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Lipstick Through The Ages

Lipstick. We've seen it on every woman. We place it subtly on our lips and hope it makes us more attractive, more sophisticated, more woman. For many, wearing it is a rite of passage. It is one of things we do to declare that we are ready to become women. It's a very curious thing to expect from a mixture of pigments, oils, waxes and emollients.

This cosmetic has been with mankind for quite a while. It did not begin in the early twentieth century or the century before that. Or the century before that. The origins of lipstick lie in the mists of time; in the beginnings of human civilization in fact.

The first to wear lipstick were the women of Mesopotamia. They did not use ordinary lipstick. They crushed semi-precious jewels and used that on their lips. The women of the ancient Indus civilization also wore lipstick. The women of Ancient Egypt did not use jewels. They extracted a plant dye called fucin in order to paint their lips. It was very much like henna except fucin was poisonous. It resulted in serious illnesses. Kiss of death indeed! Cleopatra was another avid lipstick wearer. Thankfully, she didn't use fucin. It was made from carmine beetles and ants.

Lipstick continued to improve. During the Golden Age of Islam, solid lipsticks were invented. While lipsticks spread throughout Southwest Asia and North Africa, Christian Europe banned it. The Church declared it to be one of Satan's tools and cosmetics were only proper for prostitutes.

This attitude began to reverse only on the 16th century. Elizabeth I of England wore lipstick and made it fashionable. This time the lipstick was made from beeswax and plant stains. Only upper class women or actors wore lipstick. However, the forces of the church undid Elizabeth's fashion statement.

During the 19th century, lipstick was again called impolite and reserved for vulgar women. No church declared that. They didn't have to. Queen Victoria did it for them. She banished it. However, Elizabeth's fashion took fruit elsewhere. The French adopted lipstick and make-up in general. They were trendsetters of fashion and they managed to convince the rest of Europe of its worth. However sections of the population still frowned at wearing it.

It wasn't until the 1930s that lipstick gained respectability. The movies helped this turnabout to occur. It became a requirement for women to put their face on before going out. Many beauty parlors and salons opened up that catered to the rage in the make-up that the actresses wore on screen.

From there, we have the lipstick that we know today. Lipstick has changed since it began. It continues to change; moisturizers and sunscreen are added to lipstick in order to protect the lips. What was once mere decoration is has also become a way for us to protect our sensitive mouth. In the future, lipstick will continue to change. Let it surprise us when the changes come.