The craze showed up in newspaper columns and social pages as something lighthearted and creative. Portraits and reports from the time describe how petals were trimmed into a rough Cupid’s bow shape and adhered with a bit of cosmetic assistance. It’s hard to understand the appeal now, but apparently it was a playful nod to nature — a way to make a statement on your way to a party or social outing.
Beauty culture in the 1910s was in flux. Commercial lip color had only recently become respectable in everyday life. Before that, makeup was often linked with theater or seen as something bold for a woman to wear outside the home. So there was space for experimentation — from soft pinks that followed the contour of the mouth to novelty applications like rose petals or tinted creams that promised “delicate” accents. These experimental moments sat beside practical guidance on flattering natural shape and gentle color.
What makes rose petal lips especially interesting is how literal it was. Today’s beauty trends draw inspiration from words like “petal” or “blush” without ever using the raw ingredients themselves. In the 1910s, the language of beauty was still new enough that people were willing to try real petals as part of the look. It reflects a time when cosmetics were both becoming more available and still closely tied to ideas about nature, simplicity and visible freshness.
Below, we’ve republished the original coverage from 1915 to show how the look was talked about then. It’s a quirky piece of beauty history that reminds us how trends have always pushed at the edges of conventional taste.
SEE MORE: Bold 1920s makeup: How to get that expressive & dramatic flapper makeup style
From 1915: Rose petal lips is fashion’s newest fad on Pacific coast
Real “rose petal” lips are feminists’ latest fad in Los Angeles.
Miss Margie Wilson, a pretty Los Angeles girl, is the originator of this novelty.
The petals of a red, red rose are first cut into the shape of a “Cupid’s bow.” With the aid of a lipstick, the rose petal lips are applied to the real lips.
If the petals which form the upper half of the “Cupid’s bow” are applied in two parts the wearer may talk and smile without fear of losing the petals.
Miss Wilson introduced the “rose petal lips” at a recent social affair, with the result that the fad has become instantly popular with the younger set of Los Angeles.
MORE: How to make an old-fashioned rose jar for the floral fragrance of homemade potpourri
Lovely lip looks without petals
For daylight, lips must be softly accentuated with pink following the shape of the mouth, but not quite to the edge. This will make the lips more delicate and far prettier.
Beautiful natural lips
Lips should be flexible, full of gracious curves, quickly falling into graceful smiling lines and disclosing white and perfect teeth when the lips are parted.
ALSO SEE: Lipsticks by the millions: How the makeup was made (1947)
