The Best Red Lipstick Moments in History

Allure

December 14, 2016 at 4:14 p.m.

Rita Hayworth is the Original Lady in Red

Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Reluctant Street Style Star

A Little Bit Fashion, A Little Bit Rock 'N Roll

Queen Elizabeth I Reigns in Rouge

To rule over 16th century England, Elizabeth—also known as the Virgin Queen—didn’t need a man, but she did require a swipe of bold, red lip rouge to set off her regal pallor. Unfortunately, the red lipstick of the time was made with toxic mercuric sulphide, and her foundation, called Venetian ceruse, was made with dangerous lead and vinegar. She eventually died of blood poisoning, rumored to have been caused by her noxious cosmetics.

Getty Images

By Meirav Devash. Photos: Getty Images, Courtesy of Instagram, YouTube.

“Heels and red lipstick will put the fear of God into people,” Dita Von Teese once told the New York Times, and she ought to know. Red lipstick has been a staple of femininity since Cleopatra wore a paste made from crushed carmine beetles and ants, but it has been a wild ride. We rounded up the best moments in red lipstick history and the It Girls who made them happen.

This story originally appeared on Allure.

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The Best Red Lipstick Moments in History

Queen Elizabeth I Reigns in Rouge

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