Sissy Celebration: National Lipstick Day 7/29

A wondrous reason for a sissy celebration: National Lipstick Day is today July, 29. Here are some fun facts about lipstick through history.

-As I mentioned in my en femme guide to fun cosmetic facts, the people of ancient Sumeria are the first to be thought to wear a primitive form of lipstick. They would crush semi-precious stones and applied them to their lips. This would make them appear flushed by reddening them. 

-Queen Schub-ad of ancient Ur was thought to be one of the very first royalty to wear lipstick around 3500 BCE.

-Lipstick was often worn by both women and men throughout ancient history. Much like heels, lipstick has come in and out of favor and fashion. They both always seemed to reviliatize their popularity though. They both were used to signify wealth at certain points in time and also vilified at other points.   

-Cleopatra is believed to have used red pigment like cinnabar and ochre on her lips and cheeks.

-Medieval texts stated that at the time the church believed wearing lipstick was a sin. 

-During Queen Elizabeth’s reign in England (1558 to 1603), she created a trend for red lipstick. She believed it warded off evil spirits and death. Unfortunately, the kind she favored to wear was lead-based. Considering she wore it so often, it is quite possible she gave herself lead-poisoning. She made her own blend. It consisted of a mixture of what historians believe was a combination of:

• gum Arabic
• cochineal
• fig milk
• egg whites.  

-Queen Elizabeth I was also to use a cosmetic concoction with a mix of Plaster of Paris and red dye. It was then combined into a paste in the form of a crayon-like stick. It was then left to dry in the sun and consolidate. This is thought to be one of the first types of lip pencils. 

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 -As during the medieval time frame, the controversy of this cosmetic became akin to its own scarlet letter again. The British Parliament decided to ban it in 1770. They believed it was a  devilish bewitchment to “trick men into marriage.” It was considered garish and uncouth. Only marginalized members of society wore it. It seems lipstick was bedeviled and villainized yet again.  

-By the 1850s though, women were still wearing it and prominently enough so that there were published warnings about the danger of lead and vermilion used in making and wearing cosmetics.  

-While different sources site different dates as to exactly when the first commercially success lipstick brand came onto the scene, it is thought to be around 1830 -1880s by maison Guerlain in Paris France. When it was first produced, it was sold in a pot & typically applied with a brush. It is said that Aimee & Gabriel Guerlain had an employee inspired by a local candlemaker’s colorful storefront full of vibrant wax with different pigmentations and came up with the idea of utilizing a more tubular stick-like shape. It was then made with tallow, beeswax and castor oil and covered in silk paper. Prior to this, Guerlain used a pomade of butter, wax and grapefruit with pigments. Many of which were plant-based.

-By 1921 it was again considered socially acceptable to wear lipstick in England.

-Meanwhile, America was a bit more quick to embrace lipstick. At first it was mainly screen stars and actresses who wore makeup in movies. It was mostly to emphasize their features but being it was considered brazen to wear in public, most wouldn’t wear it off stage or for everyday wear.

-That changed when icon Sarah Berhardt  began wearing lipstick and rouge in public and even would apply it there as well. Before that time, it would be considered scandalous to not be more discreet when applying cosmetics. But by 1912 many fashionable ladies would wear it when venturing out, so long as it was, “applied cautiously.” At least this was what was advised from The New York Times. 

-Although, in contrast to the mpre delicate lip palette suggested, at this time, Suffragettes utilized a much more brazen style. Vivid, bright red lipstick as a subversive symbol of strength while fighting for the right to vote. In fact, red became a color of rebellion, revolution and liberation for them and as many Suffragettes protesters marched passed Elizabeth Arden’s salon in New York in 1912, she gave many free tubes of red lipstick out in support as a fellow Suffragette.  

By 1915, lipstick was available in the familiar cylindrical containers, which at the time were typically made of metal. This new version of encasement was invented by Maurice Levy. 

-During WWll, metal lipstick tubes were made instead with plastic and paper tubes. This was because metal was needed for the war efforts. Other ingredients needed for its production including castor oil and petroleum for lipstick were also quite scare at this time.

-Notably though, World War II paved the way to allowing women to work in the fields of scientific research and engineering. By the late 1940s an organic chemist named Hazel Bishop created the first long-lasting formula of no-smear lipstick. With Raymond Specter, an advertiser she also created a thriving lipstick business.

-Kiss My Deadly: Faux lipstick tubes were used to disguise small pistols, by KGB operatives during the Cold War. These single shot 4.5 mm weapons were small and innocuous enough to get past border security guards.

     -Lipstick has also been used as an interesting barometer to spending habits and how they pertain to the convergence of consumeristic psychology and economic shifts. It was noticed by economics and sociology professor Juliet Schor that little luxuries like upscale lipstick brands are splurged on during times of recession and economic turmoil.

It’s thought of as being a way to maintain a sense of security and keeping up appearances when more obvious and splashy purchases would be out of the question. She calls this, “the lipstick effect”. It seems there may indeed be some correlation but since there are often booms of lipstick sales in times of prosperity it’s hard to say for sure how accurate it is overall. Many other complex factors are often at play. Marketers are savvy to capitalize on this potential effect though and online many use UGC and FOMO to keep products considered little indulgences front and center in their minds. 

-There is a similar economic theory by Leonard Lauder who is the heir to the Estee Lauder fortune called, “The lipstick index” which is a financial indicator that uses cosmetic sales to forecast bear markets or recessions.” This theory hasn’t been proven but it’s an intriguing take and would be fun to continue studying as well. it’s like the lipstick effect but postulates that people’s spending can begin before the full weight of economic stress has hit. 

-A recent study done by Manchester University found that most men are attracted to lipstick.  A recent study at the University of Manchester found that men really are attracted to lipstick, with red being the most alluring.

-Looking for the perfect shade of nude lipstick? Let your nipple color be your guide. It’s supposedly how you find the perfect color match to your complex when looking for a nude shade.

-One of the most expensive lipsticks in the world is H. Couture Beauty Diamond Lipstick. It’s tagged at $14 million. The lipstick is infused with champagne and the tube is made of 1,200 diamonds and 18-carat gold. 

-Founder of UOMA Beauty Sharon Chuter has created an amazing lipstick line called the, “Badass Icon Collection” in which every shade of lipstick in it is named after an iconic black woman. They  were not only beautiful but also created major contributions to culture and brought their inner beauty into the world through their amazing actions. There are gorgeous tubes of lipsticks named for Tina Turner, Nina Simone, Rosa Parks, Whitney Houston and Diana Ross, to name a few badass icons. 

Beautify Your Actions

-Indulging in Chantecaille’s lipstick also gives back to the earth. They have philanthropy collections“that are free of phthalates, sulfates, mineral oil, petrolatum, palm oil, and GMOs.” They also support causes like “the Amazon Conservation Team and their Ancestral Tides initiative.” 

I have made my own lipstick before and it was so much fun! Email me for the recipe. 😉