Ultimate Lipstick Quiz

According to the 'lipstick indicator' theory, women buy more lipstick when the economy is doing well.

fact

fiction

almost fact: It's the other way around -- women tend to buy lipstick when the economy is tanking.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

The lipstick indictator theory contends that when the economy is bad, women buy small luxury items -- like lipstick -- as an inexpensive pick-me-up.

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Wearing lipstick with no SPF could be worse than leaving your lips bare.

fact

fiction

almost fact: This holds true for creme lipstick, but not matte.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

If your matte or creme lipstick doesn't contain SPF, it will still offer a little more protection than nothing at all.

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However, shimmery lipsticks and glosses could be harmful to your lips on a sunny day.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Glosses could be dangerous, but shimmery lipsticks are fine.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Both shiny styles are actually suspect. They attract UV rays, which we all know can damage skin, especially the delicate lips.

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You can get cancer from the lead in lipstick.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Only people with a family history of a specific kind of cancer are vulnerable to the lead in lipstick.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

While it's true that some lipsticks contain lead, there have been no documented cases of medical complications from wearing lipstick.

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Permanent tattoed lipstick has been around since the 1950s.

fact

fiction

almost fact: It's been at least since the early 1900s.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

A dubious character named George 'the Beauty Doctor' Burchett tattooed lipstick on many women -- with varying results -- in the early 1900s.

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The shelf life of the average tube of lipstick is about three months.

fact

fiction

almost fact: You can hang on to lipstick for about a year.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

It's somewhere in between -- around eight months.

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The FDA says that lipstick can safely contain traces of horse brain.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Don't worry -- it's just cow brain.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Yes, it's true -- your lipstick could contain cow brain. An inexpensive type of fat can be extracted from it.

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Maybelline's Fire and Ice is one of the best-selling lipstick colors ever.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Revlon makes Fire and Ice.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Revlon's bright-red Fire and Ice was an instant hit when it debuted in 1952, and it's still going strong.

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Wax is no longer used in mass-produced lipstick.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Beeswax is no longer used, but other kinds are.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Wax is still a key lipstick ingredient -- from beeswax to paraffin and carnauba wax.

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A common claim is that women who use lipsticks end up consuming a tube of it per year.

fact

fiction

almost fact: It's more like 10 tubes.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

The claim is that lipstick users eat 4 to 6 pounds a year -- which adds up to 118 tubes. That sounds a bit off the mark, no?

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Crushed beetle shells are sometimes used to give deep-red lipsticks their color.

fact

fiction

almost fact: The beetle shells are used in exfoliating lipsticks.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Sounds pretty old-fashioned, but beetle shells are used in certain red lipsticks -- usually to give a 'carmine' color.

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If you want to make your own vegan lipstick, you should stay away from lanolin.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Lanolin and beeswax are both no-nos.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Yes, lanolin (from sheep glands) and obviously beeswax are animal products. But you can use soy wax, olive oil, cocoa butter, shea butter or mango butter.

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Cleopatra used crushed ants to color her lips.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Cleopatra's lip color came from asp venom.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Crushed ants is right -- along with carmine in a base of beeswax.

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Queen Elizabeth I's intense red lip color came from berry juice.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Elizabeth used crushed flowers.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Elizabeth I set off her extremely pale, powdered face with bright red lip color made from crushed roses and geraniums.

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The first lip color in stick form was created in the mid-1800s.

fact

fiction

almost fact: It was earlier than that -- the early 1500s.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Even earlier -- Abu al-Quasim al-Zahrwai, a Muslim Andalusian known as the father of modern surgery -- is credited with creating the first actual lipstick around A.D. 900.

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In the 18th century, the British Parliament passed a law that said women who wore lipstick (and other makeup) could be forced into a life of servitude.

fact

fiction

almost fact: The punishment was actually life in prison.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

No, it was worse than that. Made-up women were said to be witches who could be burned at the stake.

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Max Factor invented lip gloss.

fact

fiction

almost fact: It was Estee Lauder.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Max Factor gets credit for lip gloss invention in the 1930s.

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In the 1950s, scientist Hazel Bishop created the first 12-hour lipstick -- the magic ingredients were bromo acids.

fact

fiction

almost fact: The lipstick was long-lasting because of a substance called Permatone.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Bishop used bromo acids, and Procter & Gamble came up with Permatone a little while later.

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Permatone was fine-tuned in Maybelline Superstay lipstick.

fact

fiction

almost fact: It was Revlon ColorStay.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

The P&G scientists first used Permatone in Cover Girl Outlast lipstick.

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In 2008, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin famously remarked that lipstick was the only difference between a hockey mom and a bull.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Make that pit bull.

Correct Answer

Wrong Answer

Palin claimed that she would, essentially, be a pit bull if not for her lipstick.

FINISH QUIZ

Ultimate Lipstick Quiz

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