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Kate Lister: 我热爱红色唇膏,并认为它在历史上一直是女性魅力和权力的象征,从埃及艳后到玛丽莲梦露,许多女性都曾使用红色唇膏来提升自己的形象。 我好奇的是,红色唇膏是如何在历史上获得如此标志性的地位的?它在女权运动中扮演了什么角色?丘吉尔为什么没有对它进行配给?而希特勒为什么讨厌它? Rachel Felder: 我从十几岁就开始涂红色唇膏,最初是为了叛逆,后来发现它既有叛逆感,又时尚经典。研究红色唇膏,实际上就是在研究文化史。它能提升自信,让人看起来更有力量,是女性力量的独特象征。 红色唇膏的历史可以追溯到公元前3500年的中东地区,古代,唇膏颜色是阶级区分的标志。现代意义上的唇膏直到19世纪后期才出现。在女权运动中,红色唇膏成为女性争取权利的象征,伊丽莎白·雅顿还利用这一现象进行营销。二战期间,红色唇膏成为女性参与战争努力的象征,丘吉尔没有对它进行配给,而希特勒则讨厌它,因为它与纳粹理想相悖。 在好莱坞,玛丽莲梦露的标志性红色唇膏是其性感形象的重要组成部分。如今,红色唇膏的意义是多元的,它可以是传统审美,也可以是大胆表达。建议从红色唇膏入门产品开始,例如红色润唇膏或唇彩,并尝试不同色调和质地的红色唇膏。蓝色调的红色唇膏比较适合大多数人。

Deep Dive

Key Insights

Why did red lipstick become a symbol of female power during the suffragette movement?

Red lipstick symbolized feminine power, combining rebellion with fashion. It was a distinctly female item, unlike other power symbols like blazers or briefcases, which were traditionally male. Elizabeth Arden capitalized on this by distributing red lipstick to suffragette marchers, making it a uniform of the movement and a statement of female strength.

What role did red lipstick play during World War II?

During World War II, red lipstick became a symbol of empowerment for women entering the workforce in roles traditionally held by men. It was a way for women to maintain their identity and morale. Winston Churchill recognized its importance and chose not to ration it, understanding its psychological impact. Additionally, wearing red lipstick was seen as a subtle act of defiance against Hitler, who despised it.

What were the earliest forms of red lipstick made from?

The earliest forms of red lipstick date back to around 3500 BC in the Middle East, where people used red ochre to redden their lips. In ancient Egypt, Cleopatra used crushed beets to create a crimson red. Modern lipstick, as we know it, emerged in the late 1800s, with Guerlain creating the first modern lipstick in 1884. The bullet-shaped tube was invented in the early 1900s, inspired by World War I bullets.

Why did Hitler hate red lipstick?

Hitler associated red lipstick with defiance and female empowerment, which contradicted the Nazi ideal of women as domestic figures focused on raising children. Red lipstick symbolized independence and rebellion, making it a subtle but powerful statement against the Nazi regime.

How did Marilyn Monroe popularize red lipstick?

Marilyn Monroe popularized red lipstick by making it a key part of her iconic look, which communicated sexuality and glamour. She often used a glossy red lip, which added a moist, sensual quality. Monroe also layered multiple shades of red to accentuate her lips, creating a signature style that became synonymous with her image.

What is the significance of red lipstick in modern times?

Red lipstick remains a symbol of confidence, power, and individuality. It is embraced by diverse groups, including men and younger generations, as a statement of boldness and freedom. Despite some conservative pushback, red lipstick continues to be a powerful tool for self-expression and defiance, maintaining its edgy and rebellious reputation.

What advice does Rachel Felder give to someone new to wearing red lipstick?

Rachel Felder suggests starting with a red-tinted lip balm, lip stain, or gloss to ease into wearing red lipstick. She recommends experimenting with different shades and textures, particularly starting with a blue-red, which suits most complexions. Trying affordable drugstore options allows for exploration without a significant investment.

Chapters
This chapter explores the captivating history of red lipstick, tracing its origins from ancient civilizations to modern times. We uncover its symbolic meanings and its evolution as a powerful tool for women and a cultural icon.
  • Red lipstick's earliest uses date back to 3500 BC in the Middle East.
  • In ancient Egypt, the color of lipstick signified social class.
  • The modern lipstick bullet was designed to resemble World War I bullets.
  • Red lipstick has been associated with both sexuality and rebellion throughout history.

Shownotes Transcript

Translations:
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Hi, I'm your host, Kate Lister. If you would like Betwixt the Sheets ad-free and get early access, sign up to History Hit. With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of original documentaries with top history presenters and enjoy a new release every single week. Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe.

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Hello, my lovely Betwixters. It's me, Kate Lister. Welcome back to Betwixt the Sheets. But before we can get going, I have to tell you, this is an adult podcast spoken by other adults about adult things in an adult way, covering a range of adult subjects, and you should be an adult too. And we need to tell you that because if you happen to keep listening and you get upset, well, then that might be on us. But if we tell you, that one's on you. Right, on with the show.

Welcome to the golden age of Hollywood darling betwixt us. As we arrive on the red carpet with stars such as Rita Hayworth and oh look there, Marilyn! Or Miss Monroe to you. There's one thing that is impossible to ignore. The bold red lipstick. It's as iconic as any of the stars who wear it. And yes, I am including myself as a star because I love a red lip.

But what are the origins of this standout look and what's its impact been throughout history? Well, pucker up because we are going to find out. What do you look for in a man? Oh, money, of course. You're supposed to rise when an adult speaks to you. I make perfect copies of whatever my boss needs by just turning it up and pushing the button. I'm a boss, you're a boss! I'm a boss now!

Yes, social courtesy does make a difference. Goodness, what beautiful times. Goodness has nothing to do with it, Jerry.

Hello and welcome back to Betwixt the Sheets, the history of sex scandal in society, with me, Kate Lister. I will make no secret of the fact that I am a huge, huge fan of red lipstick. I love it. And I join a lineage of women, and I'm certain actually a lot of men too, who've enhanced their look with a splash of red throughout the ages. Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I and Marilyn Monroe, to name but three.

What made red lips stand the test of time? What was it made from in its earliest uses? And what role did it have to play in the Second World War? Well, joining me today is Rachel Felder, journalist, author and fellow fabulous wearer of red lipstick. And she's going to help us find out more about this makeup essential. And if cosmetic histories are your bag, then why not scroll back and listen to our episode on beauty culture in the Renaissance with none other than the fabulous Jill Burke.

Lippy at the ready, Betwixters! Let's crack on!

Hello, and welcome to Betwixt the Sheets. It's only Rachel Felder. How are you doing? I'm doing so well, and I get to talk about my most favorite subject in the world today, so I'm excited. It's one of my favorite subjects, too. I am a red lipstick girly. I absolutely love this stuff, and you are the author of, let's give it its full title, Red Lipstick, an Ode to a Beauty Icon. So the first question, what made you want to write this book?

Well, I've been writing about beauty, including lipstick, for several decades for a lot of outlets, but mostly the New York Times. And I've been wearing red lipstick personally since I was a teenager. And for me, it was a way to rebel because in the era that I started to wear lipstick, young teenage years, like many people, the look was...

that women had very narrow lips and they wore little bubblegum pink, pale, shiny lipstick. And I have these very full lips that that never looked good on. She does. I'm looking at them right now, everybody. Well, bless you. She does have very full lips. Bless you. And I also was very, very, very into punk rock music, including...

female singers like Debbie Harry and Suzie Sue. That led me to wearing bright lipstick as a type of rebellion. And for the first couple years, I wore fuchsia and orange, anything bright. And then I realized that the red somehow had the rebellious streak, but also was super fashionable and classic. It's like somehow modern and classic.

And as it became kind of a de facto trademark for me, I delved into, even before I started writing the book, the sociology of it and the semiotics of it. And it seems to me that to study red lipstick is to study cultural history. Yes. And so that's the long version of how I got to writing the book. I...

I adore red lipstick for all the reasons that you've just said. Occasionally, I try and go back to a nude or a pink or something, and there's just something in my brain that's like, nope, I want it to be red. I have this theory that even if you have nothing else on your face, if you put red lipstick on, you look better. Well, I think your theory is completely correct. And my testing of your theory is the dog run twice a day. Ha!

Because I feel like, you know, good that I put on the lipstick in the lift without looking in a mirror. And people do think you're together. I mean, in my book, there are comments from several people, including Paloma Picasso, who admitted when I interviewed her that she was quite shy, actually. And the lipstick in part, the red lipstick, was something she wore so that people would think that she was confident when actually she kind of wasn't so confident. Wow.

I think for many people, it's both a sword and a shield. Oh, I like that. Well, thank you. Maybe I should be a writer when I grow up. Maybe you should. Give it a go. Indeed. But there is this thing of people assume that you're confident and kind of ballsy if you're wearing it. And I believe that's one of the reasons why many people, many women would wear red lipstick to go into a meeting. They

that it makes them feel polished. But it's interesting you say that about putting on the red lip that you can't imagine not doing it. Because I think the other element which connects into modern history is that many of us have a memory of a parent, a gran, an aunt that wore the red lipstick, perhaps to get dressed up to go out, or perhaps a

Just because in the era that they were in their prime, wearing red lipstick was a thing. For me, it was my gran. She wore red lipstick every single day. And I sort of aspire to being a mix of her and Elizabeth Taylor in the 1950s when I put on my red lipstick. Oh, wow.

It has a really, really long history as well. I mean, cosmetics has an incredibly long history. As long as there have been people with faces, we've been putting stuff on them to try and look better. But what is some of the earliest evidence that you have found or been aware of, of people putting red, specifically red on their lips? I did a lot of research for the book. I spoke to historians and scientists and cosmetic experts and...

many, many other types of people in addition. So the beginning of reddening the lips, we'll get to calling it lipstick in a second, but the beginning of reddening the lips goes back

to about 3500 BC in the Middle East. That's pretty far. It's pretty far. And people then would redden their lips often with red ochre, so it was more of a sort of rusty red. And the color that was left on the lips, that is, you would grind it up. And as time went on, the color of red your lips were became a delineator of class. Right.

Like, for example, in ancient Egypt, the civilians, so to speak, would use the products like red ochre to redden their lips. And Cleopatra would use a product that's still used today called coquenelle, which is made of crushed beets. And it's truly in like quite a lot of lipsticks that you could buy in a department store today. And that red is much more crimson. But to fast forward to the word lipstick,

There wasn't really lipstick in a modern way until the late 1800s. Guerlain in 1884 created a lipstick, really the first modern lipstick called Nublié Mépas, Do Not Forget Me. And it was in a little tin tube, but it wasn't until the early 1900s that the quote unquote bullet that we are so used to today was invented and that was designed by

to resemble World War I bullets, actually. And then in 1924, the push-up tube was invented, and that was sort of when lipstick became a thing, as opposed to a pot of a reddened product that you could dabble on in the privacy of your own home. It's amazing when you look back at the history how it comes to mean different things for different eras. So we know that Queen Elizabeth I...

full face of makeup, like full glam as she was white, ashen white, lead and with coal eyelids and she had red lips to go on. And then you kind of move forward. You've got the 18th century, those sky high wigs and loads of makeup again. And then the Victorians come in and they're very like, no, I think only whores wear makeup. Actually, we will do no makeup, makeup, makeup. Somewhere along the line, it gets an association with,

with promiscuity. I mean, it's got lots of meanings, multiple meanings, but somewhere along the line, it picked that one up, that it's naughty.

Well, it's naughty, which is one of the most fabulous things about it. But the thing about a red mouth is scientists have found that people pay more attention to you if your mouth is red. And quite a few scientists believe that there's a correlation between a reddened mouth and a engorged labia. And, you know, that's in the book, too. So that connection isn't really a stretch.

the beginning of this deep connection, this blaring connection between sexuality and the red lip. I was,

I would say was in the Egyptian era when prostitutes, both female and male, would wear red lipstick as almost like an on sign to say they were ready for business and also to kind of suggest that they were good at blowjobs. Nice. Nice. Yeah. Well, I mean, it was a long time before the Internet, right? And leaving little papyruses up in the Egyptian equivalent of phone boxes. Yeah.

It does pick up that it's slutty and naughty. And it's interesting to see people rebelling against that or embracing that at certain points in history. And when it becomes in a bullet in the 20th century, now it's starting to take on political overtones as well. You wrote about the suffragettes and their use of red lipsticks.

Yeah. So the thing about red lipstick that's unique is it's powerful, but it's feminine power. It's not just saying, don't mess with me. I'm in control here. It's saying, I'm a woman. Don't mess with me. I'm in control here. And it's really unique in that way. I mean, if you think about, I'm going to, we're going to go back to the suffragettes in a second, but if you think about

What you might wear if you were the chief executive of a company and you want today and you want it to seem commanding, you might wear a blazer. Well, that's a men's item that just says power that's not linked to sex.

You might have a fancy fountain pen. You might have a briefcase. You might wear loafers or brogues. All these things are men's things that women can adopt. The red lip is a female thing. So for the suffragette movement in America, in the UK, in France,

It was the ultimate symbol of female power to wear red lipstick because, as I say, it's not just...

is female strength and feminist strength. And I say in the book, which to me is so genius, that Elizabeth Arden, she had a store on Fifth Avenue, and Fifth Avenue in New York City was a place that during the suffragette movement, there were marches quite regularly. And she saw this as a marketing tool because the red lip was pretty much a uniform of the women marchers.

arguing for the right to vote here. And so she had her staff stand on Fifth Avenue with boxes full of red lipstick and handed them out to the marchers. Yeah. So she used it as for marketing. And it's the kind of thing people would do today. You know, it was really ahead of its time. Wonderful.

I wonder why the suffragettes honed in on red lipstick, because they had a very complex reputation in the wider world. Some people were obviously right on, sisters, you go for it. But it was very easy to characterize them as deranged, hysterical women who shouldn't be given the vote. And certainly in Britain, there was a sort of a more conservative suffragettes who were like, no, no, no, we're going to do peaceful protest. And I'm wondering, like,

why they would have chosen red lipstick. Because I suppose it ran the risk of feeding into that narrative of they're bad women. I agree completely with what you're saying. But as I'm thinking of the uniform of that woman, the white dress, it's easy to fade into the background and also to give off the semiotic message that you're a traditional woman, like a nurse, for example, might have worn all white.

or a bride. So maybe someone just said, well, we need something to brighten this up and, you know, have people notice us. And that's one of the things I love so much about red lip is that it's so ubiquitous and egalitarian. It doesn't have to be expensive. You and I are both wearing red lipstick now. If we were wearing a drugstore bra,

brand or the poshest brand there is, no one would really know the difference. That's true. And you can find red lipstick everywhere. And that's a big deal. It's like universal in that way. And it's truly global too. What were they making it from when the suffragettes were donning their red lipstick? I'm thinking like, what is the wear power of it? Because if there's one downside to red lipstick, it's the fact that it

comes off, ends up on coffee cups and on your sandwiches and possibly on penises, whatever it is that you've had in your mouth. And so trying to find one that actually stays in place, that's the holy grail. But what was early red lipstick like? I'm going to get to that in a second, but I'm happy to talk about how you keep your lipstick on during a blow job, if you would like. I think we would. Yes. Everybody settled in, get ready to take some notes.

Excellent. I have many fields of expertise, and one of them is how to keep the lipstick on during a blowjob. So we'll get to that momentarily. Listeners, stay tuned. But to answer your question about what it would have been made of and the fading off.

The technology, so to speak, behind lipstick has evolved a lot in the last hundred or so years. And actually, red lipstick in that era probably would have stayed on really, really, really quite well. They would have used Coconel, Cochonel, like they still use today.

And they would have used a high concentration of that pigment. And there would be wax to sort of lubricate it, like a medium, so to speak. And that could quite plausibly stay on super duper well. I mean, I have a few lipsticks from the 1950s and they're completely indelible.

Really? Yeah. And it's about the lubricants, so to speak. Perhaps that's a nice segue into blowjobs. But the lubricants were a bit denser and the amount of pigment they used was higher. I mean, if you buy...

I often wear cheap red lipstick from the drugstore. There's actually a brand, I buy it, Superdrug in the UK. It's super duper cheap. I've been using it since I was a teenager. I happen to love it. So one doesn't need to go expensive for lipstick. And often the cheaper ones use less beautiful emollient ingredients and more pigment, and thus they stay on longer. So I

I think the issue for the women of the 20s, 30s and 40s might well have been getting it off, not having it stay on. Didn't know that. I assumed it would have just been like all over their face kind of an affair. I'm very pleased to hear that. Yes, although there's a couple of things I want to add. One is they wouldn't have had lip liner then. And lip liner is a very good way to have it not schmear, so to speak. The other thing is, you know, in my book, one of the things I loved writing about was how

The lipstick and cosmetic industry became a way for women to be successful executives in eras that that was unacceptable or unheard of, like Coco Chanel, for example. And I mean, you know, Coco Chanel was this mega executive selling and selling products.

red lip in two ways. One on lipstick specifically, but also she wore red lipstick and was kind of this influencer of her time. But she couldn't vote for decades after she founded her company. Women in France couldn't vote until after World War II. The reason I mentioned that is that there was a magnificent woman, Hazel Bishop,

And she created in the 50s a super duper long last lipstick. And that was what she touted about that lipstick, that she had studied chemistry in university. She'd planned to be a doctor. And here in the States, that's a second degree. And her family couldn't afford to send her to medical school. And so she used her chemistry background to create a ultra long wear red lips. I'll be back with Rachel after this short break.

All right, blowjobs. You've got to tell us about the blowjobs. Oh, yeah, blowjobs. So when my book came out, I went on kind of the Red Lipstick World Tour and did talks in quite a few countries and cities. And at the end of a book talk, typically, you know, you open up the talk for questions and then people can come by afterwards to get their book autographed. And the two questions I got asked all the time were,

How do I choose a red lipstick? Everybody says I should be wearing red lipstick. I'm intimidated or what shade should I wear? And the other question was about blowjobs and red lipstick. So people want to know, I guess. They want to know. Indeed. So if you really want the most ultra long wear lipstick range,

You want to powder down your lips and you want a very neutral powder so you don't mess with the texture or color of the lipstick too much. Let that set blot. Then use a lip liner all over your lip line.

Let it sit for a second to kind of settle and then use a long wear red lipstick. Personally, I tend to use matte in a tube. I'm not the biggest fan of the liquid lip. I think it's super hard to control. For me, there's this emotional value of the stick that kind of harks back to...

ancestors and movie stars that you miss when you use a liquid lip, but put on the lipstick. If you're using a tube lipstick, I would blot and put on a second coat. You'll never get that off your lips. You could give two blowjobs with that. I've never ever taken that much care with a lover. I don't care if it ends up looking like a candy cane, quite frankly. You should just be quietly grateful that I'm there at all. Well,

Well, I mean, there's that school of thought too. But people want to know. People need to know this information, Rachel, and I'm glad you're here. It's important information. What can I say? You know, it's funny that we're talking about it because for me, removing my lipstick, nobody sees me without my red lipstick. So if ever anyone does, it is trash.

True nudity to me. I feel much more naked without lipstick than being actually naked. We should talk about the world wars because I hadn't realized the role that lipstick plays in like galvanizing women going out to work and for the war effort, but it did.

It really did. There's many layers to that, that as I was working on the book, I knew some of them. But as I started to roll up my sleeves and do the research, I just found it increasingly more fascinating. So basically...

Part one, women had to work jobs that they had never traditionally worked at during World War II because the men were all fighting. So women had to work in factories. And that was, of course, a very patriotic thing to do.

But for women that were accustomed to being home and wearing red lipstick and, you know, preparing a nice dinner for their man to not wear the red lipstick was to not be themselves, to not look like themselves in the mirror. So, again, red lipstick became an image of power, but female power.

You know, in America, we had on posters Rosie the Riveter, but the women in the UK and America and elsewhere that went to go work in factories, wearing the red lipstick was a sort of empowered defiance of society.

You're taking our men. Well, that doesn't matter. We're going to work towards the war effort. We're going to work. We're going to keep busy. And then there's the element of without the red lipstick, they didn't look like themselves. So Winston Churchill, for example, really understood that and didn't ration red lipstick when many other things were rationed because he knew how important it was for the morale of women.

Wow. Yeah, it was big. Now, part three is that Adolf Hitler famously hated red lipstick. So if your mouth was red, you were making a statement against Hitler in a unspoken but unavoidable way by reddening your mouth. Is that because the Nazis and the Third Reich were all about redness?

about domesticity and pushing women away from the workplace, basically, and that they should stay at home and raise beautiful blonde haired babies. Well, my fields of expertise are red lipstick and blowjobs, not Nazism. Well, yeah, don't add that into there as either. You can do this without Nazis, I think. I think I'm going to leave that off my CV. But

I'm just connecting dots that there was an Aryan ideal that red lipstick just wasn't part of. Yeah, that sounds about right to me. But we should talk about classic Hollywood. And we've definitely got to talk about Marilyn. Because if anyone is super associated with the red lip, it's got to be Marilyn Monroe. That's it. I mean, there's...

There's no easier way to say I'm sexy than to wear a glossy red lip. And Marilyn Monroe understood that better than anybody. And actually, I'm glad you mentioned her specifically because a matte red lip often sends out a different signal than a glossy red lip.

And, you know, there's something about the glossy finish that's moist, that kind of is one step closer to the bedroom. And I think a matte red lip is actually you and I are both wearing this morning.

says more about power than literal sexuality necessarily. That's why someone like a Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wears a matte red lip so often. So Marilyn, it just became an inherent part of her look and her communication of sexuality, that kind of fluid looking, moist red lip.

She wears a really dark red when you actually look at it. Like I like a really vibrant orangey red, but she's wearing... Actually, I read that she's not just wearing one color. She's wearing several colors all together to get that effect. This is exactly right. She has a darker color in a part of her lips that accentuates them more. And you can do that with lipstick and lip liner too. I mean, I know many people, I rock my...

Wide lips. I'm proud of them now. But, you know, I know many people with wide lips that put the lip liner inside to minimize the look of the width of the lips. And I know many people with thinner lips that put the lip liner on the outside to make them seem bigger.

Marilyn was in full technicolor by that point. But before then, in the era of black and white film, you couldn't have seen the red lipstick on the film. Were they still wearing red lips then? Was it still important to that glamour? So it was important because it was a symbol in that era of being a woman that was

dressed basically. I mean, remember the silent film era is the flapper era. Yes. Is the era that literal lipstick in sticks is something that was out there and available, but that because of the black and white technology at the time, the lip had to appear red, but they didn't actually use red. They use darker colors because it needed to really pop on the screen. Yeah. I,

Didn't know that. And the flappers were the ones who, they kind of had that little bud lip, didn't they? Like it was thin at the sides and then this little kiss. I didn't know what you'd call that, this little pout thing. Cupid's bow. Thank you. Cupid's bow. You're welcome. Or rather, they accentuated the Cupid's bow. So that's what it was. Yeah, I mean, look, there was something about the...

flapper's look that was extreme and accentuated and marginally cartoony you know dramatic and by accentuating the shape of the mouth that was something that was a part of that look where did red lipstick go in the 60s i'm just jumping forward because i'm trying to think

What were we doing in the 60s? There was a real clean hippie aesthetic where it was like, no, man, I don't need any makeup. I'm just going to run through the wheat fields. And then there was Twiggy and heavy eyes and very new. Where was Red Lips in the 60s? Very early 60s, like 61, 62, we're still on matte red lips.

And then as the miniskirt came about and Twiggy and the big pronounced eyelashes and all that, the eyes became so prominent that the lips started to get very pale pink.

And I should say that early 60s moment of red lip, the pale pink started to phase in at the very beginning of the 60s too. Okay, so then we get to the hippies, which were the very late 60s, and their look was so natural that the red lip didn't really play into that. And the only real pronounced lips until the mid-70s were, if you think about like Biba Girls. Yes.

And Brilliant Barbaro Hulaniki, they had a pronounced lip, but it wasn't so red. It was usually more like what we would call Chanel vamp color today, like a sort of brownish. And that was a black lipstick too, was part of that look. They had, Biba had a cosmetics line, but yeah, it wasn't until the punks used red lipstick and that's why-

Vivienne Westwood, exactly. And it became kind of a statement of rebellion. And then the next big lip moment, red lip moment, that is, was mid 80s, sort of. Think of Robert Palmer, Addicted to Love, Sade, Madonna in the very early days. Power suits and red lip. Exactly right. That's when red lips became, again, a big thing. Wow.

Where do you think we are with red lips today? Because you are speaking to us from glorious New York City. American politics has been rather divisive of late, I have noticed, even from this side of the pond. And women's rights is sort of at the center of that. And I've noticed this conversation spilling out onto social media and in discussion forums. And there is emerging this

very trad wife, clean aesthetic that's being held up by some groups as being this is the ideal woman. And I've seen makeup being spoken about as if, again, it's being associated with whores and sluts and falseness. And what's your take on where makeup is today for women and where we're going to take it? Well, the great thing about today's world is that it's an inclusive world. And

And what you're talking about is one type of person in the States or anywhere. We live in a world of diverse voices that don't always click.

and have their own perspective. So I would argue that juxtaposed with the type of people you're mentioning, there are the people that say it's a time for boldness and statement and freedom. And, you know, I love seeing men in red lipstick. I like seeing men in red lipstick. Yeah. And I

I love seeing Taylor Swift in red lipstick and I love seeing a younger generation of women feeling like red lipstick is a expression of power and style and savvy and success and wanting to wear it. So I would say we live in a world that embraces all sorts of different perspectives and

And red lipstick is a expression of one of those perspectives. It's good that it's still a bit edgy, though. It's still got that slight fuck you about it. It's never going to be quiet. So it's something that's quiet is going to be to many people edgy. I mean, to me, the red lipstick, if it's beautifully applied and a classic shade, it's

For me, it doesn't really feel so edgy anymore. For me, it feels more...

confident and polished and elegant. I would never not wear red lipstick to the opera, for example. It makes me feel dressed, you know. I get a lot of emails about my lipstick from people that watch me doing various things. And a lot of them say, I really love your lipstick. What is it? And then it's always followed up with, I'm not confident enough to wear it, which I always want to like, just give them a big hug and be like, oh, what are

you say to somebody who they like red lipstick, they want to wear it, but they just don't? How do you like even start on your red lipstick journey? What would be your advice? I get asked this question all the time. This is like my number one question from people. And I would say there are many entry gateway drugs into red lipstick obsession.

So you could get a red tinted lip balm, for example. Ah, or lip stain. Or lip stain or a gloss that has some red tint to it. And that would be much easier to wear and...

Also, you don't necessarily have to do an intense shade of red. You could do something that's a little more orangey with many complexions. That's really, really beautiful. Or you could do something that was just a little less pronounced, a little less pigmented. The suggestion I give to people always is to go to a drugstore and put aside little money, doesn't cost a lot, and buy

a few and just try them at home and try them walking around. Lipstick is really hard to buy in a store instantly, just like perfume. In the perfume world, there's a phrase, dry down, which is about how a perfume smells on you after it's been on your skin for a while. And

because it's different with everybody. And I would say lipstick is quite similar. You kind of need to wear it and see. And that doesn't take a lot of investment. Buy some cheapy ones and play and figure out the shade and the format and the texture that suits you the best. Is there a shade that you think is a universally good shade of red? Because there are many shades of red. You've got dark red, deep red, light red, orangey red.

Yellow red, blue red, all sorts of red, brownish red. Blue red tends to suit just about everybody. I always say that I have a wardrobe of red lipsticks. And to me, there are also these elements like mood and weather and cloudiness and humidity and context of where I'm wearing it. There's so many different elements.

But if someone wanted to buy one red lipstick, I would suggest a blue red. But I'm not going to suggest a specific brand or texture because the ideal brand and texture to you might be different than the ideal one to me. Rachel, you have been marvelous to talk to today. Thank you so much. And if people want to know more about you and your work, where can they find you? Well, you can go to Instagram at Rachel Felder. You can buy the red lipstick book, Vagabond.

Red Lipstick, An Ode to a Beauty Icon, published by HarperCollins. You can Google me and I write about this sort of subject a lot and find my articles if you Google me. Thank you so much. This has been such a pleasure. It's been loads of fun. Thank you for coming on. Pleasure. Thank you so much.

Thank you for listening and thank you so much to Rachel for joining me. And if you like what you heard, please don't forget to like, review and follow along wherever it is that you get your podcasts. If you want us to explore a subject or perhaps you wanted to send me samples of red lipstick, then you can email us at betwixt at historyhit.com. We've got episodes on everything from medieval lesbians and the origins of sexting all coming your way. This

podcast was edited by Tom DeLarge and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. Join me again betwixt the sheets, the history of sex scandal in society, a podcast by History Hit. This podcast contains music by Epidemic Sound. ACAST powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.

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