December hits everyone differently. Some people sparkle, some people sulk. I tend to get reflective - thinking about what I pulled off this year, what completely flopped, and how I might do it all with slightly less chaos next time.

I’ve also been thinking about why I write about the things I do - beauty, science, tech, entertainment, nightlife - and what they actually mean. It’s a strange little grab bag, and yet, somehow, it makes perfect sense to me.

Why I think these stories are important is another matter. There is one in particular that always sticks out in my mind - a persistent legend in beauty history that claims that Elizabeth Arden handed out red lipsticks to suffragettes marching in a big rally in New York City in 1912. The story is used to show that Arden was a passionate women’s rights advocate and also drives the idea of red lipstick being adopted as a symbol of female protest – both of which become important contemporary narratives.

The tale appears in numerous beauty histories, yet when I traced it back, no contemporary evidence supported it: no newspaper reports, no company documents, no quotes from Arden herself (who, notably, had little interest in women’s suffrage). The timeline didn’t align either. A woman said to be leading the march had actually died a decade earlier and Arden was barely producing lipsticks at the time let alone bright red ones. Nothing about the narrative held it together.

Instead, by following the story’s paper trail across decades of beauty books, I discovered it appears to originate not in 1912 but most likely in a book in 1999 from which it was repeatedly retold and embellished. The myth gained real momentum only in 2012 when Elizabeth Arden Limited launched a limited-edition red lipstick and a corresponding high profile campaign - “March On” marking “100 years” since Arden had revolutionised feminism.

You can read the full piece on my website https://lucyjanesantos.com/2024/08/23/elizabeth-arden-and-the-red-lipstick-that-wasnt/

I think it’s an interesting story on its own, but it also makes me stop and consider why all of this matters to me. Because it shows how easily misinformation settles into the public imagination and how happily companies will repeat stories they (probably) know aren’t true when it helps shape a brand and sell more stuff.

I keep stumbling on this kind of thing in the histories I’m researching, and while I can’t spill the details just yet, there will be plenty more stories to share next year.

Will leave you with a photo of me pointing at … a video of me. This is part of the London Transport Museum’s exhibition Art deco: the golden age of poster design which is an absolute treat!

Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Lucy