have some early memories of imitating my mother applying makeup. I would sit in front of the mirror and powder my face with loose powder using a big hamburger-like powder puff, smear my mother's ruby-red lipstick on my lips, and pucker up like the movie and television stars I'd seen. I also recall the days when I was about 11 or 12 and my friends and I--not having arrived at the age where we were allowed to wear lipstick--would sneak a tube of lipstick to school, put it on, and then wipe it off before we got home. Nowadays, I know women who say they feel naked without lipstick.
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Lipstick in some shape or form has been around for a long time and has always been a part of the fashion statement. History tells us that ancient Egyptians used henna to paint their lips. According to Meg Cohen Ragas and Karen Kozlowski in their book, "Read My Lips: A Cultural History of Lipstick," a reddish purple mercuric plant dye called fucus--algin, 0.01% iodine, and some bromine mannite--was used for lip rouge. Little did the ancient Egyptians know that it was potentially poisonous--talk about the kiss of death! Although no self-respecting Egyptian would leave home without it, makeup has not always held an accepted place in society. In fact, it has traveled a bumpy road to acceptance.
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