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All Hail the Colorful Miracle in a Tube
It’s National Lipstick Day! Today we pay homage to the miracle in a tube that has buoyed many of us through job crises, horrific breakups and just plain bad days. From Marilyn Monroe to Marilyn Manson, lipstick transforms the mundane to the memorable.
Early lipstick was a stain for the lips derived from the juices of plants and fruits. In the 1990s, cosmetic manufacturers sought to revive this technique with infallible lips stains that would last from the boardroom to the bedroom through coffee breaks and meals.
Although the formulas and fashionable shades have changed with the changing trends, most women still carry a tube or two tucked into their purses just in case. We are so enamored with lipstick, in fact, that even during recessions, lipstick sales often increase, likely due to its affordability. Whether or not you believe reports that lipstick sales increased during the Depression by the 25%, lipstick is still an important element to a woman’s wardrobe.
Here are some other interesting lipstick facts:
- Mesopotamians ground gems to dust and used it to rub on their lips to add some sparkle and shine.
- Carmine, a red coloring extracted from cochineal beetles was used in lipstick in ancient Egypt and the tint is still used in lip color today.
- Lipstick was widely used during the Elizabethan period in England when the “look” of the day was pale white faces and brightly colored lips. The tide shifted, however, and for another century, lip color use was confined to the lower classes and women of the evening.
- Early lipstick wasn’t a stick at all. Instead, it came in a pot or wrapped in paper tubing that one applied with a brush.
- By the late 1890s, the Sears Roebuck catalog advertised rouge for the cheeks and lips and women became hooked.
- On March 17, 1912, the New York Times advised women to, “Touch the lips slightly with lip-stick, but do not make your mouth look like raw beef.”
- Shortly after the invention of twist-tube lipstick in 1923, cosmetic mavens Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder began selling lipstick in their salons.
- Lipstick ingredients castor oil and petroleum were in short supply during World War II.
- In the 1940s, teenage girls were discouraged from wearing lipstick, as it was thought to indicate a “loose” woman. It was at this time that subtle shades like peach and pink were born to give a softer look than the reds worn by sexy pin up girls.
- Bombshells Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe brought back bright red lips in the 1950s.
- In the 1960s, extremely pale peaches to almost white lipsticks were en vogue. Picture Twiggy and her pale lips.
Women love lipstick for the dramatic change it brings to the face, and not only with the color red. Consider the impact of black lipstick to the faces of punk rock or Goth looks or of the recent bright blue lipstick on stars like Rihanna.
Whether you choose matte, semi-matte, or high gloss lip lacquer, at prices ranging from 99¢ for NYC Sheer Red at the drugstore to Dior Mauve Mystère for $34 at Macy’s, there is something for every woman’s budget. Perhaps nothing says, “I’m ready to conquer the world” like the right shade of lipstick.
TAGS: Beauty
