Suffragettes armored themselves with the striking color as they defended the right to vote. In 1912, charm leader Elizabeth Arden handed them the bullets– small, however mighty tubes of red lipstick that were formed like ammo.
The strong relocation signified strength, self-reliance and defiance all in one.
“It wasn’t worn by everybody at that point,” Bésame Cosmetics creator and author of Classic Beauty: The History of Makeup Gabriela Hernandez informed E!. “They were trying to say, ‘Hey, we’re independent, and we’re different and we wear whatever we want.'”
The wild audacity of the suffragists showcased the ferocity of red lipstick, a lot so that it ended up being vital throughout World War II. At the time, charm brand names stopped the production of its items, consisting of lipstick, in order to utilize all of its products for the war.
“At first, they cut it out,” Hernandez kept in mind. “But then they saw morale really slip—not only their morale but the morale of the soldiers who wanted pretty girls to come back to.”
Once once again, Elizabeth Arden was connected to a historic minute. To aid raise their spirits, she produced a fire-engine shade called Montezuma Red– a tribute to the Marine Corps’ hymn– and was provided the unique right to offer makeup on military bases.
“That color was marketed to women as a morale booster,” Hernandez discussed. “You didn’t have pantyhose available. You didn’t have a lot of fabric. The only thing that stuck around were lipsticks.”
