yellow were used with the same purpose of prestige being produced with hematite, goethite, and limonite.
The body was considered as their portrait to the Maya with various images of plants, animals, and humans being common images. Other designs include personal designs using geometry.
The Chinchorro culture in northern Chile followed the same principle as the Mayans regarding the significance of the color red with it being found in mummies.