also: けわいりょう
noun
pin money; pocket money for cosmetics
Only with reading けしょうりょう
Historical term for a woman's personal allowance, especially for cosmetics and small luxuries. Also used for payment to a cosmetician.
江戸時代、裕福な商家の娘は化粧料として小遣いをもらっていた。
In the Edo period, daughters of wealthy merchant families received pin money as an allowance.
noun
cosmetic material; cosmetics
Only with reading けしょうりょう
Refers to the physical substances used for makeup and skincare. Less common than 化粧品 in modern Japanese.
この店では高級な化粧料を扱っている。
This shop carries high-quality cosmetic materials.
noun
dowry (Edo period)
Specifically refers to a dowry in the context of Edo-period marriages. The reading けわいりょう is historically associated with this sense.
武家の娘が嫁ぐとき、化粧料として土地や金品が用意された。
When a samurai's daughter married, land and goods were prepared as a dowry.
化粧品 is the standard modern word for cosmetics and makeup products, while 化粧料 is rarer and can carry historical or material-specific nuances.
Compound of 化粧 (makeup, cosmetics) and 料 (fee, material, charge). The historical reading けわいりょう reflects older pronunciation of 化粧 as けわい.