Lipstick
Ancient Egyptian women made lipstick from a red dye extracted from seaweed and
the poisonous element iodine. It was eventually discovered that this early form of
lipstick made women very sick. Cleopatra had a safer, although not very appealing,
recipe for lipstick: It was made from ants and beetles. The ants were used as the base,
and crushed carmine beetles for their deep, red color. In 1884, the fi rst modern lipstick
was introduced in Paris. It was a solid stick made of castor oil, beeswax, and animal
fat. By the 1940s, the use of lipstick by famous, wealthy women had led to its
widespread popularity. During this period, rotating lipstick in a tube was
invented. Today, the average woman owns eight lipsticks!