Insects in Your Makeup || The Shocking History of Lipstick

Marilyn Monroe once said, “Put on some red lipstick and live a little!” She was very much aware of the empowering effects that lipsticks have on people.

But have you ever stopped and wondered what makes a little tube of color this confidence-boosting and power-inducing? And how did it come into existence? The story of lipstick is a fascinating and even shocking one! So, let’s jump back in time to take a closer look at its evolution!

Makeup is not a modern world thing. People didn’t only paint caves back in the olden days... Humans have been painting their faces and bodies for a long time too. Think centuries! The history of cosmetics dates back to seven thousand years, and almost every society had some form of face paint in their culture. However, the reason that lies behind their face painting activities was neither decorative nor kids’ birthday parties...

They were doing that as a protection against the dark forces which they believed to exist. It is actually argued that cosmetic body art has been one of the earliest forms of ritual in human culture. Most of the time, they would use naturally sourced pigments in the colors black, yellow, and red ochre that came from colored mud or dirt. So, the next time you fall into a lump of mud, you can tell everyone it’s makeup! Ooh!

Eventually, face painting started to be used for decorative and beauty purposes. This way, the first lip colors appeared. People from the Sumerian civilization were the first ones to wear lipsticks. The color was obtained from natural substances like fruits, henna, and clay rust. On the other hand, Mesopotamian women made some fancier choices and used ground-up precious gemstones and jewels to add color to their lips.

Ancient Egypt was also amongst the earliest cultures to use cosmetics. It was believed that makeup served as a marker of wealth and a way to appeal to the deities. Both men and women wore makeup. The staple product of everyone’s makeup bags was a reddish rouge for cheeks and lips, in addition to black kohl eyeliner, white powders, and malachite-colored eyeshadows. Think about hieroglyphics, and you can picture what I’m talking about!

The redness that the rouge would give was especially desirable because it was believed to make you look healthy. The red color was popular because it was also one of the most available and vibrant pigments that existed at that time. In addition to using dirt and mud, Egyptian people used some other questionable things to get vibrant makeup. They imported parasitic insects that are called “Kermes”.

Then they would crush these bugs to achieve bright red carmine pigments. But that was no easy job! It would take approximately seventy-thousand bugs to make just one pound of dye. They added some crushed ants into the mixture, and voilà! They had the perfect shade of red! And here is some hot gossip; Cleopatra was really into that color!

The surprising thing is that the same pigment that’s derived from the bugs is still used in lipsticks today, as well as some food products, medications, artificial flowers, and paints. Don’t worry, it’s safe to eat. In addition to bugs and other ingredients on the safer end, Egyptians used harmful substances like lead, too. Well, you can guess that it didn’t end well for them...

Red was not the only lip color they used, by the way. They also achieved lipsticks with shimmering effects using a pearlescent substance found in fish scales. Just like carmine, that one is still used today as well. One last thing that’s worth mentioning here is that Egyptians also used makeup products on their mummies. That is because they believed it would make them irresistible in the afterlife. Um, to whom?

Egyptians were not the only ones who were captivated by the power lipsticks held. Ancient Chinese made the first lip balms with beeswax to protect their lips. They also wore lipstick, despite Mulan’s discontent about it, to reshape their lips into circles, hearts, flowers, butterflies, you name it!

During the Middle Ages, in the west, lipstick gained a bad reputation, but it got its popularity back during Queen Elizabeth the First’s reign. She was a true makeup fan, especially lipstick! Her regular makeup routine included white powder and a lot of lipstick — and I mean A LOT!

She believed that lipstick had preventative healing powers and health benefits, so she coated her lips in an inch of lipstick. I wonder if it lasted long... Ironically, her lipsticks actually included harmful ingredients like lead which slowly poisoned her. Despite the queen’s fondness for lipsticks, they were actually only available to noble women and actors at the time.

Then came the Victorian Era... Queen Victoria was the opposite of Queen Elizabeth, and she deemed the use of lipstick impolite. This caused lipsticks to stay out of fashion for the good part of the century. However, they were still worn by women who were considered on the outskirts of society, such as... actresses.

Yet again, that didn’t stop some other women from wanting to have at least blushed lips. They achieved that through biting their lips or buying faintly-tinted lip balms, which they could claim were for moisturizing their chapped lips if they were caught.

By the end of the 19th century, the Victorian bare-lips influence started to wear off, kind of like you know, lipstick and an on-growing interest in cosmetics began. It is also around the time that the lipstick industry came into existence. And the invention of the metal, cylindrical lipstick tube definitely helped.

In the United States, as actresses transferred from stage to movie production, lipstick started to be seen as more glamorous, rather than scandalous. Actresses who wore dark red or plum lipstick with other heavy makeup started turning into style icons. In 1912, women who were seeking the right to vote wore red lipstick to their rallies as a sign of solidarity, protest, and independence.

In the 1920s, flappers started applying lipstick in public. We see this as a common practice now, but that was actually a shocking and ground-breaking act at the time. That’s around the same time when lipsticks became more accessible and affordable. They started to be sold in front of the counters rather than behind them.

During the 1930s lipstick sales rose despite the hard economic times. This phenomenon was later going to be known as the lipstick effect, the theory that states consumers are more willing to buy less costly luxury items even in the face of economic hardship.

Still, lipstick was seen as an act of rebellion by quite a good portion of society, especially older people. A 1937 survey revealed that over 50% of teenage girls fought with their parents over wearing lipstick. However, the golden era of Hollywood brought the golden era of lipsticks.

Actresses like Marylin Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, and Jayne Mansfield helped popularize dark red lips which in return increased the demand. So, in 1951, a survey showed that about two thirds of teenage-girls would wear lipstick — that’s how popular it was!

One of the problems back then was that lipsticks would smear off easily. This imperfection was fixed in the 1950s, when an American chemist Hazel Bishop invented the first non-smearing lipstick ever. From that time on, choices of lipstick colors and methods of application started to change depending on fashion trends and social movements.

The 60s brought lighter pink, frosty pastel, nude colors, and lip glosses. The late 70s brought the punk movement which in return caused the release of deep purples, extraordinary neons like acid green, or jet blacks into the market. The 80s, aka the disco era, was all about the glam! It was also a renaissance era for bright pinks and reds as people tried to match their lips to their bold eye makeup.

The 90s were, on the other hand, all about minimalism, with some of the most popular shades being the different tones of browns and raisins. The 2000s meant glossy and plump lips. And now, there is literally no limit to how one can express themselves through lipsticks. Think about any color and any lipstick finish, and you most probably will be able to find it!