- Cleopatra, Egypt’s most famous pharaoh, used crushed carmine beetles to stain her lips a vibrantshade of red.
- Lipstick gained popularity in the 16th century thanks to the English Queen Elizabeth I and the ladies of her court, who coloured their lips with a blend of beeswax and red mercuric sulphide.
- The first push-up lipstick went on the market in 1915.
- The average woman consumes about 4 to 6 pounds of lipstick during a lifetime by licking her lips. Now you know why you need to re-apply it after eating!
- During the Islamic Golden Age, the Arab Andalusian physician and chemist Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis) invented solid lipstick, which consisted of perfume and other ingredients pressed in moulds. He described the process in his text, in his encyclopaedia of medicine and surgery, the Al-Tasrif.
- In 1770, the British Parliament passed a law that said a woman wearing lipstick could be tried for witchcraft.
- Max Factor, make-up artist to the stars, invented lip-gloss in 1930.
- Lipstick’s popularity grew during the Second World War thanks to the movie industry and applying make-up became commonplace for women.
- In 1950, American chemist Hazel Bishop developed the world’s first kissable non-smear, long-lasting lipstick.
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