We all know that world war two will live on in history as quite possibly the most important event of our 20th century. With out a doubt a disaster for humanity that still reverberates today in the lives of it’s remaining survivors, and there children as well as grand children. Over 50 millions deaths during that period of time, and most of that loss was civilian loss. The truth is, even during such times of human horror, and such times of terrible loss, romance, and the dreams of romance, still lived in peoples hearts. Cosmetics, and the reasons people use cosmetics, are never lost completely, no matter what might be happening in the world.
So many stories told of how young lovers with no hope of having the dream wedding they wanted to have, would find a way to have that romance they dreamed of, only to then have lost their lover to the war, or in many cases to have had both lovers be lost to the war.
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However during that moment, that brief moment of romantic love, you can be sure, at least that female in the romance, was deeply concerned about having the looks upon herself to positively attract her mate. It is not crazy, and it is not ridiculous for mates to want to look as good as possible for each other, and yes we have had wars being fought around us, while still craving and needing to love someone.
Let us also not forget how important over all morale is when fighting to survive. Being able to see, for a moment, a gorgeous pair of lips on a beautiful young lady, while motoring through to town ion the way to the next battle front, was known to put a huge smile on the face of a soldier, and remind everyone of something other than the horrors of war.
During the year of 1942, governments viewed cosmetics, as for the most part to be a burden on the war efforts financially. At the united states, every item imaginable was being rationed, and in some cases, eliminated completely so that the war could be dealt with monetarily. However in the area of cosmetics, it became obvious quite fast that morale would suffer so tremendously without cosmetics, that the cosmetics industry was sparred much of the cut backs suffer by other areas of life. Lip stick especially was considered to be an absolute need in order to maintain some level of appearance and stay in contact with dignity and humanity throughout the war.
Advise was given, mostly to females of the population, to be frugal. Do not use what is not needed to create the desired effect. Cut back on over all makeup consumption while conflict is ongoing, and sacrifice along with all others to help the country win. However, lip stick was the one item that was not reduced by much.
The truth is, lip stick and lip liners can help to make a sad face more happy. The horrors of war can be momentarily erased by beautiful dressed and lined lips that offer a reminder of joy, romance, and better days in life. World War Two, and the light use of makeup to boost morale, actually did a lot to erase the stigma associated with makeup being a bad person’s choice. Makeup reminded all of happiness, and the World War Lips played their part in helping survivors reclaim human dignity once all became quiet again.