NATIONAL LIPSTICK DAY – JULY 29th

Lipstick- more than a little color

 Lipstick became a prominent part of daily wear for women beginning in the 19^th century. Enhanced lips add color to your face and your life. A little makeup, lip color and mascara can brighten your face and your attitude. Our mother, who died at age 89, was a lipstick advocate. She said if you wore bright clothes, accessories, a touch of make-up and lipstick, you’d feel better about yourself. I think she was on to something! Crippled with arthritis and barely ambulatory,  she always looked beautiful and stylish and always wore her lipstick.

Studies have shown there is a personal well-being benefit in taking the time to improve your appearance. Even in cancer patients, when chemo has taken their hair, eyelashes and eyebrows, carefully applied makeup is a way to improve that inner spirit. If you look better on the outside, you’ll feel better on the inside. Betty applied our mother’s advice while recovering from breast cancer and by doing her best to always look good, she was able to keep up her spirits during some pretty tough months.

Lip dyes used today aren’t new, but the stick variety is. Not until 1915 could a woman buy a tube of lipstick. Around 1880, when actresses began wearing lipstick in public, they used a rather disgusting process of painting their lips with a brush dipped in carmine dye, a red pigment made from cochineal beetles. Carminic acid, produced by the beetles, deters other insects. In the 15^th century, Central American natives found by mixing the carminic acid with a salt they could produce a beautiful color useful in dying fabrics. Popularity for the dye grew and it was soon exported to use as food coloring and in cosmetics. Most lipsticks today contain synthetic dyes.

Actress Sara Bernhard began wearing makeup in public in the 1880’s, but her look was highly theatrical. In the early 1900’s, lip color products had a more natural look after a carmine-ointment was applied. By 1915, women had access to push-up metal tubes of color being newly manufactured and by 1930, a wide variety of lip products became available. Styles were changing and advertisements encouraged women to look like the stars… a pale orange color called Tangee became popular with young women. From then until now, options have exploded as hundreds of companies search for the right colors, luminescence, durability and ease of application. Today we have everything from flavored sticks and flavored gloss to 24-hour kiss-proof varieties- some of which do not last all that well.

With today’s ballooning tattoo artistry, permanent cosmetics have become popular. Many women are delighted with tattooed eye lids and lips, but if an undesirable result occurs, the cost and discomfort to remove tattoos can be substantial.

Many new lip products tout color durability and cost a lot less than a cosmetic tattoo. A few include: Revlon ColorStay, Este Lauder Double Wear, and Maybelline Super Stay. They actually work! So if you are looking for a lasting lipstick that stays where you put it, give one of these a try and add a colorful smile to your face.

Betty and Bev