Read My Lips-The History of Lipstick

I wear red. The color symbolizes power. Many women in the 20’s applied red to their lips as a symbol of their new found power and voice. It has been estimated that 92 million American women do not leave home without their lipstick. I know I do not step out of the house without applying my lipstick! 

It is recognized that the Egyptians of long ago wore lipstick. Since Cleopatra in 60 BC, women have applied the cosmetic to their lips. From existing depictions of the Ancient Greece we can see that they wore wigs, kohl, and henna made of plant dye from fucus algin and bromine (which was poisonous) on their lips. Queen Elizabeth, a trend setter and ruler, wore red on her lips. Not everyone loved the lipstick. In 1770, the British Parliament passed a law that said a woman wearing lipstick could be tried for witch craft. Queen Victoria of Britain said it was considered “impolite” to wear any make-up. In the 1800’s wearing red on your lips meant you were “fast” however, in the Roaring 20’s, the suffragists wore red as a symbol of their new found power. Hollywood starlets such as Gloria Swanson and Lana Turner helped increase the popularity of the lipstick. Elizabeth Arden opened a beauty parlor in the 1930’s that helped the average woman access make-up. And in1949, Hazel Bishop perfected a long lasting lipstick.