Lipstick(Getty Images)

Lipstick

The use of lipstick, or more accurately, lip colour dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, when women crushed semi-precious jewels and used them to decorate their lips. Lipsticks with shimmering effects were initially made using a pearlescent substance found in fish scales. In medieval Europe, lip colour was banned by the church and was thought to be used as a "Satanic", with cosmetics being "reserved" for use only by prostitutes. In 1915, Maurice Levy put lipstick in cylinder metal containers (women slid a tiny lever at the side of the tube to move the lipstick up). And in 1923, the first swivel-up tube was patented by James Bruce Mason Jr in Nashville, Tennessee, giving us recognisable accessory we know today. Lip gloss was invented by Max Factor in 1928 to make film actors' lips shiny (and thus easily seen on film). Its ingredients include castor oil, beeswax and flavouring.