Historical Context
Cosmetics were particularly scarce during both WWI and WWII due to war shortages and rationing of their main ingredients (i.e. petroleum and alcohol) being required for the production of weapons. This made them a highly desired product, such as chocolate and tobacco (Angelogou, 1970). The cosmetics industry became aware that this would mean a high demand for such products after the war in question was over, and started marketing early on (Komar, 2018). During the wars, the social situation of women changed drastically, especially since the lack of men in the workforce meant that women had to carry out these jobs such as mail delivery, driving trams, plumbing themselves. During WWI, the pressing fear of women getting ‘carried away’ with their newfound freedom and empowerment (especially since suffragette movements had already begun to show their effects on society) led to cosmetic ads being more focussed on reinforcing a woman’s expected duty to remain feminine despite hard labour (Komar, 2018). Note: The focus of our advertisements lies predominantly within US-American culture, since despite their involvement in WWII the nation didn’t suffer as much from war shortages as Europe did and was therefore still able to produce significant amounts of cosmetic propaganda. |
WWII The fear of women’s patriarchally conditioned femininity being neglected due to their involvement in men’s work during the war was equally present during WWII. Through societal pressure reflected in cosmetic advertisements and government (instructions), women were strongly encouraged to retain feminine beauty ideals by applying makeup and putting effort into their looks and femininity. Another aspect of cosmetics during WWII was the focus on keeping up appearances and boosting morale. Women in make-up naturally symbolised a country whose economy still allowed for a production of make-up and a certain freedom for women to look ‘put-together’, since that required time and effort. In order to reflect a functioning society with modified yet basically intact gender roles, a factor which was believed to boost the morale of both men and women of the war-affected nations, women were strongly advised to adhere to their ‘duty for beauty’. |
Palmolive - 1943 'For him... and him... and him...'
The reiteration of the words ‘lovely’ and ‘loveliness’ emits the idea that the desirable beauty standard at the time was one related to inherent virtuous qualities such as love and purity, contrasting to i.e. more modern concepts of sexuality or mysterious allure. Femininity is also given strong importance to in conjunction with this type of beauty stemming, so to speak, from a natural and honest source (‘Nature’s finest aids to feminine loveliness’). The advertisement also uses several other elements often found in the analysis of this type of discourse, such as imperatives and exclamation marks (‘Turn now to…’, ‘Til he comes marching home!’) to encourage and incite the reader to buy the product. It also applies the ‘argumentum ad populum’ tactic (‘As so many charming women are doing’) to achieve the same goal, as well as giving their product historical significance by mentioning how its ingredients have been used ‘since the dawn of time’. The use of superlatives such as ‘one leading beauty soap’ and ‘largest selling beauty soap’ are also a similar strategy applied by Palmolive in order to render their product more credible. Another method used to make their product sound more appealing is the comparison with expensive and rare items, such as ‘silk and cream’, especially sought out during times of war rationing. The 1942 Palmolive advertisement thus exemplifies WWII ideology that the active role of women in the war is accomplished by ‘guarding’ their home and beauty. Alongside portraying feminine beauty standards as a patriotic duty, it also implies that the War will be won by the USA (‘Til he comes marching home’), which further shows the correlation between war morale and cosmetic advertisements. |
The first war-time advertisement, selling Palmolive body soap, shows an illustration of a woman gazing upwards, with three portraits of American soldiers pictured above her head. The title ‘I pledge myself to guard every bit of Beauty that he cherishes in me’ is printed on the top of the advertisement page as a headline. To begin the analysis of this composition, I will first examine the colours it is composed of. The red of the woman’s lipstick, her pale (white) skin and blonde hair as well as her blue eyes and dress represent the three national colours of the United States flag, thus highlighting the notion of patriotism and duty to one’s country. This notion of nationalism and support for one’s country in times of war is also highlighted by the terms ‘pledge’ and ‘guard’, further making an example of the ‘duty for beauty’ ideology so present in cosmetic advertisements during WWII. The blue eyes and blonde hair accompanied by the light skin represent a traditional image of Eurocentric purity, thus encouraging the women on the advertisements to remain youthful, pure and beautiful while their husbands or loved ones are fighting abroad. The background shows a crowd of women standing with their head raised in a similar fashion to the model in the foreground, looking upwards as if at the ‘war heroes’ framed at the top of the advertisement. This visualisation also strong tones of patriotism and gives an image of an ‘army’ of image supporting the men fighting overseas, in this case by making themselves look ‘their most beautiful’. |
Tangee - 1943 'War, Women and Lipstick'
This 1943 Tangee lipstick advert shows a photograph of two women in US American Air Force uniforms, sporting lipstick and styled hair. The pose of the models in the picture suggests the two women retaining playful, feminine qualities despite the seriousness and dangers of war. The contrasting colours in the image highlight their feminine styling, especially the lipstick and long hair.
The image of Constance Luft Huhn as a female entrepreneur and voice of authority is an important factor in this advertisement, since it marked further recognition of women in an even broader range of positions previously only occupied by men. During the time, she was being referred to by the media as ‘America’s best-dressed businesswoman’ (Boyd, 2014) and a female role model, marketing Tangee lipsick as an ‘essential accompaniment to women’s wartime effort’ (Boyd, 2014). The advertisement also contains a strong appeal to patriotism, as we had previously pinpointed this to be a recurring and logical theme in wartime advertisements. However, in contrast to the previously analysed Palmolive AD, Tangee lipstick appeals not only to this patriotic ideology but to women’s sense of self and characteristics which at the time were considered more masculine such as courage, daring, boldness and fighting spirit. The term ‘woman-power’ itself is used in the first sentence of the advert, following the notion of women in war effort as a desirable historical and progressive breakthrough (‘For the first time in history’). The product itself is marketed as an 'instrument of personal morale' of greatest importance, being able to boost a woman’s self-confidence and give an appearance of ‘put-togetherness’ but also as instrumental to the upkeep of the nation’s morale. This portrayal of lipstick represents a shift from cosmetics being viewed merely as an instrument for female attractiveness designed to attract other people to a tool capable of boosting self-confidence and morale. At the same time, it was a strong reminder of the fact that despite doing ‘men’s work’, women were expected to maintain high standards of femininity. |
It also describes American women as the ‘best dressed, best informed, best looking’, which is meant to both address and uplift the morale of women as a social group and the patriotic side. Values such as democracy and freedom, key terms in WWII and post-WWII America are also highlighted in the advertisement (‘free democratic way of life), again showing how closely war propaganda and nationalistic values were linked to cosmetics advertisements of the time. The direct address to American women as equal to men or at least as hard-working and determined as them (‘Millions of you fighting and working side by side with your men’) does acknowledge the fact that women were essential to the war effort and symbolised a step towards women’s social equality, albeit created through the necessity of women in the workforce and not necessarily by a socio-ideological paradigm shift towards the consideration of women as individuals equal to men. It also acknowledges and thus simultaneously cements the idea that women will be doing both women’s and men’s work (‘for you are still carrying on your traditional ‘woman's’ work of cooking, and, cleaning, and home-making’), under no circumstances trading one for the other. The advert highlights the fact that women – while truly as courageous, bold, and efficient as men, especially during times of war – were still required to adhere to extremely feminine beauty standards and it was desirable to highlight these differentiating qualities through cosmetics such as lipstick. The recurring emphasis on ‘loveliness’ and ‘love’ similarly serves as a reminder of the ‘duty for beauty’ concept explained in the previous analysis concerning the Palmolive advertisement. The content of the advertisement is thus centered on highlighting the importance of women’s contribution to the war effort, portraying lipstick as a symbol of weaponised, strong femininity. |
1941 - Elizabeth Arden: Montezuma Red Lipstick
I don't sell cosmetics, I sell hope.” |
The advertisement for Elizabeth Arden’s ‘Montezuma Red’ lipstick published in 1941 shows a model sporting a U. S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve uniform and a scarf. The red elements in the image, that is to say the model’s lipstick, scarf, uniform hat cord and chevrons are colourised in a vibrant, contrasting red colour.
In the 1940s, women’s rights activist and make-up designer Elizabeth Arden was commissioned to create a lipstick specifically designed for women in service, to boost the morale of both the women themselves and the men in service. She designed the red colour to match the red hat cord and chevrons on the U. S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve uniform and the lipstick was provided to military women in an official, government-issued kit alongside several other types of cosmetics such as rouge and nail polish (Bésame Cosmetics, 2018; Haag, 1999). As we mentioned previously, this carefully curated appearance gave an image of a fully functioning society as well as highlighting women’s femininity in contrast. However, the connotations of red lipstick specifically suggest unnatural, performative beauty, as well as urgency, danger, independence, assertiveness and confidence. This combination of femininity and violence suggested a less demure, more empowered woman of the 1940s, an image which was formed through her indispensability in the war effort. The advertisement uses personification as a rhetorical device in order to relate the qualities emitted by the lipstick relation to attributes desirable in war effort (‘brave, true red’). The way war enlistment propaganda is incorporated in the advertisement itself and the way it is described (‘Free a Marine to Fight! Share the great traditions of the Marines. Join the U. S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve’) also contributes to making war seem more glamourous through fashion and style. |
Conclusion
Cosmetics advertisements had a defined role during the WWI and WWII, especially during the 1940s. On one hand, the beauty industry realised the high market demand of make-up after war shortages during WWI, and increased production and advertising of it. By the 1940s, make-up had become overwhelmingly popular and lost all the stigma it had had over the past centuries. Instead, it became a war-time essential, representing the well-being of a country and thus boosting morale. Another aspect was make-up as a reminder and standard of femininity that women contributing to the war effort of WWII were required to adhere to. The term ‘duty for beauty’, coined during that precise era, similarly symbolises how women were expected to upkeep societal beauty standards even despite the dire circumstances of war and their participation in the workforce. However, the shift of cosmetics, especially lipstick, fom a mere instrument for female attractiveness designed to attract other people to a tool capable of boosting self-confidence and morale marked a step towards the future purpose and marketing of cosmetics as we know them today.
Survey results
This word cloud shows what our survey respondents thought about the WWII-era cosmetics advertisements analysed above.