5. Cosmetics found on Nikumaroro strengthened the hypothesis Earhart landed on the atoll
Amelia Earhart knew that whenever and wherever she landed her airplane on one of her long-distance flights, the press and photographers awaited. Early in her career she learned to be ready for them. She cultivated her public image, appearing feminine, but not too alluring, confident, but not threatening. She paid attention to her makeup, her hair, and her clothing. As is evident of her in photographs today, she also had freckles, which according to some sources she thoroughly detested. In 2012, TIGHAR announced findings on Nikumaroro which, at least circumstantially, were linked to Earhart based on those personal characteristics.
They found a jar that could have contained anti-freckle cream, dated back to the 1930s. They also found part of a bottle which may have contained hand lotion, the broken remains of what may have been a compact mirror, and remnants of dried chips, identified chemically as being rouge. However, the same style jar believed to have contained the freckle cream also contained other products in the 1930s. TIGHAR speculated it had been freckle cream because of the presence of mercury still detectable on the glass. The jar had been broken, and examination indicated the shards of glass were used as tools for scraping hard and soft materials. At any rate, what type of freckle cream Earhart used, or even if she used any at all has never been established.