Lipstick Queen has just released a new product: a tinted lip balm named Belle Epoque, in a reference to the “beautiful era” of arts, fashion, and culture in fin de siècle France. Yes, a lip product named Belle Epoque; I can not resist. (As a girl, I went with my mother to see an exhibition titled “La Belle Epoque” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, and this era has never lost its fascination for me.)

I’m hoping to have an opportunity to try these balms soon, but in the meantime, let’s look closer that image and do a little art history “detective work”…

Once again, Lipstick Queen’s graphic designers have done a clever pastiche of visual arts from just the right period. (You might remember my earlier inspections of Frog Prince and Ice Queen. No? No matter!)

I love to figure out things like this.

Take a look…

That coquettish dancer’s top half is evidently derived from a poster by Jules Chéret (1836-1932) advertising the Olympia music hall on the Boulevard des Capucines (in Paris, naturally). Her cymbals have been translated into tambourines, but the sleeves, the floral sash, the cleavage—it’s all there. This image dates to 1892.

What about her legs?

Here’s another Jules Chéret poster, this one created for the Eldorado Music Hall on the Boulevard de Strasbourg and dated to 1894. That’s where we get the legs, the laced yellow slippers, the bordered skirt, and the red orb behind the dancer—reversed.

Interesting, hm?

You can read more about this artist here.

I’ll report back once I’ve actually tried the Belle Epoque balm!