Women have always used makeup. There is no such thing as female coquetry and Chinese women have been putting on makeup for many centuries. The very black eyes and the very red lips are the classic postcard that became popular during the years of the Tang Dynasty, before the year 1000. Seven were the components of makeup in ancient China: powder, blush, eyeliner, golden powder , dimple painting, cheek decoration and lip color. And the latter were very special for Chinese women.
Because? Well, because the lips were the mirror of the person's character. They were a very important part of the decoration of the Chinese female face and their painting and design has a long history of styles that with the years and fashions were changing. The Red lips they are used in China almost forever. The statue of a life-size goddess with red lips has been found and dated to 5000 years, so you can get an idea that the fashion appeared thousands of years ago and not recently. The specialists say that at first it was something religious but later it spread and around the custom a small makeup industry was born. By then the word lipstick did not exist so it was called lip balm and at first it was not something exclusive to women because it was also used to soothe dry or damaged lips so it was for men and women alike.
The original pigments were obtained from the juices of plants, minerals or animal blood. Vermilion was used, a compound with mercury that determined the perfect color but that went quickly and did not last long. So afterwards, mineral wax and animal fat were added and a waterproof lipstick with a lot of adhesion was left. Of course, it was not a typical lipstick but a paste that was kept in a box, it was not until the Sui and Tang dynasties that the tubular bar appeared and easier to carry. The wonderful thing was that in addition to being red and soft, this balm was fragrant and lovely fragrances were often added to it. And then fashion did the rest as women began to invent designs when painting their mouths: hearts, flowers, circles, strange designs that did not completely cover both lips.
Source and photo: via Cultural China