The Queen And Lipstick: The Story Of A Beauty Passion Of Elizabeth II

A typical image of the Queen of Great Britain is a bright mono-bow, 5.5 cm black heels and a colored umbrella (read also: How to distinguish the Queen: 5 cm heel, Launer bag, bright coat and no pants). Everyone is so used to the rich lipstick on the lips of Elizabeth II that they already pay little attention to it. And completely in vain: juicy royal shades - amazing power of inspiration and a visual aid for age-related makeup (inspire your grandmother). Plus, the Queen's love story for lipstick is very romantic.

Start

The coronation of Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. The ceremony was televised by the BBC in black and white and was partially captured on color film. Planning the event took 16 months, so there was plenty of time to prepare and make sure the incoming queen had everything in order (including her makeup).

Thelma Holland, director of the famous "aristocratic" (in the sense that even today its products are addressed mostly to the privileged strata of society) cosmetics company Cyclax and the London salon of the same name, was appointed as Elizabeth's make-up artist. It is interesting that in 1961, Cyclax Ltd received the Royal Order from Her Majesty - one must think, not just like that, but for past services to the Fatherland. It took about six months to hone the technique of "coronation" make-up: all this time, "understudies" were used as a model - two young Englishwomen, similar in type and skin tone to Elizabeth. Holland later said in her memoirs that she came up with makeup, guided by the following principles: the crowd of spectators had to see Elizabeth's face well,makeup had to be ideal for three types of photography (artificial lighting of Westminster Abbey, the interior of an official carriage and natural daylight) and be very persistent (last at least 4 hours without corrections, and most of the time do without them at all).

Given these conditions, even though Elizabeth herself preferred a minimum of makeup, they relied on red lipstick. But there was one more reason: the colors used in makeup had to overlap with the coronation regalia, some of which (for example, the mantle) were deep red. So, the natural skin tone was emphasized with a fluid with a peach undertone, and the lips - with lipstick, which, it is believed, was invented by Elizabeth herself, of course, with the help of her makeup artist. The red shade was named The Balmoral Lipstick ─ in honor of Elizabeth's Scottish estate. Eyewitnesses describe him as "ruby red with soft tints", and say that he successfully accompanied the image of the Queen and state symbols, and just looked good (including in the photo).

After

Whether someone later released The Balmoral Lipstick is not known for sure, but Elizabeth II fell in love with bright shades (albeit not immediately). Gradually, one of the brands that won her trust and was marked by goodwill was - rather unexpectedly - the American Elizabeth Arden. The press service of the brand is absolutely professional and carefully hides the details of the close friendship with the royal court, only in passing mentioning that "when developing shades, it works in cooperation with Elizabeth's dresser" and "provides her with first-class service."

A palette of royal lipstick shades:

Today

Lipstick is not nail polish (it is known that the Queen prefers Essie to all others in manicure), and there are a lot of rumors about which one Elizabeth uses at official events. Most commonly referred to as Clarins and Charlotte Tilbury. More, perhaps, I believe in the latest version, but advertising could play a role here. In the fall of 2016, the eponymous brand of British celebrity make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury announced the "royal" limited edition of Matte Revolution lipstick, and the brand really presented a lipstick in honor of Elizabeth II. Aimingly named The Queen, it was marketed as "a precious cherry blossom lip frame with rich pink tints."

At the end of winter 2018, the brand decided to repeat the success: in February, Charlotte Tilbury announced the re-release of "Elizabeth's lipstick", as well as the release of lipstick "a la Kate Middleton". The legendary wine royal shade (Legendary Quenn) continues to be released as part of Matte Revolution, and "dusty rose" (shade The Duchess) belongs to the Kissing lipstick category

There is always a choice: the Duchess or the Queen

By the way, lip tinting is the only beauty ritual that the Queen still performs on her own. She always keeps her lipstick in her purse, and does not see anything wrong with using it if necessary ─ not only in the toilet room or alone. Once, at a public event in Washington, the first lady of the United States, wife of 43rd President George W. Bush, Laura Bush, did the same and explained: “Why? The Queen told me it was okay."