Behind the Shade: Bésame Cosmetics 1941 Victory Pink

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 evening away to Moonlight Serenade by the ever standard Glenn Miller. Now you’re a girl of the workforce, considered one of many who’ve grown accustom to rigorous labor.  You’re taking pleasure in your new profession, fortunately doing all of your half for the continued conflict.  You stroll to your closet and select your outfit for the day— an olive inexperienced Marine Corps Uniform. With confidence you place 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 tender pink rouge for the cheeks, thick brows, and lengthy luscious lashes. Lastly, your navy issued lipstick – a shiny, vibrant crimson that completely matches your uniform’s trim. It’s your favourite shade, excellent for the assured, patriotic lady of the Forties. 

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

With girls turning into increasingly concerned within the conflict effort, one would assume make-up was a misplaced precedence. Nevertheless, throughout the decade “magnificence was your obligation” and regarded an act of patriotism. Pink lips symbolized victory, optimism, and impacted morale. Pink lipstick was seen an appropriate shade for any event: at house, within the office, and even lively obligation. 

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 Pink” was created. It was a shiny, vibrant crimson, and completely matched to the crimson piping and chevrons on girls’s navy uniforms. Montezuma Pink was issued to navy girls in an official equipment which included the attractive crimson lipstick, an identical cream rouge, and nail polish. 

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

Impressed by the energy, and optimism of the Forties lady, Bésame’s very personal “1941 Victory Pink” is a trustworthy copy of the crimson lipstick as soon as issued to navy girls. Whereas magnificence will not be thought of a “obligation” for at present’s life-style, this shade will without end be linked to the assured and galvanizing girls of the Forties. 

photograph courtesy of @MissVintageLady

photograph courtesy of @missgolden_lady

photograph courtesy of @mikalakitty

Sources:

Hernandez, Gabriela. Basic Magnificence: the Historical past of Make-up. Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2017.

Historical past.com Employees. “American Girls in World Warfare II.” Historical past.com, A&E Tv Networks, 2010, www.historical past.com/subjects/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii.