Podcast Summary: Dressed—The Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History (Interview with Ilise S. Carter, Part I)

Podcast: Dressed: The History of Fashion
Episode Title: The Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History (Part I)
Guest: Ilise S. Carter
Date: January 21, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode explores the transformative impact of lipstick on American history, culture, and identity, as seen through the lens of Ilise S. Carter’s book, The Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History. Spanning from the 18th century to the present, the discussion delves into lipstick’s evolution from a homemade curiosity to a symbol of self-expression, femininity, rebellion, and even patriotism, highlighting its entanglement with ideas of morality, technology, advertising, and women’s agency.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lipstick as Power and Symbol (00:35 – 01:45)

• Iconic women such as Coco Chanel, Elizabeth Taylor, and Dita Von Teese spoke to the transformative and empowering aspects of lipstick.
  • “If you're sad, add more lipstick and attack.” – Coco Chanel
  • “Heels and red lipstick will put the fear of God into people.” – Dita Von Teese
• Host and guest agree on lipstick’s identity-shifting power.

2. Early History: Recipes, Ingredients, and Use (03:21 – 07:39)

• 18th–19th centuries: Lip color recipes relied on homemade formulations; Martha Washington’s recipe included whale earwax, lard, raisins, and alkanet root.
  • “The alkanet root gives it a sheer redness. ... It was a balm.” – Ilise S. Carter (03:35)
• Products called ‘rouge’ were made from cochineal (crushed beetles) and used for cheeks, lips, and eyes.
• Pharmacies supplied strange, hard-to-find ingredients; pharmacists may also have performed tasks like bloodletting at this time.

3. Social Morality and Cosmetics (07:41 – 11:13)

• The common belief that only “bad women” (sex workers/actresses) wore makeup until the 1920s is a modern myth.
  • “We’re a very puritanical nation…” – Ilise S. Carter (07:54)
• Historical arguments against makeup centered on:
  • Morality: Seen as artifice, deception.
  • Health: High levels of arsenic, lead, and other toxins were major concerns; makeup was often poisonous.
    • “If you took hair samples from the average 19th-century American, it was probably loaded with arsenic.” – Ilise S. Carter (10:27)
• Upper class and some middle-class women regularly used makeup, not just sex workers or actresses.

4. The Notion of Self-Improvement & Beauty Manuals (14:14 – 14:53)

• Beauty manuals from 18th–19th centuries included advice on exercise, diet, and homemade cosmetics—self-improvement ideology is deeply American.
  • “If you don't like the way you look, you can take control of that.” – Ilise S. Carter (14:30)

5. Dangerous Beauty Trends: Enameling (15:12 – 17:27)

• “Enameling” was a Victorian practice where women painted on actual enamel to appear statuesque and ethereal.
  • Reference to Sargent’s Madame X: “...it was literally painted ladies...enamel applied to the skin.” – Ilise S. Carter (15:12)
• Extremely impractical, only feasible for the truly idle upper class.

6. Lipstick Becomes Mainstream: Technology, Modernity, and Mass Media (18:10 – 26:00)

• Shift in public acceptance tied to:
  • Urbanization and women in public spaces.
  • The invention of the lipstick tube (patented 1917): allowed easy reapplication outside the home.
    • “The thing that makes that possible...are two things. One is the lipstick tube. 1917, we get the first patent of the lipstick tube.” – Ilise S. Carter (21:47)
  • Department stores with ladies’ rooms enabled public reapplication.
• Emergence of celebrity culture and film stars in the 1910s–1920s made lipstick aspirational and desirable.
• “The birth of mass media...really kicks it into high gear.” – Ilise S. Carter (24:42)

7. Hollywood’s Influence & Makeup Education (26:00 – 33:09)

• Silent film actresses used exaggerated makeup for the camera; began trends like the “bee-stung” lip.
• Max Factor revolutionized makeup for film, developing formulas that looked natural under new lighting technologies.
• Hollywood and American glamour became linked; American women were educated about makeup through industry “experts.”
  • “He [Max Factor] trained a fleet of makeup artists to teach women...tips and tricks.” – Ilise S. Carter (29:17)
• Growth of beauty schools in the 1930s–1940s.

8. Lipstick as Political and Social Statement (36:16 – 42:43)

• By the 1920s, lipstick consumption was so massive it was used as proof of American consumerism (anti-socialist rhetoric).
  • “One state senator had said, well, we can't be socialists. We spend so much money on makeup.” – Ilise S. Carter (36:25)
• After women won the vote, debates arose: would lipstick become female “hypnosis” in politics? Lipstick and women’s independence became deeply intertwined.
• In the 1930s, not wearing lipstick was a statement (cf. Elizabeth Hawes anecdote).
  • “He flew into a huge fit of rage...‘She's not even wearing lipstick!’” – Cassie on Hawes’ story (41:34)

9. Marketing, Advertising, and Aspirational Messaging (45:49 – 52:00)

• Lipstick ads from the 1930s to 1950s promised transformation, romance, and social acceptance—rarely representing real working women’s lives.
  • “It was about social acceptability or...catching a man, less than ‘who are you today?’” – Ilise S. Carter (47:09)
• Lipstick shades often had exotic or aspirational names; advertising was heavily copy-driven with “soap-opera” narratives.

10. Lipstick and Wartime Patriotism (52:00 – 55:31)

• WWII: Makeup, especially red lipstick, became a patriotic act; Axis powers (Nazis, Fascists) banned makeup, while in the U.S., it was encouraged.
  • “It became like us versus them. Like, we have pretty girls and they can wear as much lipstick as they want, even if they're wearing overalls.” – Ilise S. Carter (52:10)
• Lipstick names (e.g., Montezuma’s Red, Jeep Red) reflected the war effort.
• Women in wartime ads, including Rosie the Riveter, were depicted with red lipstick for morale and to maintain traditional gender norms.

11. Business and Innovation: Hazel Bishop (55:31 – 62:16)

• Story of Hazel Bishop, chemist and Barnard alum, inventor of the “Kiss-Proof” lipstick.
  • “She literally took it home and set about fixing it like she literally was whipping it up in the kitchen sink of her apartment.” – Ilise S. Carter (57:08)
• Early success through Lord & Taylor; first lipstick advertised on TV.
• Challenges: Funding, male-dominated board, legal battles—points to ongoing obstacles for women entrepreneurs.

12. Black Beauty Brands & Access (62:16 – 69:03)

• Flori Roberts (1965): First department store cosmetics line for women of color, but earlier brands existed (e.g., Lucky Heart, Color Keyed).
• Segregation and discrimination meant Black women couldn’t shop at mainstream counters—door-to-door (Avon) sales empowered both consumers and saleswomen.
  • “Putting it on the Avon model, having door to door sales took away that pressure. And it was your, you know, a neighbor, a teacher, someone you went to church with.” – Ilise S. Carter (63:26)
• These entrepreneurial models offered tangible opportunities for Black Americans, though also reflected the influence of prevailing (white) beauty standards and some problematic products (skin lighteners).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Power and Transformation:
  “There's something a little bit thrilling...and shape-shifting about when you put [lipstick] on. It's very, very transformative, I think.”
  —Cassie (03:11)

• On Self-Improvement:
  “...you can take control of it [your appearance] and improve yourself through due diligence, through hard work.”
  —Ilise S. Carter (14:30)

• On Public Makeup Application:
  “It’s not the application of lipstick that people objected to in earlier years. It was the reapplication of lipstick and the reapplication in public.”
  —Ilise S. Carter (21:47)

• On Advertising:
  “It was about social acceptability or it was about catching a man, less than, like, ‘who are you today?’...It was always aspirational.”
  —Ilise S. Carter (47:09)

• On Black Beauty Brands:
  “Putting it on the Avon model, having door to door sales took away that pressure. And it was your, you know, a neighbor, a teacher, someone you went to church with...it took away the anxiety about shopping...”
  —Ilise S. Carter (63:26)

• On Shifting Gender Norms and Rebel Acts:
  “What it is to be ladylike is a constantly shifting thing. And absolutely within one generation it goes from like, don't put on lipstick in public, you cow. To like, don’t leave the house without lipstick. Are you are crazy?”
  —Ilise S. Carter (44:09)

Important Timestamps by Segment

• 00:35 — Iconic quotations about lipstick
• 03:21 — Early recipes and 18th/19th-century cosmetics
• 07:41 — Morality and health, myths about who wore makeup pre-1920s
• 14:14 — Notions of self-improvement, beauty manuals
• 15:12 — Enameling: Victorian trend
• 18:10 — Modernization: lipstick, technology, public space
• 21:47 — Arrival of lipstick tube, handbag, pockets, and public use
• 26:00 — Influence of film and Hollywood starlets, Max Factor and makeup artistry
• 33:09 — Lipstick as a consumer commodity; 1920s–30s spending
• 36:16 — Political rise of lipstick with suffrage, Prohibition
• 41:34 — Elizabeth Hawes: not wearing lipstick as provocation
• 45:49 — Marketing and the creation of consumer fantasy in ads
• 52:00 — Lipstick and WWII patriotism, Rosie the Riveter
• 55:31 — Hazel Bishop: Kiss-Proof lipstick, business challenges
• 62:16 — Black beauty brands, door-to-door model, empowerment

Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser

The episode concludes with a promise for Part II, which will delve into lipstick and feminism, sci-fi influences (Blade Runner), and gender-bending pop culture (early ‘90s rock bands). The parting sentiment underscores lipstick’s enduring presence—not only as a cosmetic, but as a site of cultural, political, and personal meaning.

For more images and related content, follow @DressedPodcast on Instagram and Facebook, or visit dresshistory.com for book recommendations and episode extras.

This episode provides a rich, multidimensional history of lipstick—demonstrating its pivotal role in American society as both a marker of conformity and a tool for rebellion, as a means for self-expression, and a mirror for social anxieties and ambitions.