The Evolution of Lipstick Colour and Expression throughout the 20th Century
Throughout history, both men and women have rebelled with and against lipstick. At the turn of the 20th century, suffragettes wore red lip rouge to symbolize female emancipation and purposely appall men. In the 1920s, some women wore lipstick to shock their elders while others wore it because they believed advertisements that said it would protect them from the germs and pollution of industrialization. By the 1970s, women rebelled against lipstick and refused to wear it altogether because they felt that the commercial cosmetics industry was degrading to women.
Lipstick as Rebellion in Modern Lipstick History
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, natural lipstick colours and makeup became popular but by the late 1970s, flamboyant colours came into fashion in accordance with the burgeoning punk rock season. Dark purple and black lipstick colours were common during that period.
Simultaneously, second-wave feminists rebelled against the cosmetics industry and refused to wear lipstick in order to challenge cultural norms. From the late 1970s into the 1980s, male rock stars such as David Bowie, Culture Club, and Twisted Sister started wearing lipstick as a gesture of rebellion. The male use of lipstick became known as “manstick.”
In the 1980s, lipstick colours like bright red, bright orange, fuschia, and coral were popular along with heavy blush and dramatic eye shadow. Sweet lip gloss and frosty lipstick colours also came into fashion during the 1980s.
The 1990s saw dark, matte lipstick colours grow in popularity but by the mid-1990s neutral colours became the norm. Glittery, frosty colours remained popular with young women.
The Cosmetic Industry’s Answer to the Grunge Movement
With the rising popularity of the anti-beautification grunge movement in the 1990s, the cosmetics industry scrambled to create colours that would appeal to grunge fans. An example of this phenomenon is the cosmetics company Urban Decay, which created off-beat lipsticks colours with names such as “roach” and “gunk” to appeal to grunge fans.
The popularity of new age and organic products also led to the creation of lipsticks that contained vitamins, herbs, and other natural ingredients.
Today, lipstick in just about any colour can be found, ranging from dark, matte colours to frosty pastels. Darker colours are popular in the evening hours while neutral and subtle colours are popular in the daytime.
According to forecasts in the cosmetics industry, bright colours such as pink, red, and orange will be coming back into fashion in response to the economic downturn, perhaps to brighten the somber mood that the fledgling economy has created.
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