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About Christianne
Christianne is a NYC based freelance costume designer who grew up in Nebraska. She received her BA in Theatre Studies from Northern Arizona University and her MFA in Costume Design at Rutgers University. Christianne's most recent work includes Le Nozz di Figaro with Opera at Rutgers, Blood Wedding with Rutgers Theater Company, and was on the costume design team for Broadway's new musical Mean Girls. In addition to costume design, Christianne has an interest in wig construction and design. She enjoys the sculptural aspect wig design allows. |
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As with most "Sample Pack" articles we start with the Egyptians. Although they are most well known for their "kohl" eye makeup, the Egyptians also used lip stain. (See the beet juice stain and cheek stain from the previous "Sample Pack Makeup History" article) Cleopatra was thought to use a lipstick made from carmine beetles and fish scales to create a shimmery look.
Roman men and women also tinted their lips with, you guessed it lead...when will they ever learn? In China lip color was mixed with beeswax to help with application. Lip stain was also added to small sheets of paper, dried, and applied to the lips (see here). The Chinese also added essential oils to their beeswax and lipstick paper. Solid lipstick wasn't really around until the Islamic Golden Age when a surgeon and chemist Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi perfected a solid lipstick formula. Thanks to him we have the solid lipsticks found on makeup shops today! (Al-Zaharwi is considered one of the Middle Age's best surgeons.) Cosmetics and makeup was considered a branch of medicine. This makes sense as the Egyptians and Chinese were also thought to use makeup for medicinal reasons. Lip color was banned by many religious groups during the European Middle Ages. It was considered a connection with the devil and reserved for the lowest class, prostitutes. In the UK during Elizabethan times, lipstick became popular for a short time. Lipstick was made of red stain and beeswax and only actors and high class women could wear it. After it's short stint in the spotlight during Elizabeth I's reign, lipstick fell out of favor. Only actors and prostitutes wore it until it gained popularity when the French perfumeries began producing it. The lipstick during this time was not in the twist or push up tube we know today. It was usually applied with a brush. Lipstick really hit its stride at the turn of the 20th century. New inventions allowed the makeup to be widely used such as the swivel tube which was patented in the 1920's. In the 1950's the first long lasting lipstick was created by American chemist Hazel Bishop. Actresses such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor popularized the vivid red lipstick we associate with the 50's. After the early 1960's bright red lipstick was replaced by a variety of paler colors. The eyes were more important. Following this in the very late 1970's bright lipstick regained it's spot in makeup bags coming in more colors than just shades of red and pink. In the 1990's lining your lips with a darker shade than your lipstick became a fad and could be seen on celebrities like Madonna. As we have learned with most makeup we have covered so far, lipstick has been made out of some deadly ingredients. There's lead again, but this time it's not just back in the Roman era. As late as 2009 the FDA found traces of lead in nearly every sample of lipstick that it tested! This is extra alarming as it has been estimated that those of us who wear lipstick regularly accidentally eat about 4 pounds of the stuff in our lifetime! Be a safe shopper and do your own research on your favorite brands. References:
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 Rouge (aka blush) is the longest-standing makeup item in existence. It not only was put on cheeks, but also lips (not to be confused with lipstick). As we did with eyeliner, we are starting with the Egyptians. As the Egyptians were sophisticated chemists, they blended ingredients such as red ochre, or chocineal (small red bugs) with animal or vegetable fats to create sticks of rouge. You can imagine the green eye shadow and black kohl liner from the previous article in the series mixed with a deep rouge made for a strong and striking face.
Roman men and women also wore blush. They used lead paint. Silly Roman's, lead poisons you! They also would have a servant spit into their cheek powder before applying to make sure it was the correct level of pasty. In places like Japan and China rouge was used in Kabuki and opera. The red stood out against the white faces painted on the performers. In Western Europe, during the reign of Elizabeth I, once you had applied your pale white lead (lead again?!) to your face you rouged your cheeks with a daub of red. You couldn't smile after applying your white and red or else the hardened makeup would crack. I wonder if that is where "to crack a smile" came from... The Northern Renaissance makeup wearers not only put deadly eye drops in their eyes (if you forgot read here) but they also put mercuric salts on their cheeks. These came from mercury. All you need to remember is lead and mercury are bad. Don't put them on or in you, ever! In the Directoire period some men known as Incroyables used rouge to heighten their color. Besides this most makeup was seen as "improper". Any obvious sign of rouge during the Romantic Period was seen as "painting" and shunned. During the Crinoline Period makeup was still seen as "improper" so women would pinch their cheeks to cause more blood flow to their cheeks, making them redder for a short time. Watch "Gone with the Wind" it happens in that movie a lot. Not until the 1920's did rouge come back into fashion. Flappers not only rouged their cheeks, but some would also rouge their knees; think Chicago. Following decades brought different shades of rouge, some bright red, other subdued choral. Each decade had a different view of makeup. 1960's and 1980's were bright and bold, while the 1970's celebrated a more "natural" makeup look. Throughout history blush/rouge came in many forms. It has been a powder, a stick, greasy, or a stain. Sometimes it has been made of ochre, bugs, or beet juice. Today some celebrities such as Shailene Woodley use beet juice as lip stain, but you can also use it as cheek stain! Here is an article and recipe from Bustle. References:
Theatre professionals are very busy. It can sometimes be hard to justify taking time for yourself. It can feel dangerous to take time from work and side gigs. Looking for the next gig or show is the life of a freelancer in the theatre. Sometimes taking time for self care can feel like you are taking pay or work away from yourself. I feel like we as an industry have a hard time equating self care with our career. Actors tend to do better at this as their bodies are their job, but those of us who are back stage or front of house don't always realize that taking care of ourselves is also part of our careers.
I am a freelancer which makes self care easier and yet harder at times. Here are some small things I do sometimes to self care and to make sure I have a life. I work to live (and love my work) I do not live to work.
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