Splurge on the high-end crimson lipstick you’ve been eyeing this July 29, National Lipstick Day! Lipstick has likely been around for thousands of years, made out of an insane array of items, from gemstones to crushed bugs. It has also come to symbolize so many things for women particularly through the eras, and still is an important part for many makeup routines today. It’s no wonder that it’s so common to hear the phrase “I feel like I’m naked without my lipstick!”
National Lipstick Day is a super fun celebration of all that lipstick has done for us — life is just so much more fun with it! It also has a far more interesting history than you might think.
The first people to wear lipstick were likely Ancient Sumerians. Crushed gemstones decorated not only their lips, but eyes and face as well. Lipsticks in some form also caught on in ancient China with beeswax, and in Ancient Greece, where courtesans wore berry-derived dyes on their lips.
The popularity only grew in 16th-century England, where a bright white face and hyper-crimson lips were worn widely to steal Queen Elizabeth’s look. It was used only for courtesans and actors and considered uncouth to be worn by the general public.
By the 19th century, the first commercial lipstick made of deer tallow, castor oil, and beeswax had been made in France — and lipstick absolutely took off. The US quickly caught on, applying lipstick with a brush rather than a tube. In WW2, lipstick was scarce, and started to be packaged in plastic and paper tubes. The first long-lasting, no-smear lipstick was also invented during this time!
The number of shades of lipstick have exploded since the early 20th century, when colors were limited. Each decade brought its own new style and popularized new shades. In the 1970s, fun colors like sparkling navy blue and frosted lime green were even introduced!
Today, makeup videos and “get ready with me’s” dominate social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube. Some makeup artists rise to huge fame and make their living off of recommending different lipsticks and trying them on for their viewers. The lipstick industry has grown into a huge player in makeup and offers a chance for users to express themselves through makeup!
