The Powerful History Of Red Lipstick
Lifestyle - News
By ELIZABETH S. MITCHELL
Over 5,000 years ago, the people of Mesopotamia colored their lips red by crushing gemstones into a fine powder, while Cleopatra was said to have painted her lips with a red paste made of crushed insects. Lipstick as we know it today was invented much later, during the Islamic Golden Age (622 A.D.), and no shade is more iconic or historical than red.
Around 1912, American suffragettes wore red lipstick to protests to rebel against society’s conservative standards for women. The idea of red lipstick as a political statement carried on into the WWII era, when women in allied countries proudly wore "freedom red" lipstick — perhaps it's no coincidence that Adolf Hitler allegedly hated red lipstick.
Today, red lipstick is still worn by women in politics to represent boldness and pay respect to those who came before them. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) almost always wears a bright red lip, and says the shade makes her feel confident and feminine, as well as representing her Latina heritage.
If you want to swipe on some red lipstick yourself, the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in "Dragon Girl" is Taylor Swift's go-to, while Lancôme's L'Absolu Rouge Ruby is a deeper, more sophisticated shade favored by Zendaya. Emma Stone’s Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Color in "La Fascinante" is also a solid celeb-approved choice.