6 Things you didn’t know about lipstick

Love/hate relationships exist where red lips are concerned. Half of the male population thinks lipstick is extremely sexy and the other half thinks it overdoing it.  Or they think both, therefore you have absolutely no idea whether or not wearing it will be appreciated. I have the same situation at my house and you might recognize this as well.

It’s an everyday discussion that goes back a long long way. And with long I mean centuries. The British parliament once came to a point where they were at the verge of forbidding makeup. Didn’t happen, but imagine if it had. The world would certainly have looked a lot more boring. The Huffington Post reported some extraordinary but very funny historical lipstick facts:

In ancient Greece a rich woman with her lips painted red was considered a prostitute. Most women went through life au naturelle so red lips were pushing it. I don’t really get that, as red lips look great with those white draped dresses, kind of sexy. Well whatever, thank goodness it’s far behind us.

In 1650 the British parliament tried to ban lipstick. At the time they didn’t call it lipstick but ‘ the vice of painting’. Luckily the law never passed. The smart people in parliament knew better and now it is considered an art.

During the Roman age lipstick was used as an idicatior of social status. Even the men wore lipstick to rectify their ranks. Lipstick still impresses, think high heels, big bag and you got the job.

Before her coronation in 1952 Queen Elizabeth II had her own lipstick made. The soft red-blue received the name “the Balmoral Lipstick” named after her Scottish manor.

Elizabeth Taylor loved her red lipstick so much she forbade everyone else on the film set to wear it. Speaking of iconic.

During the Second World War all cosmetics, except lipstick, were rationed. Winston Churchill decided to keep lipstick in production because he believed it had a positive effect on moral. That sales increased during the war will not come as a surprise to you.