The lip color returned in fashion during World War II. As soon as women in Allied countries and in the resistance learned of Hitler's distaste for it, they adopted it as a show of resistance. In Britain, Felder says, the women were so intent on wearing red lipstick they would stain their lips with beet juice if they could not find or afford the tubes.
This history shows that makeup isn't just a frivolous pursuit, but that it can shape the culture, even affecting the course of war.