Here's another 4,000-year-old red lipstick from Iran into the history of cosmetics. At first it was thought to be a small bottle of dark red paste, but after investigation it was identified as an ancient tube of lipstick. It is about 4,000 years old. This points to the beauty concepts of the Marhasi civilization.
An ancient container was discovered in 2001 when the Halil River floods in Iran flooded several ancient cemeteries in the southeastern part of the country and removed goods from the graves. According to Smithsonian Magazine, it was later stored at the Archaeological Museum in Giroft.
For the study, the researchers extracted the dark purple powder and tested its chemical composition. Analysis revealed that the powder was composed of hematite, manganite, brownite, galena, anglesite, and plant wax. The researchers stated that it is similar to the lipsticks used today.
The size and shape of the bottle was quite different from other cosmetic bottles of the same era. This shows that in ancient times cosmetic products were packaged and sold in specially shaped bottles. According to the research, perfumed lipstick may have been used at that time. Because plant fibers were recovered from the lipstick found.