Why Lipstick Was So Important During World War II

Look at old photos from the 1940s and you’ll see most young women are wearing lipstick- even high schoolers. That’s because this once-scandalous makeup product was brought into the spotlight during World War II. Elegant gold cases for these slide-up tubes were an essential part of a woman’s makeup routine. Back then most women usually wore lipstick, powder, and perhaps some blush on a daily basis. But, lipstick in particular had an important role to play during the Second World War.

In the 1930s many women chose lighter lipstick shades and they also would wipe the tips of their nails free of nail polish to show they weren’t hiding dirty fingernails. This was the state of makeup back then, deemed suspicious by many as a way to cover what one really looked like. But, the war years changed all that pretty quickly.

Women were encouraged to join the war effort in a variety of ways- by doing factory work that the enlisted men could no longer do, by volunteering for victory gardens and other public projects, and by joining the armed forces. Women were allowed to join the Marine Corp Reserves beginning in World War I and were encouraged again in 1942 with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s creation of a women’s wing of the Marines in 1942 called the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve.

The recruitment motto was “free a Marine to fight” and the idea was that women would occupy clerical positions in place of male members who were fighting in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific Theater. Combat positions would not be permitted for women until 2016.

Unlike in previous eras when makeup was considered a bit risqué, female Marines during the 1940s could wear lipstick (and nail polish) just so long as it coordinated with the red of the cord on their uniform hats. This small detail of the cording was designed to contrast with the green of the hats and uniforms.

Montezuma red was an Elizabeth Arden lipstick color released in 1941 designed for the lady Marines. A later color called victory red was sold as well, giving makeup an air of patriotic duty for all women.

Civilian women as well as factory workers and women in the armed forces were encouraged to wear lipstick for morale, to root for victory, and to raise the spirits of men around them. Slogans like “Beauty is your duty” were used in advertising campaigns of the era to encourage women to wear lipstick, set their hair, and generally not let standards slip simply because of the war. Similar advice was also given to women in Britain during the war as well, though lipstick was often harder to come by overseas.

There was also a widely-discussed rumor that Hitler despised red lipstick as it was seen as a symbol of female independence. Thus wearing red lips was considered a slap in the face of the dictator and an easy way to keep spirits up during the danger, scarcity, and uncertainty of war.

Lipstick refills were offered during the war and some makers also offered plastic or paper tubes to reserve metal for the war effort. Prior to the invention of metal tubes, they had been packaged in cardboard tubes, so the move during wartime to less in-demand materials is not surprising. It was seen as so important that many cosmetics companies changed the containers rather than have to cease production.