Lipstick: A History

You all know how much I love lipstick so, inspired by Beautifully Invisible and Grit & Glamour‘s recent forays into the history of nail polish, I’ve decided to delve into the past of my favourite statement beauty product. It was even more interesting than I expected…

The origins of lipstick

It is thought that lipstick originated in the ancient city of Ur, in what is now known as Iraq. It quickly became popular in Egypt where it was applied by women and men as part of their daily beauty routine. Says Style.com:

“Red was the color of choice of the royals. Cleopatra allegedly mixed pigment from crushed carmine beetles with an ant egg base to get her russet-colored pout.”

Early lipstick was made by crushing semi-precious stones however in it’s infancy there was also experimentation with mulberries, seaweed and even vermilion. Cosmetologist Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi invented solid lipsticks.

Despite the regal association in Egypt, red was actually the colour of choice for prostitutes in not-so-far-away Greece. Medieval Europe considered lipstick to be ‘an incarnation of Satan’ and so it was banned by the church.

During Queen Elizabeth I’s reign make up became extremely popular, with the Queen starting a trend amongst upper-class women for a stark white face offset by bold red lips. It was to remain her signature look throughout her life.

Source: Wikipedia

In 1770 a law was proposed that said if a British woman wore make up prior to her wedding day, the marriage should be annulled. And not all Queen’s were fans of lipstick – Queen Victoria banned it.

France was the first country to manufacture lipstick in the late 1800s with Guerlain the forerunners; people had  previously made their own lipstick at home.

The early 1900s

By the early 1920s lipstick had become socially acceptable in Britain.

Make up artist Max Factor applied vampy shades to silver screen star Theda Bara and also invented the legendary ‘cupid’s bow’ application. This was initially used as it was actually a more practical method rather than for aesthetics; the hot studio lights caused the lipstick to run unless it was applied only to the centre of the lips and the lips were outlined with greasepaint foundation.

The 1940s

During World War II women were encouraged to wear lipstick in order to boost morale and a US Marine dictate stated that the colour of the lipstick had to match the uniform’s chevrons and also the cord trim on hats – an Elizabeth Arden lipstick called ‘Montezuma Red’ was produced to meet demand.

Source: vogue.com

The 1950s

Stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor popularised what is now the classic red lip. The 50s pin-up look is still worn by many of today’s celebrities including Katy Perry, Paloma Faith, Dita Von Teese and Gwen Stefani.

Source: TopNews.in

The 1960s

In the 1960s lipstick was seen as a sign of femininity and those who didn’t wear it were assumed to either be gay or mentally challenged!

The trend for lipstick was to wear it pale, with white lipstick often applied over pink to tone it down or else used as a base with concealer over the top. Lipsticks were also most commonly sheer or shiny.

Source: AllPosters.com

The 1970s

Black became the colour du jour for lipstick in the 70s, due in part to the popular punk and goth cultures of the decade. Brands such as Biba played with other unusual colours such as green and navy blue.

The 1980s

We were still toying with the idea of colour in the 1980s, with ‘mood lipsticks’ sold by many mainstream cosmetic companies; they were designed to change colour based on the wearers PH levels, supposedly due to their current state of mind. Mood lipsticks had previously only been popular with children.

The 1990s

Brown was a very popular choice in the 90s and in the earlier half of the decade so were semi-matte shades. Towards the noughties we were inspired by the pearlescent sheen as worn by our favourite ‘friends’ Rachel, Monica and Phoebe.

Source: babybear707.wordpress.com

Current trends

In recent years we’ve seen models parade the catwalk with ‘sex doll’ mouths (Alexander McQueen AW09).

Source: Style.com

When I was having my make up done for the Westfield blogger style photoshoot, I was discussing some current lipstick trends with my make up artist. Both fans of a bold mouth, we love the runway look of bare-looking perfect skin paired with nothing more than a slash of vibrant lipstick.

On the AW11 catwalks models wore every colour you can think of, from the palest nudes to dark aubergine at Kenzo. At YSL make up artist Pat McGrath and designer Stefano Pilati changed their minds at the last minute, stripping the models of the bright purple that had initially been applied and sending them out with matte neutrals.

If you’re not typically a wearer of lipstick it’ll be the perfect season for experimenting and finding your colour! Have fun!

My favourite lip products

• No7 Wild Volume Lipstick in Forever Cherry
• MAC Lipstick in Ruby Woo
• No7 Stay Perfect Lipstick in Gay Geranium
• 17 Lasting Fix Lipstick in Mulled Wine
• Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain in Gothic
• Lipcote
• Original Vaseline Lip Therapy and Vaseline Lip Therapy Rosy Lips