

Although, now it’s more often synthetically created." Surprisingly, we still see the use of this same iron ore in makeup today. This was actually found in cockle shells near Queen Puabi's grave at Ur. In ancient Egypt and Sumer, red ochre would have been used to create red pigments used in cosmetics. "The makeup styles and shape of lips changed throughout these eras. "During the Zhou dynasty in China, we see the use of cinnabar pigment for red lipstick, which continued into the Tang and Han dynasty," Parson explains. "There’s a Minoan fresco featuring a woman wearing lipstick, a papyrus from ancient Egypt applying a lip rouge using a brush, and of course, you can’t forget the bust of Nefertiti."īack then, people used natural pigments from the earth and plants to create the cosmetic. "You can find red lipstick in Ancient Sumer, Egypt, China, etc.," says Erin Parsons, celebrity makeup artist and beauty expert. To understand red lipstick and the power it holds in the modern era, we have to trace it back to its origins (I'm talking thousands of years ago). Ahead, learn all about its empowering history, extending from the ancient world to the modern day. While the history is, at times, murky, the point remains the same: Red lipstick is more than makeup. One of the most interesting yet ambiguous examples of this is said to have taken place during women's suffrage, when suffragists allegedly wore red lipstick to reflect their unity and protest. Do a little digging, and it becomes increasingly evident that red lipstick has symbolized boldness, individuality, and, most importantly, defiance for millennia. These associations we have with red lipstick aren't random. (This is the oxymoron that's kept the world fascinated by French beauty for decades, but I digress.)
#Different shades of red lipstick skin#
Pairing a bold red lip with bare skin and natural eyes creates something that's at once both elevated and effortless. It's also associated with the classic French-girl look. It's associated with romance, which is why it's the go-to shade for so many people come date night. It's associated with confidence, which is why some people swipe on their favorite shade of red ahead of a big presentation at work. Today, red lipstick is associated with many things.
