What is purple, why is it associated with royalty and when was purple discovered?

Purple is any shade between that of violet and red. It was first discovered in about 1900 B.C., and the center of the purple dye industry was in the ancient land of Canaan. (Ancient Canaan included the area roughly equivalent to the modern states of Israel, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Syria.)

During this time purple dye was extracted from various species of marine mollusks and it took about 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of pure purple dye. Due to the rare and expensive nature of the purple dye only the wealthiest were able to adorn themselves in purple clothing. Purple became the symbol of royalty. Also purple textiles were used to adorn the Tabernacle and for the sacred vestments of High Priests.

We at Pink Papaya love purple too, so adorn yourself with our new purple eye shadows and eye liners and feel royal!