If Cleopatra cared for the skin of her body with donkey's milk and made up her eyes with mineral powders, lipstick was not part of her beauty ritual . Yes, the little red stick is not as old as one might think, it is just 87 years old !

No toothpaste ... no lipstick!
At the court of Louis XIV we were far from brushing our teeth three times a day for 3 minutes. This explains why women did not like to draw attention to their mouth . They preferred to make up their cheekbones and their eyes, to avoid those gentlemen paying attention to their toothless smiles ... But also to be able to kiss who they wanted in all discretion, without leaving a trace (red on the crop, it's messy .. .).

«Red Kiss»: the very first lipstick
It was not until the nineteenth century that women began to make up their lips. They remain nevertheless very discreet color side. As Anne de Marnhac says in her book Histoire Beauty, anthology and tricks , they use "cerat" , a nourishing ointment made from virgin wax and sweet almond oil of a slightly pink color. And then there is also a question of morality: at the time, only prostitutes and actresses make up their lips in red .

In 1927, the chemist and photographer Paul Baudecroux revolutionized the era of lipstick by creating the first stick equipped with a rolling mechanism . Her name: Red Kiss. Today the brand still exists!

Lipstick, an ally of black and white cinema
It is thanks to the black and white cinema that the lipstick is democratized and attracts the eye of women ... But also men. It is used to make up the lips of the actresses who thus stand out more contrasted on the screen . "One thinks especially of Theda Bara, in the film The Vampire which displays almost black lips, so much they are made up," confides Anne de Marnhac.

The glamorous era of lipstick
After the Second World War, the lipstick enters full-foot in the era of femininity and glamor . Like fashion icons and cinema, such as Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth or Sophia Loren, her lipstick is matched with the color of the nail polish. Often red carmine, it curves and draws the lips of women to give rise to an ultra-feminine pinup.

A "must have" of contemporary makeup
Obviously, the red lips of Marilyn Monroe remain a symbol of glamor and femininity. Impossible to escape when we wear such a color! However, today, lipstick is no longer solely linked to an ultra-sulfurous image of the woman. It is as well nude as it is colored, shiny and dull. Its main purpose: to sublimate the mouth and to be in harmony with the rest of the make-up.

Discover how to apply a lipstick, how to keep it as long as possible and especially our selection of the best lipstick to make up your mouth.

Beauty History, anthologies & tricks of Anne de Marnhac at the Editions of La Martinière, 24,90 €.