1941 Victory Crimson – Besame Cosmetics

1941 Victory Crimson – Besame Cosmetics

Behind the Coloration: Bésame Cosmetics 1941 Victory Crimson

 

It’s 6 am and your alarm clock is singing louder than the birds. You slowly open your eyes, groggily getting accustomed to your brightly lit room. You continue to have not fairly gotten use to waking up at this hour. Gone are the glamorous events and dancing the night time away to Moonlight Serenade by the ever common Glenn Miller. Now you’re a lady of the workforce, one in every of many who’ve grown accustom to rigorous labor.  You’re taking delight in your new profession, fortunately doing all your half for the continuing battle.  You stroll to your closet and select your outfit for the day— an olive inexperienced Marine Corps Uniform. With confidence you set in your uniform, fastidiously adjusting the jacket so it lays easily. You pull your hair again and tuck your curls up away out of your shoulders earlier than inserting your cap upon your head.  Subsequent, a easy swipe of pale powder on the face, a delicate pink rouge for the cheeks, thick brows, and lengthy luscious lashes. Lastly, your navy issued lipstick – a vibrant, vibrant purple that completely matches your uniform’s trim. It’s your favourite shade, good for the assured, patriotic girl of the Forties. 

 

 

The Forties was an period brimming with patriotism, optimism, and daring purple lips. America had simply entered the second World Warfare and girls’s roles within the office started to be redefined.  The Nineteen Thirties noticed girls as nurses, college lecturers, and homemakers. Nonetheless, with males off at battle, the Forties girl may now work in factories, on meeting strains, and even be a part of the navy. On the urging of Eleanor Roosevelt (the primary woman on the time), and Common George Marshall, the primary girls’s department of service was established in 1941— the Ladies’s Auxiliary Military Corps (later to be often called Ladies’s Military Corps).


With girls changing into an increasing number of concerned within the battle effort, one would assume make-up was a misplaced precedence. Nonetheless, throughout the decade “magnificence was your responsibility” and thought of an act of patriotism. Crimson lips symbolized victory, optimism, and impacted morale. Crimson lipstick was seen an acceptable shade for any event: at residence, within the office, and even lively responsibility. 

Within the early Forties, well-known make-up artist, and girls’s activist, Elizabeth Arden was approached to create a lipstick particularly designed for girls in service. In 1941 “Montezuma Crimson” was created. It was a vibrant, vibrant purple, and completely matched to the purple piping and chevrons on girls’s navy uniforms. Montezuma Crimson was issued to navy girls in an official equipment which included the attractive purple lipstick, an identical cream rouge, and nail polish. 

As the recognition of Montezuma Crimson blossomed, the general public demanded a shade of their very own. Elizabeth Arden created “Victory Crimson”, amongst different reds, so any girl may proudly honor her nation. 

Impressed by the power, and optimism of the Forties girl, Bésame’s very personal “1941 Victory Crimson” is a devoted copy of the purple lipstick as soon as issued to navy girls. Whereas magnificence might not be thought-about a “responsibility” for at the moment’s life-style, this shade will endlessly be linked to the assured and provoking girls of the Forties. 

picture courtesy of @MissVintageLady

picture courtesy of @missgolden_lady

picture courtesy of @mikalakitty

 

Sources:
Hernandez, Gabriela. Basic Magnificence: the Historical past of Make-up. Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2017.
Historical past.com Employees. “American Ladies in World Warfare II.” Historical past.com, A&E Tv Networks, 2010, www.historical past.com/matters/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii.

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