Journalist Rachel Felder wrote a biography of red lipstick, Secret Weapon. The history of red lipstick”. It includes facts from the life of famous women who used it, the history of the creation of various shades and their historical significance. The book contains many reproductions of paintings, unique photographs and rare advertising posters. With the permission of the publishing house "Bombora" "Lenta.ru" publishes a fragment of the text.
In the early twentieth century, suffragettes in many countries defended the right of women to vote and participate in elections. Since the mission of the fair sex was then reduced to playing the role of wife, mistress of the house, mother and did not imply participation in political life and business, the struggle was revolutionary. Red lipstick with its inherent strength, confidence, courage and femininity has become a great way to demonstrate dedication to your ideals.
Moreover, the suffragettes managed to change public opinion about women with scarlet lips. If earlier they were associated with actresses, dancers and prostitutes, now they began to be perceived as an attribute of pious girls.
Canadian entrepreneur Elizabeth Arden, creator of the cosmetics brand of the same name, has supported the fight for women to vote. When in 1912 suffragettes staged a protest march outside her salon in New York, Arden and her co-workers came out to support the march. As support teams for the marathon runners, standing along the track and offering them water, they began handing out tubes of red lipstick to the protesters.
It became part of the suffragette uniform not only in America, but also in England, where it was used by all activists of the women's suffrage movement, including their leader Emmeline Pankhurst. A few years later, red lipstick was worn not only by civic activists, but also by ordinary women.
Queen Elizabeth I, who ruled England from 1558 to 1603, was obsessed with red lipstick. She believed that this color scares away the devil and evil spirits. Her lipsticks included cochineal, which gave a red color, viscous gum arabic (resin from acacia juice), egg white and fig tree juice, which gave a soft texture.
Elizabeth's makeup was expressive, but detrimental to her health. She eyed her with a black charcoal pencil and applied a thick layer of lead Venetian whitewash to her skin, which she diluted with vinegar. Today, such a lead-based mixture is believed to cause poisoning, skin damage and hair loss. In the paintings of her contemporaries, the queen looks majestic and uncompromising - largely thanks to this contrasting makeup.
Despite the fact that Elizabeth I lived a long life by the standards of that era - she died at the age of sixty-nine - historians believe that the cause of her death was blood poisoning. The version that long-term use of toxic lead-based cosmetics led to her death looks very plausible. When she died, there was a layer of dried lipstick on her lips (researchers believe it was between a quarter and half an inch thick) - the result of an unbridled passion for cosmetics throughout her life.
On June 2, 1953, 27-year-old Queen Elizabeth II solemnly entered Westminster Abbey on the day of her coronation. The world froze in anticipation: an event of international importance was taking place before his eyes, and for the first time it was directly broadcast on television, not only in England, but also in other countries.
Those with color televisions were fortunate enough to see the image of the queen in all its glory. She wore a floor-length silk dress embroidered with pearls, crystals and stones - diamonds, opals and amethysts, which the famous British fashion designer Norman Hartnell had created for Her Majesty. He sewed so much for the royal family that he earned the title of "Member of the Royal Victorian Order, personal tailor of Her Majesty the Queen and Her Majesty the Queen Mother."
An important part of Elizabeth's look was a dark burgundy lipstick. It was made specially for the ceremony, so that the shade was in tune with the mantle - a crimson cape trimmed with ermine fur, gold lace and filigree. The shade was named Balmoral after the castle in Scotland where the royal family spend their holidays.
Love for Her Majesty's lipsticks is undeniable: in Elizabeth's arsenal there are both time-tested red shades and pink, which she fell in love with at a more mature age. Her beloved cosmetics brands Clarins and Elizabeth Arden have even received a royal patent for the right to be named suppliers of Her Majesty's court.
During the Second World War, red lipstick became a symbol of resistance among women in the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. With its help, they declared that neither adversity nor shortage caused by the rationing system of distribution of products and goods could break them. Red lips emphasized the ability to overcome difficulties, courage, a sense of elbows and strength, needed by women who remained in the rear and were forced to master traditionally male professions. In addition, the fair sex, even in the most terrible times, like to feel attractive.
He was also a fanatical vegetarian who rejected all animal ingredients, which were often used in cosmetics at the time.
During the war, all essential goods were distributed by rationing, including food, gasoline, and tin items. Cosmetics, especially such a conspicuous item as red lipstick, were considered important for life, because they supported the spirit of women and nourished their self-esteem. Many believed that the card system should not apply to her.
In England, Winston Churchill and the British government supported this point of view and issued red and any other lipstick as needed, not on coupons. As an official from the Department of Supply told the British edition of Vogue magazine: "Cosmetics are as important to women as tobacco is to men."
Despite the initial intentions of the authorities not to restrict access to cosmetics, in wartime they were nevertheless subjected to high taxation and therefore became, in the literal sense of the word, a precious commodity - a deficit. Many women have started using beet juice to color their lips.
In America, for some time, lipstick cases were made not as usual from metal, which was spent on military needs, but from plastic. In 1942, the American War Industrial Production Committee decided to significantly reduce the production of cosmetics. However, a few months later, it returned to its previous volume due to the performances of disgruntled women.
During the Second World War, along with men, women went to the front. Prudent cosmetic companies were seized by a patriotic impulse: deciding to support their homeland and enrich themselves, they began to produce entire collections for front-line women. The most famous lipsticks of the period were Victory Red 1941 by Elizabeth Arden, Fighting Red by Tussy and Regimental Red by Helena Rubinstein. British brand Cyclax introduced its Auxiliary Red shade as "lipstick for women in the service" and even produced black and white advertising posters on which the word "lipstick" was written in bright crimson.
Elizabeth Arden has been active in the United States military. First, she had the exclusive right to sell cosmetics on military bases. Secondly, she received an order from the American government to develop a special shade of lipstick for the Reserve of the female auxiliary of the Marine Corps, created in 1943.
Arden named the color Montezuma Red after the words of the Marines' anthem, in which they promised to fight for their country everywhere - "from the palaces of Montezuma to the coast of Tripoli." A year later, the shade joined the Elizabeth Arden lipstick line and sold successfully thanks to advertisements celebrating its military background.
The war was over, and red lipstick was still a lifesaver for women. On April 15, 1945, British troops liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany. To help women recover and get back to normal, the British Red Cross sent boxes of red lipstick to the camp.
While this might seem at first glance to be impractical, the premise mattered. As one of the first officers to cross the threshold of the death camp, Lieutenant Colonel Mervyn Willett Gonin wrote in his memoirs: “Women lie on beds without sheets or nightgowns, but with red lips. They have no clothes, and they cover their shoulders with blankets when they get up, but their lips are scarlet. Finally, someone gave them back their individuality - they became women again, and not serial numbers with stamps on their shoulders."
Of course, red lipstick was not able to cross out the horrors of war that they had to endure, but it helped breathe life into these women.
