In 1770, the British Parliament passed a law condemning lipstick for inciting lust ; women found guilty of ”seducing men into matrimony by a cosmetic means” could be tried for witchcraft. In the previous century, Thomas Hall, an English Pastor and author of ’The Loathsomeness of Long Haire’ (1653), called lipstick “the Devil’s work” becuase it “ignited the flame of lust”. Maybe that is why the names for early lipsticks were so off-putting ; popular shades from 1580-1620 included ‘Smoked Ox’, ‘Chimney Sweep’ and ‘Dying Monkey’. Even today some lipsticks contain fish scales for the pearly shine and crushed insects (Kermes ilicis) for the red colouring.
(taken from a column called ‘Quite Interesting’ in a recent copy of ‘The Saturday Telegraph’ newspaper)
I was intrigued by this cocktail of legislation, religion, public opinion, (anti-)marketing, human nature and animal instinct that have fought publically over the last 400 years to give us the products we know so well today…
December 31, 2008 at 3:44 pm |
Be interesting to see more of the history of lipstick and its fight for a place in retail – like when was it not a crime ? and when did it become acceptable ? and how – Ellis more research for you mi-lad, could have some practiacl elements ? I am glad that it did make it through its trials and tribulations – and that we can now be subject to being ”incited to lust” – excellent that it caught on – wichcraft still struggles with its image though – maybe a project there !!