Red lipstick has long been the symbol of feminine power and sensuality. Did you know the earliest lipstick date back thousands of years to early civilisations? Lipstick grew popular in Europe by the 16th century and has never lost its favour with the fair sex to this day.

That red lips trend also appears in jewelry. Shown above is the bead embroidered red lips stud drop earrings  by BEZALEnewyork.
Below is the enamel lipstick stud earrings with the not so subtle "Shut up" addition. The design is PizumiLondon. 


Also by the same designer is the enamel vampire red lips stud earrings. Perfect for Halloween?


This beautiful hand sculpted ceramic lips earrings and necklace set is by Roseceramicsculpture. 


This laser cut heart and red lips acrylic earrings design is from MaiCre8tions.


TUTORIALS

Want to make your own? Check these out!

First up is the DIY bead embroidered red lips brooch tutorial from Hanna of AnnabelleAccessorise. 


This cheeky smile beaded fringe earrings pattern puts the snark into red lips!  The designer is GPshopboutique. 


This red lips design is an SVG cut file from ClainesCrafts. Even if you do not have a laser cutter, you can get it cut from an online or nearby laser cutting service. Also check your library to see if they have a makerspace. Once cut out, the wood can be painted and sealed. 


How Red Lipstick Shaped History

Did you know Cleopatra wore red lipstick? In Cleopatra's time, both male and female rulers liked red lips to show off their power - the pigment called carmine came from crushed cochineal insects. Other ingredients included beeswax and fish scales for the shimmer!

Queen Elizabeth I favored the very pale face look with red lips. 

Elizabeth I in 1575

Over the centuries, there were religious and societal pushback, off and on, on women's use of cosmetics. Many societies considered only prostitutes and actresses (who were considered no better than prostitutes) wore lip rouges. But that didn't stop women from wanting to use lip colours. By the end of the 19th century, Western women started wearing discrete colours on their lips and cheeks.  By the early 1900's lipstick and cosmetics became much more acceptable for women to wear. 

Red lipstick became a icon during the Suffragette movement - a symbol of the struggle of women for their voting rights. In 1912, one of the Suffragettes' march took them by the New York salon of Elizabeth Arden, the Canadian founder of the future cosmetic company. She supported women's rights, so she gave them tubes of red lipsticks. The red lips as a symbol spread to other countries.

What truly revolutionized lipstick was the creation of the swivel up stick itself in 1923. Before then, lip rouge was only available in pots, as paper tubes or tinted papers.  By the 1930's, many women wanted to wear cosmetics just as their favorite Hollywood actresses did.

During WWII, rationing meant there were no silk stockings - silk was reserved for parachutes. No perms because the chemicals were needed for the war effort hence the invention of victory roll hairstyles. But Winston Churchill, the then UK Prime Minister, chose not to ration lipstick. Red lipstick was too important as a morale booster to ration.


Hitler was known to detest women's cosmetics especially lipstick. So the Allies played it up.  Propaganda images like Rosie the Riveter had red lips.  Women could demonstrate their patriotism with their lipsticks - fighting fascism with style! The cosmetics companies even named their lipstick shades accordingly, like Rubinstein’s "Regimental Red" to Arden’s "Victory Red" and Tussy’s "Fighting Red". 


From Marilyn Monroe to Elizabeth Taylor to Taylor Swift, red lipstick is still popular with both celebrities and ordinary women alike. 

Marilyn Monroe, 1953

References 
Before You Go :

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Disclosure 

This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation. 
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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM