Interesting Lipstick Facts

Cleopatra and Nefertiti

Lipstick has very long and quite interesting history. It has rung the bell with fashionistas since ancient times. The first lipstick is considered to have been invented in the Ancient Egypt more than four thousand years ago!

And then it was used all the way from common women to empresses. All the more reason it is hard to imagine today’s woman with no lipstick glitter on her lips.

But have you ever thought that this miraculous inhabitant of every makeup bag is more than meets the eye. Here are some interesting lipstick facts.

History of Lipstick

At the time lipstick was invented, dark shades were in common use. For instance Nefertiti preferred to use lipstick made of mollusc shell nacre, while Cleopatra opted for the one made of red ochre.

Unfortunately such lipsticks were very toxic. (The expression “kiss of death” really came into use.)

The Middle Ages can be marked as hard times for lipstick fans, as lipstick was proscribed by the Church. It was thought that women who used to wear lipstick would be taken for witches and cast into hell on the Day of Last Judgment.

Women surely were very frightened and therefore everybody forgot about lipstick until the Renaissance.

The Renaissance placed itself on the record as the time when lipstick was used not only by women but by men as well! At the court of Ludwig XVI (France) men applied lipstick in order to make their lip contour more noticeable against moustache and beard.

But the present lipstick appearance dates back to the 1903. The novelty, set for appliance to lips appeared at the World Fair having made a real boom as the first lipstick! Women were enchanted with new beauty invention.

Later in 1915 the world cosmetic brand Guerlain presented a new lipstick made in the present form of stick, which became the most popular cosmetic product.

In the 1920s the lipstick firmly came into use thanks to Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Joan Crawford.

Henceforth the magical lipstick has become an absolute must-have for every woman. And in contrast to that ancient unvaried lipstick, now we can enjoy various kinds and shades of it to fit any fastidious taste.  

Here are some lipstick types:

• Moisturising lipstick
• Chapstick
• Lipstick, visually bleaching teeth
• Glossy lipstick
• Glittery lipstick and etc.

Some more interesting facts about lipstick:

• French scientists calculated that a man swallows up to 6 pounds of lipstick during his life, while a woman up to 17!!!
• Most lipsticks have fish scales as the component.
• One can judge a woman’s character by the lipstick colour she opts for:

Red lipstickis the choice of cheerful women.

Pink lipstickis for romantic women.

Brightorange lipstick colour is for eccentric women who like to be in the spotlight.

Lipstick of pearl shadesis an option of careerist.

Compiled By Silvanus, Lagos.