Lipstick has been a staple of beauty routines for millennia, but its path has been marked by both adoration and condemnation. From ancient Egypt to modern Hollywood, this cosmetic has evolved dramatically.
Ancient Beginnings and Deadly Ingredients
Lipstick's story begins approximately 5,000 years ago in ancient Egypt. Women there used a range of substances including red lead, cinnabar, red ochre, and fish scales to color their lips. Nefertiti applied a lip color made from the mother-of-pearl of shells, which consisted of calcium carbonate and conchiolin. Cleopatra, meanwhile, favored a mixture derived from red beetles, ant eggs, and fish scales. Some Egyptian women also used a blend of bromine and iodine, which earned the ominous nickname "kiss of death" due to its toxicity.
From Condemnation to Mainstream Acceptance
Attitudes toward lipstick shifted dramatically in the Middle Ages. In Spain, lip rouge was considered the preserve of prostitutes and the lower classes. A papal bull declared that women who painted their faces distorted the image of the Virgin Mary, and the Inquisition had the authority to arrest such women for sacrilege. By the 17th century, lipstick was called the "sign of the devil," and English pastor Thomas Hall argued that face painting inflamed lust. Legal restrictions continued: in 1770, the British Parliament passed a law allowing a woman who used cosmetics to seduce a man to be tried for witchcraft. In Pennsylvania, a marriage could be annulled if a wife had used "deceitful" paints during courtship. Despite such bans, French women alone consumed about 2 million pots of lip rouge annually by 1781.
The 19th century brought further disapproval under Queen Victoria, who deemed makeup vulgar and suitable only for actors. However, a major breakthrough came in 1915 when American Maurice Levy invented the metal sliding tube for lipstick. The 1920s saw Hollywood legitimize the product, with stars like Clara Bow and Joan Crawford popularizing new makeup styles. During the Great Depression and World War II, lipstick sales remained robust. A 1938 study found that 58% of American households owned at least one lipstick—nearly matching the number of households that had mustard. Wartime metal shortages forced manufacturers to use plastic and paper for tubes, but production continued because lipstick was considered vital for morale.
Modern lipstick contains waxes such as beeswax, carnauba wax, and paraffin, along with pigments and emollients like castor oil. In the 1990s, crushed fish scales were added to create a shimmering effect. Notably, a study by the University of Southern California found that women are seven times less likely than men to develop lip cancer, thanks to the protective barrier provided by lipstick.
Today, lipstick is not just a cosmetic but a symbol of confidence and individuality. Its long history reflects changing social norms and cultural values, from ancient reverence to medieval vilification and modern ubiquity.