Beetroot was a popular supplement for lip stain and proved
relatively harmless compared to the use of boot polish as
mascara.Perhaps the worst trend was the foundation
concocted from a blend of margarine and chalk.
lipsticks
The rise of mainstream feminism in the 1960s and 70s saw
many women partaking in an anti-cosmetics movement. They
claimed that makeup was a tool in objectification, which saw
society treat women as sex objects rather than people.
Susan Brownmiller went so far as to call the unmade up face
“the honourable new look of feminism”.
"The honourable new look of feminism."
Not all women felt this way however. In the 1970s Avon
introduced the world to the lady saleswoman. Despite certain
feminist misgivings, the general consensus was that the
popularity of makeup provided opportunities for women as
entrepreneurs, inventors, manufacturers and distributors.
The 1970s was a time of real boom for men wearing makeup.
Inverting stereotypical gender roles was a symbol of counter-
culture defiance. The Cure's frontman, Robert Smith,
remembers, "I started growing my hair long and wearing