Lips part 3

So regular readers, I’ve talked about how to care for your lips and started to look at the history of lipstick. Here’s the next history info blog….1900s to the present day. I find the history of make up fascinating and this blog takes in my mother’s youth during WW2, I just love the pictures of her with her red lipstick that she shared with her 4 sisters!

So thank you BABTAC for sharing this with us…….

‘By 1915 lipstick was being widely commercially produced and was sold in cylinder metal containers. These containers were invented by Maurice Levy. To move the lipstick up the case you had to slide a lever on the tube.

In 1923 (the year my mum was born) the swivel-up lipstick was created by James Bruce Mason Jr. Lipstick became more and more popular due to the evolution of the cinema and film, where actresses would be seen with a fully make up look. In the late 1940s, Hazel Bishop, an organic chemist, created the first long lasting lipstick, which was named No Smear Lipstick.

During the 20th Century various new shades of lipstick were introduced due to advances in technology and trends. In the 1920s a deep red was very popular and flapper girls would wear lipstick to symbolize their independence. (See more about this in the link below). In the 1930s Elizabeth Arden introduced new lipstick colours and inspired other make up companies to create a variety of shades. In the 40s lipstick was considered a morale booster during the war, due to it being inexpensive to make. A brand name Gala introduced a pale shimmery lipstick in the 50s and later Max Factor created a popular lipstick called Strawberry Meringue, colours then began being made in lavender, pale pink, white and peach, providing more neutral shades for teens. Red remained popular still, as film stars continued to opt for a bolder make up look.
Later in the 20th Century technologies advanced and ‘mood’ lipsticks were introduced, that were supposed to change colour when applied depending on the wearers’ mood. In the 90s semi-matte finish lipsticks were introduced, but towards the end of the 90s pearl shades in a shiny finish came into fashion.’

And above is an advert from the 1930s that brings us full circle to my first article about caring for your lips – not sure I fancy this product though!

Next time, a bit more about today’s lipsticks and trends.