There are two main types of wicking material being used these days, rayon and cotton.
Rayon. It's a cellulose fiber that's made from wood. I have 500 feet of it in a box (minus about five feet that I've used in the last year
). The manufacturer is Graham, they call it Cellucotton and I think I paid around $15 for it from Sally's Beauty Supply. Part number is 44060. They sell smaller boxes too. When buying this stuff you have to be careful to get the pure rayon product. I think this is the 'women's make up cotton' you're referring to. Compared to cotton, you need to stuff more of it into a coil or it can give you burnt hits. Get it right and it's a really great vape.
Cotton. I have used a bunch of different cotton products including non-organic cotton balls, organic cotton balls, first aid gauze and
Koh Gen Do which is a non bleached pure cotton product from Japan. The Koh Gen Do is the best cotton product I've found. The $12 box of 60 squares from Sephora will last me at least a couple of years. Some vape shops sell this as a premium product for as much as a buck a sheet
I like both Koh Gen Do and Cellucotton (rayon). I'm not going to go back to other cottons. With nickel or titanium coils on temperature protected mods I only use cotton. Other than that both do the job equally well for me.