Humans wore lipstick more than 5000 years ago, but it was nothing like the solid dab we have in metal cylinders today. People used crushed gems mixed with herbs and beeswax in ancient civilizations to light up their lips. Thanks to inventor James Bruce Mason Junior from Nashville, Tennessee, who invented the cylinder swivel-up tube in 1923, which made lipstick application easy. He filed his invention as a “toilet article” and described it as a device for holding articles that were worn away. Today, every lipstick industry follows Mason’s idea, and his invention is found in every purse and grooming kit.
