Mar 23, 2019 3 min read

“Bet your bottom dollar, you and I are through / ‘Cause lipstick on your collar told the tale on you.” – Connie Francis, “Lipstick on Your Collar”

Being a historian and columnist, I get lots of history-related emails, but one of the most unusual described the history of lipstick, so – always looking for unusual stories – I’ll share (with some commentary throughout).

The standard red lipstick, or red rouge, probably began with ancient Greek prostitutes, who were required to wear it in public to advertise the fact that they were prostitutes, so men seeking lifelong mates would know to steer clear. Around the same time, in ancient Egypt, it was a symbol of status and power for both men and women. Cleopatra, whose lovers included Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, wore it.

In the Middle Ages, lipstick was denounced by the Catholic Church as devilish (somewhat ironic given that most Popes in the Renaissance period of the late Middle Ages engaged in non-stop debauchery). Catholic women who wore lipstick were expected to repent of this sin in confession. Then in 1558, England’s Queen Elizabeth I took power and embraced lipstick, claiming it contained mystical healing powers, and women across England followed suit.

Over the next few centuries lipstick declined in popularity, especially during the Victorian era, but in America in the 1900s, as the women’s suffrage movement advanced, women embraced lipstick as a symbol of feminine identity and defiant empowerment. From there, lipstick became increasingly popular, and when the lipstick “swivel stick” was invented, the cosmetic business took off.

But not in Nazi Germany, as its leader, Adolf Hitler, publicly denounced lipstick for making Aryan women appear impure – thereby handing the Allies a powerful propaganda weapon. Touting lipstick as a symbol of feminine power, in America companies introduced new shades of lipstick, including “Fighting Red” and “Victory Red.” “Montezuma Red,” created by Elizabeth Arden, was named after the lyric in the U.S. Marine fighting song and became part of the official uniform of the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. And in the factories where women worked during World War II while the men were overseas fighting, lipstick was made available so women had a sense of feminine normalcy in abnormal times. (Google the photo of the famous Rosie the Riveter and gaze at her ruby red lips.) For the same reason, even in England, where so many products were rationed, lipstick was not.

As Connie Francis’ ex-boyfriend can attest, lipstick has its downside, and today it is seen by many women as an anti-feminist symbol. But, hey, it contributed to the war effort, and two of history’s most famous and powerful women, Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth I, believed it enhanced their allure.

Bruce G. Kauffmann’s email address is bruce@historylessons.net.