The second item I would take to a desert island would be lipstick because it brightens the face even without any makeup on. It can be worn lightly in the day to enhance your complexion or as a dynamic lip in the evening.
The colour would depend on what I packed and the time of year, but really red is a classic staple in any season. There are many an icon that would support this idea too - Marilyn Monroe, Coco Chanel, Elizabeth Taylor, Gwyneth Paltrow, Dita Von Teese, Kate Spade and Charlotte Tilbury to name a few!
Anyone who knows me knows that I always wear something on my lips because it completes any look- fitness, beach, glamour or day to day. Lipstick can also be used to add colour to the cheeks if applied lightly, so is a multi purpose product for your travel bag.
Lipstick has been around for centuries and red has always proved to be a popular choice. A few fun fact about the power and symbolism of lipstick I though I would share with you:
It was a status symbol by both men and women in Ancient Egypt. They wore lipstick daily applying it with wet sticks of wood in colours such as magenta, blue-black, and orange, but red was also a popular shade.
It was the opposite in Ancient Greek society - lipstick was not used among high-class citizens and instead was used to recognise prostitutes. It was actually a law that prostitutes must always wear lipstick so not to “deceive” men.
The wealthy woman in Ancient Rome however, had their own professional team of hairstylists and cosmatae (makeup artists) to apply their lipstick every day.
Lipstick was part of the liberation symbol as feminists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Charlotte Perkins Gilman painted their lips as a symbol of emancipation when they marched in the 1912 New York City Suffragette rally.
Did you know that smudge-proof lipstick was developed in a Dermatologist's Lab just after World War II by a chemist named Hazel Bishop? She graduated from Colombia University in New York hoping to go into medicine but the stock market crashed, so she found her way into formulating cosmetics.
Bright red lipsticks had been popular during the Second World War but she found them less than satisfactory and began work on producing a “nondrying, nonirritating, long-wearing” form. After conducting over 300 different experiments she eventually developed one that she thought was suitable. - Appel, L (1982)
As you can see the history of lipstick is vast, but a bold lip has always made a statement throughout the world in many cultures and eras. Lipstick is such a personal item that represents so much. What is your favourite colour and brand?
Don’t leave the house without your lippy 😉 I love red but red doesn’t love me sadly. Quite enjoying a Clinique Pop 😱 - I cannot use Clinique products (of course, Dermalogica always 💚) but I like their lipsticks and eye make up 💄 Looking for a good natural colour but with a little oomph?