National Lipstick Day is celebrated
in America annually on 29 July. It promotes the use of lipstick as a
beautification cosmetic and lip protector.
In 1650 the American Parliament
attempted to ban lipstick – the ‘vice of painting’ – but the bill did not
pass. Although the British Parliament
banned lipstick in 1770 as a ‘devilish attempt to trick men into marriage’ it
is now popular as an everyday cosmetic item. Research in the mid 2000s indicated
that 80% of American women wear lipstick, and 70% of French women wore it.
In the Roman Empire lipstick was
commonly worn by both males and females as an indicator of social status. Even
George Washington wore it sometimes, with make-up and a wig.
Queen Elizabeth II has her own
shade of lipstick, called The Balmoral Lipstick, created for her 1952
Coronation.
Many cosmetic companies offer
reduced prices on lipstick to celebrate the national day.
MARTINA NICOLLS is an international
aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different
in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament
(2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a
Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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