Fascinated by make-up lipstick's history and politics? Listen up!

We’ve written about our love for the Dressed: A History of Fashion podcast before, but there are a couple of episodes that aired recently which were so riveting that we had to share with our beauty-loving audience.

Fashion historians April Calahan and Cassidy Zachary co‑host Dressed (which Jo’s been listening to for years) with brainy, best‑friend chemistry – but lots of scholarly rigour, juicy storytelling and a shared obsession with what we wear and why. (Honestly, riveting – we promise you’ll start to think about what you wear in a different way.)

In these two episodes, Dressed dives into lipstick’s place in history with Ilise S. Carter – author of The Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History, which traces how a slick of scarlet became a political statement, a feminist flashpoint and even a pop‑culture power move. But as ever, it’s all all wrapped up in properly geeky, beauty‑historian detail. (And equally relevant to British audiences; yes.)

The first episode kicks off with some gem-like quotes about lipstick, of which we particularly like this, from Gabrielle Chanel: ‘If you’re sad, add more lipstick and attack!’ Wise advice.

You can listen to the episodes for free, here. (And find all of Dressed’s archive, here.)

A little Thursday freebie that will make you think about lipstick, in this case, in a whole new way. Enjoy!

Prize Draws