7. When In Rome:
If you were a wealthy woman in Ancient Rome, chances are you had your own professional team of hairstylists and makeup artists, called cosmatae, to apply your lipstick every day. But, unfortunately, many early iterations of lipstick contained toxic ingredients like white lead, fucus, and vermillion.
PHOTO: BACKSTAGE AT MIU MIU AT PARIS FASHION WEEK SPRING 2008
8. Banned From Set:
“Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together,” Elizabeth Taylor famously said. Unless, of course, you were a woman on one of her movie sets—the actress allegedly demanded that no one else could wear red lipstick on set.
PHOTO: BOB WILLOUGHBY
9. It’s A Morale-Booster:
While all other cosmetics were rationed in Great Britain during WWII, lipstick was kept in production because Winston Churchill felt it boosted morale.
PHOTO: VINTAGE ILLUSTRATION
10. Ingredients Have Come A Long Way:
Aside from the toxic ingredients we mentioned earlier, animal fat, sheep sweat, and ox marrow were also often used to make lip rouge. An ingredient that has stayed the same through the years? Fish scales, which are still used in lipsticks today to boost shine.
PHOTO: PINTEREST
11. Staring Contest:
According to a study conducted by the University of Manchester, men look at women with lipstick on longer than women with bare lips. They were most entranced by red lipstick, staring at it for an average of 7.3 seconds, while their gaze lingered on women with pink lipstick for an average of 6.7 seconds. They only glanced at women with bare lips for an average of 2.2 seconds.
PHOTO: PATRICK DEMARCHELIER FOR VOGUE RUSSIA
12. A Magic Cure:
We all know that swiping on some lipstick can be a huge confidence booster and mood transformer, but in England in the 1500s, people believed that lipstick actually had magical powers. Queen Elizabeth was reportedly a huge believer in the healing powers of lipstick, and was said to have had half an inch of lipstick on at the time of her death.
PHOTO: LIPSTICK QUEEN MEDIEVAL
Sources:
www.byrdie.com
Mint.com
Los Angeles Times
Harvard Law
Huffington Post
