The lipstick has always been a bit… unmoved

Lipstick may be glamorous today, but its past?
Oh, it totally is not serious.

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

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

📌 crushed beetles
📌 toxic metals
📌 animal fat
📌 clay
📌 berries
📌 red algae
📌 poisonous metals
📌 and occasionally… substances we won’t mention before breakfast

Let’s take a trip back in time through the history of lipstick — and discover the strange, chaotic, sometimes dangerous origins of the product we casually swipe today.

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

Around 5,000 years agoSumerian women and members of the royal family crushed precious stones – yes, real precious stones – into powder and mixed them with oils.

✔ shiny
✔ sparkling
✘ extremely abrasive
✘ could cut your lips

Imagine exfoliating and painting your lips at the same time.
Effective… but painful.

🪲❤️ 2. Cleopatra’s Iconic Red was made from… beetles

Cleopatra, the queen of glam, thought bold lips were a power move.
The signature red was made from:

• cochineal beetles (for pigment)

• fish scales (for glitter)

• 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 may react to this.

☠️💄 3. The 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 wouldn’t approve.

🖤⚠️ **4. Medieval Europe: Lipstick was “sinful”…

But it also contained mercury**

Lipstick was banned for wizarding clubs.
But those who still secretly used it relied on:

• cinnabar (mercury sulfide)

• vegetable dyes

• honeycomb

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

👄🩸 5. The 1500s: Queen Elizabeth I did pale faces + trendy bright lips

The combination of her white chalk face + deep red lips was iconic…
but it is achieved by:

• white lead paste

• red dyes

• toxic slurry

People literally poisoned themselves trying to look royal.

🎭🌹 6. The 1700s: Lipstick = Rebellion

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

In Britain it was scandalous.
Women who wore lipstick were accused of:

• magic

• seduction

• “cheating on men in marriage”

(Imagine blaming your marriage on lipstick.)

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

Even after the dangers became known, lead-based pigments remained popular because they looked alive.

Some lipsticks are also used:

• vermilion (mercury)

• coal tar dyes (carcinogenic)

Beauty, but make it dangerous.

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

In the early 20th century, lipstick ingredients included:

• ground insects

• animal fats

• castor oil

• oil

• early synthetic dyes

• fragrance (irritant)

• lanolin (common allergen)

But the biggest twist?
Lipstick tubes were invented the 1915finally making the lip color wearable.

Before that, women carried containers of dye like traveling artists.

🎬❤️ 9. Hollywood Made Red Lips Iconic — but also full of chemicals

Sirens like Marilyn Monroe + Rita Hayworth created the red lip era.
The guys?

• coal tar

• crimson

• mineral oils

• unregulated dyes

• aromatic oils

Amazing on screen, questionable on skin barrier.

🍷🥜 10. Trendy Lipstick: Safer… but still not perfect

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

• nut oils (mainly allergens)

• gluten contaminants

• perfumes

• menthol

• lanolin

• crimson

• petroleum derivatives

• alcohols

• essential oils

Beautiful colors are now safer —
but sensitive lips? Still in danger.

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

Thanks to:
✔ increasing allergies
✔ celiac disease
✔ outbreaks of sensitive skin
✔ evolution of cosmetic science

We now have lipsticks that are:

• without nuts

• gluten free

• without fragrance

• vegan

• sensitive-safe skin

The future of lipstick isn’t just beautiful —
it is inclusive.

⭐ **Final Thought: Lipstick has always been a power —

But now it might as well be safe**

From crushed gemstones to beetle paint to mercury and lead…
The history of lipstick is chaotic, dangerous and iconic.

Today, however, we have the best of both worlds:
beauty + security.

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

🌿 The EpiLynx Promise:
Every lip product we make is part of the next chapter in lipstick history:
✨ No nuts
🌾 Gluten free
💚 Safe for allergens
🌱 Vegan
🐰 Cruelty free
🧴 Made for sensitive skin

Intense color — without the ancient toxins.