Lipstick ‘Kiss Of Death’ – Its Old History And Tradition Among Women Around The World

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Women have always highly regarded lipstick as the primary and most popular beauty tool of all time.

Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt/Elizabeth I of England used red lipstick. Source: Wikimedia Commons 

Millennia ago, it covered up the imperfections of their appearance and emphasized the lips, giving them a beautiful hue, and so it does today.

One of the red lipstick's many desirable qualities is its flattering. It looks perfect on blondes, brunettes, redheads, and gray-haired women. No matter the age of a woman, it is a universal makeup item because it is simply - neutral.

As with many other inventions, this beauty tool has roots far in antiquity.

Lipstick was essential for a woman from Babylonia, Egypt, or elsewhere worldwide to look better. This tool has survived up to our times and still accompanies almost all women worldwide, regardless of culture and tradition.

Initially, Lipstick Was Poisonous

As with many other inventions, this is also rooted far in antiquity.

Historical records show that the lipstick was poisonous, and mainly because of this - specifically in terms of the specifics used by the Egyptians - it received the name of the "kiss of death."

Five thousand years ago, women crumbled red stones and adorned their lips with this powder in ancient Mesopotamia. In ancient Egypt, a mixture of red seaweed, iodine, and bromine was produced. Still, it is said that the composition was so poisonous that only prostitutes offering oral sex used it.

Women of the ancient Indus Valley also used makeup, darkening their lips with red-tinted lipstick-like substances made of seaweed, clay, and boiled dried insects. The lipstick used by Cleopatra or Queen Nefertiti differed significantly from that known to us today. It did not look like today's cosmetics.

Usually, ancient women used special powder from dried plants and insects, but such mixtures were poisonous, and they had to be very careful not to lick their lips.

Despite this threat, women could not resist the charm of the red color. They knew perfectly well how great sensual power it possessed. Intense expressive and red makeup symbolized beauty at the time; it was also a way of honoring the gods.

Lipstick, Christianity And The British Parliament

The early Christians of Medieval Europe recognized makeup as Satan's tool. For a short time, the fashion for red lips was restored by Queen Elizabeth I, and her depictions showed her white skin, red-orange lips, and flaming red hair were portrayed more than once. However, she was a royal person, and other women were not.     

Otherwise, according to Christian views, a decent woman was supposed to have a natural look, and enhancing natural beauty was considered a crime.

In 1650, the British Parliament unsuccessfully attempted to ban the wearing of lipstick because it was (as they called it) "the vice of painting." During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the lipstick was made from a blend of red stains from plants and beeswax, but unfortunately, it was banned again by Queen Victoria, who called it - immoral.

In 1770, the British Parliament passed a law condemning lipstick, stating that "women found guilty of seducing men into matrimony by a cosmetic means could be tried for witchcraft.

Many British gentlemen also believed that women who wore makeup were trying to force men to marry.

Red Lips Of Greek Prostitutes And Respect For Lipstick In Rome

The red color of the lips successfully fashioned by the ancient Egyptians spread quickly to ancient Greece and Rome. However, the tradition was only prevalent in some places. Early in the Greek empire (when most women usually went without makeup), red lipstick or lip paint was considered a sign that a woman was a prostitute or a courtesan.

Later, between 700 and 300 BC, the lip paint tradition spread to upper-class women who painted their lips with cosmetics made from dyes containing Tyrian purple, crushed mulberries, and other substances. In 1983, a life-size head statue of a goddess was excavated from China's Niu He Liang Hongshan Culture site, which dates back more than 5000 years. The goddess's lips were red, indicating that the tradition of reddening lips was already known millennia ago.

In ancient Rome, on the other hand, lipstick became a kind of expression of highness, social rank, and wealth.

Lipstick In The United States

In the United States, lips were seen as even less favorable than those in Europe.

The Puritan American approach began to change thanks to Sarah Bernhardt - the French actress and the first big star of silent cinema. When she first appeared in public with her lips painted red, she caused a scandal. Although actresses were allowed more on stage, they were subject to severe criticism in public life.

During the Second World War, red lipstick (because of its ingredients) was a luxurious and rare commodity, but the situation began to change after the war. The red lipstick was highly appreciated even among young girls in the United States; in the meantime, American magazines tried to warn women against the disastrous effects of makeup.

After the war, the time of great stars began with Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Ava Gardner. The sexiest women in the world had red lips and the power to seduce men, and men wanted to be with them. For all unhappy, disappointed, and abandoned women, Elizabeth Taylor had good advice:

"Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together."

By the end of the 1950s, 98 percent of ladies in the U.S. used lipsticks.

Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer

Updated on Nov 27, 2023

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