rom Ancient Greek prostitutes being legally required to don a red pout as not to be confused for being a “respectable” upper-class woman, to red lipstick becoming the symbol of feminism during the Suffragette movement, lipstick has long been the cosmetic staple epitomising power, emancipation and rebellion.
In 2021, after a year of enforced global lockdowns, lipstick will now come to represent not only freedom, but also a return to normal life. As we succumbed to a seemingly shared cyclical schedule of bed-sofa-banana bread-sofa-bed, masking the lower half of our face became the norm when venturing outside for essential supermarket top-ups and daily meanders.
Lipstick may have been made redundant but the taste of freedom is now firmly on our lips. As virtual Bumble dates finally move beyond the realm of URLs to IRL, mimosa-yielding brunches are quickly being booked-up and multi-household soirées can resume, we need lipsticks with staying power for the frenzy of antics that will surely follow. If post-lockdown life is tipped to be akin to the roaring 20s, we’ve rounded up the ultimate long-lasting lipsticks that will survive all the post-lockdown revelry.