Lipstick Has Always Been a Little… Unhinged

Lipstick might be glamorous today, but its past?
Oh, it’s completely unserious.

Ancient royalty, witches, warriors, rebels, suffragettes, Hollywood starlets — everyone has used lip color, but the ingredients were often… alarming.

Before modern beauty science, people put literally anything on their lips:

📌 crushed beetles
📌 toxic metals
📌 animal fat
📌 clay
📌 berries
📌 red algae
📌 poisonous minerals
📌 and occasionally… substances we shall not name before breakfast

Let’s take a time-traveling tour through lipstick history — and discover the bizarre, chaotic, sometimes dangerous origins of the product we swipe on casually today.

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🔥👄 1. Ancient Mesopotamia: The Original Lip Queens (Using Crushed Gems!)

Around 5,000 years ago, Sumerian women and royalty crushed precious stones — yes, actual gemstones — into a powder and mixed them with oils.

✔ glamorous
✔ sparkly
✘ extremely abrasive
✘ could cut your lips

Imagine exfoliating and coloring your lips at the same time.
Efficient… but painful.

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🪲❤️ 2. Cleopatra’s Iconic Red Was Made From… Beetles

Cleopatra, queen of glam, believed bold lips were a power move.
Her signature red was made from:

• cochineal beetles (for pigment)

• fish scales (for shimmer)

• beeswax (for texture)

This formula was luxurious by ancient standards.

📌 Fun fact:
Cochineal is STILL used today as “carmine,” a natural red dye.
Sensitive lips? You might react to it.

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☠️💄 3. Ancient Greeks Used Toxic Lead Pigments

Greek women loved a deep berry lip, often made from:

• red iron oxide

• seaweed

• LEAD pigment

Lead.
On the lips.
Every day.

Let’s just say dermatologists would not approve.

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🖤⚠️ **4. Medieval Europe: Lipstick Was “Sinful”…

But Also Contained Mercury**

Lipstick was banned for witchcraft associations.
But those who still secretly used it relied on:

• cinnabar (mercury sulfide)

• plant dyes

• beeswax

Mercury causes neurological damage — meaning beauty came at a high price.

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👄🩸 5. The 1500s: Queen Elizabeth I Made Pale Faces + Bright Lips Trendy

Her chalk-white face + deep red lips combo was iconic…
but achieved with:

• white lead paste

• red dyes

• toxic vermilion

People literally poisoned themselves trying to look regal.

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🎭🌹 6. The 1700s: Lipstick = Rebellion

In France, both men and women wore intense red lips.
It symbolized wealth, power, and social status.

In Britain, it was scandalous.
Women wearing lipstick were accused of:

• witchcraft

• seduction

• “deceiving men into marriage”

(Imagine blaming your wedding on lipstick.)

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💋💀 7. The 1800s: Lipsticks Still Contained… You Guessed It — More Lead

Even after the dangers were known, lead-based pigments stayed popular because they looked vibrant.

Some lipsticks also used:

• vermilion (mercury)

• coal tar dyes (carcinogenic)

Beauty, but make it hazardous.

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💄✨ 8. The 1900s: Lipstick Becomes Mainstream — and Still Weird

In the early 20th century, lipstick ingredients included:

• ground insects

• animal fats

• castor oil

• petroleum

• early synthetic dyes

• fragrance (irritant)

• lanolin (common allergen)

But the biggest twist?
Lipstick tubes were invented in 1915, finally making lip color portable.

Before that, women carried pots of pigment like traveling artists.

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🎬❤️ 9. Hollywood Made Red Lips Iconic — But Also Full of Chemicals

Screen sirens like Marilyn Monroe + Rita Hayworth created the red-lip era.
The formulas?

• coal tar

• carmine

• mineral oils

• unregulated dyes

• fragrance oils

Stunning on screen, questionable for the skin barrier.

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🍷🥜 10. Modern Lipstick: Safer… But Still Not Perfect

Today we have strict pigment standards, safer waxes, and stable formulas.
But many lipsticks STILL contain:

• nut oils (major allergens)

• gluten contaminants

• fragrances

• menthol

• lanolin

• carmine

• petroleum derivatives

• alcohols

• essential oils

Beautiful colors are now safer —
but sensitive lips? Still at risk.

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🧪🌱 11. The Rise of Allergen-Safe Lipstick (Finally.)

Thanks to:
✔ rising allergies
✔ celiac awareness
✔ sensitive skin epidemics
✔ cosmetic science evolution

We now have lipsticks that are:

• nut-free

• gluten-free

• fragrance-free

• vegan

• sensitive-skin-safe

The future of lipstick is not only beautiful —
it’s inclusive.

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⭐ **Final Thought: Lipstick Has Always Been Power —

But Now It Can Also Be Safe**

From crushed gems to beetle dye to mercury to lead…
lipstick’s history is chaotic, dangerous, and iconic.

But today, we get the best of both worlds:
beauty + safety.

The modern lip revolution isn’t about color —
it’s about comfort.
It’s about knowing what’s on your lips won’t hurt you.
It’s about allergen-free beauty that empowers EVERYBODY.

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🌿 The EpiLynx Promise:
Every lip product we make is part of the next chapter in lipstick history:
✨ Nut-Free
🌾 Gluten-Free
💚 Allergen-Safe
🌱 Vegan
🐰 Cruelty-Free
🧴 Made for Sensitive Skin

Bold color — without the ancient toxins.