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Mainland USA During WWII

1940s Lipstick

Red Lipstick was a Symbol of Patriotism
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1940s Lipstick
Adolf Hitler hated red lipstick. So in America red lipstick became a symbol of patriotism, and against fascism. Red lipstick was even a mandatory part of the Women's Army Corps uniform.

Posted November 2023

WWII War Paint
War Paint
The Red (Lipstick), White, and Blue
The term "lipstick index," coined by Leonard Lauder, described the increase in lipstick sales in bad times, as lipstick was one small luxury that is still available in times of hardship. Lipstick sales continued in the US and the UK during the Great Depression, Women wanted a touch of the glamor they saw on the silver screen. As WWII began, lipstick became more scarce, as manufacturing had shifted to making wartime supplies. Women used every bit they could from the tube, and combined even the pieces into a new lipstick. When lipstick wasn't available at all, women stained their lips with beet juice.

But this was not the case in German-occupied lands. It was widely known Adolf Hitler hated red lipstick. His ideal Aryan woman was blonde, blue eyed - and fresh faced. Women were to avoid excessive cosmetics, red lipstick, and nail varnish of any color.

WWII War Paint In Allied countries, red lipstick became a symbol of patriotism, and against fascism. Lipstick companies gave their shades patriotic names like "Victory Red" and "Patriot Red." Advertisements featured working worsen, servicewomen, and GIs. Red lipstick was a mandatory part of the WAC uniform. Elizabeth Arden's "Montezuma Red" became the regulation lip and nail color for the American Marine Corps Women's Reserve, which matched the color of the trim on the uniform. Women received an official military issue kit with the lipstick, cream rouge, and nail polish. Even Rosie the Riveter sported a red lip in her famous poster. [https://www.eatlife.net/wwii/rosie-the-riveter.php]

Lipstick

WWII War Paint During the Second World War, metal lipstick tubes were replaced by plastic and paper tubes. Lipstick was scarce during that time because some of the essential ingredients of lipstick, petroleum and castor oil, were unavailable. World War II allowed women to work in engineering and scientific research, and in the late 1940s, Hazel Bishop, an organic chemist in New York and New Jersey, created the first long lasting lipstick, called No-Smear lipstick. With the help of Raymond Specter, an advertiser, Bishop's lipstick business thrived.

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