Most trends – brown lipstick, heavy blush, that period of time in the late ’90s when we all collectively decided that we should wear a lot of frosted blue eye shadow with no liner – are evocative of an era, while others – such as red lipstick – survive no matter what other kind of bonkers looks are going on (see: all of the 1980s. Seriously, I don’t know why anyone ever thought that much blush was a good idea). I hate using the word “timeless” because it reminds me too much of other words I hate, such as “bliss” and anything else that could be used in an inspirational saying, but red lipstick is one of the few makeup looks that has always remained current no matter the era.
Lipstick itself dates back to Queen Schub-ad or Puabi of Ur, a Sumerian ruler around 2500 B.C. The first documented lip tint was made with pulverized red rocks and white lead (this was not the last time people were like, “Check out all this sweet lead! Hey, what if we put it on our mouths oh god I’m dying”). Many early lip colours were made from things that would be inadvisable to glob on, such as crushed ants and carmine beetles in ancient Egypt or crocodile feces and sheep sweat in ancient Greece (NOTE: How do you even collect that? Do you, like, get the sheep to wear little sweatbands and then wring them out?). There was also more colour variation than one would think: In ancient Egypt, popular colours outside of red included orange and indigo, which means that the ancient Egyptians were the original goth kids.
In parts of Asia, red “lipstick” was also an early cosmetic. In China, nail colour was the main cosmetic used by the upper classes, but the first lipsticks (the earliest ones were created around A.D. 25) were made with a beeswax base as a way to protect the skin around the lips, with people adding scented oils to make them smell nicer and red pigments made out of crushed plants, blood, or vermillion. The way that lipstick was applied also changed drastically from dynasty to dynasty — during the Qin Dynasty (221 to 206 B.C.), for example, women would paint a large dot on the lower lip and a point on the upper lip; during the Sui (581 to 618) and Tang (618 to 907) Dynasties, they would paint the shape of a cherry.
Two of the big players in lipstick trends during the 1300s-1900s were England and France. While France was relatively permissive and lip rouge was a consistent trend there throughout various eras (with Guerlain being one of the most popular brands), England had a weird back-and-forth relationship with lip colour, ranging from Totally Cool to STOP USING IT RIGHT NOW YOUNG LADY. During the Dark and Middle Ages, lip rouge was worn by lower-class people in various European countries, including England, Germany, Spain, and Ireland. They used herbal and plant-based dyes to redden their lips. The Church did not look fondly upon this, and deemed the look to be “Satanic” (“Don’t you dare rebel, young lady!” “Screw you, Mom, I’m going to wear these crushed rose petals! HAIL SATAN”).
By the 1500s, things began to change. Queen Elizabeth I was a dedicated devotee of lip rouge, to the point where she believed that it had healing powers and even the ability to ward off death (incidentally, I’m going to make a red lipstick called “DEATH STOPPER”), although this faith was misplaced as one of the main ingredients was white lead. By the time of her death, her lips were caked in lip rouge, due to her habit of applying it in an attempt to feel better. After her death, lipstick went back to being a symbol of “questionable” morals — but while the clergy and some lawmakers approached lip colour with the sort of generalized disgust with which most people today approach gas station toilets, many women (and some men) still wore lip rouge through the 1600s, albeit in a much more subtle way. By 1770, British Parliament declared that women who wore makeup and “seduced men” by using it would have their marriages annulled and also be accused of witchcraft. (So basically, if anyone asks you how your got your lips to look so nice, you should just wave your hands around and go, “It’s EYE OF NEWT, MUAHAHAHAHA.”)
When the first twist-up lipstick tube was invented in 1915, lipstick became even more popular, as it was now much easier to carry around, versus before when it was found in small compacts or wrapped in paper. It was part of Frida Kahlo’s trademark look, paired with the power brows that would give even the most ardent Instagram MUA a run for their money. In a number of letters that she wrote to her husband Diego Rivera, Kahlo would end the letters with a series of kiss marks across the bottom, ephemeral marks left by a tumultuous and ephemeral life.
In the 20th century, red lips were universal almost everywhere in the world. In India, while the early 1900s saw most women wearing very light makeup and little in the way of lip colour, red lips (along with strong brows and lined eyes) were a common look by the mid 1920s (and continued to be from that point on). In modern Japan, red lips were popular during the 1930s, 1950s, 1980s, and are recently becoming popular again after a long period of more subdued hues and glosses. In Mexico, while women in the early 1900s were generally quite fresh-faced (partly due to the fact that there was a revolution happening), red lips and looks inspired by US-trends were more prevalent.
Through the 1930s, ’40s, and into the ’50s, red lips were THE thing. Who needs eye shadow or liner when you can have LIPS, ALL OF THE LIPS? While red lipstick has always been a symbol of status, sensuality, and the desire to smear stuff on your face, it did take on a slightly different role during WWII — for women working in roles that were traditionally of a more “masculine” bent, the lipstick was a way to reinforce traditional femininity while also giving women something that gave some sense of normalcy. Lipstick shades during the war also came with patriotic names and packaging, which worked in two ways: 1) it turned the item into a sort of symbol of power, and 2) apparently Hitler straight-up hated lipstick, especially red lipstick, so wearing lipstick was like a big “SUCK IT HITLER.”
Photo by David Bransby, 1942. Via LOC.
When makeup companies started expanding their ranges and focusing on new types of products and formulas, red lipstick became just a staple, hanging out in the background amidst over colors but still omnipresent. Full, filled-in lips are the most dominant trend during the 20th/21st century (with the main change being the occasional overdrawn upper lip, such as in the US and western Europe in the 1930s). One example of an outlier, however, is the recent gradient lips trend in South Korea. While Korean trends tended to mimic North American ones in past decades (and red lipstick has been a mainstay in South Korean looks from the 1940s onwards), the more recent trend of using a red or pinky lip stain to create a gradient from the inner part of the lips outwards has been slowly catching on in other countries (think lips that have been bitten, or stained eating a popsicle, albeit in a way that creates a soft gradient on the mouth and not a sticky mess all over your shirt — unless you’re me and you spill an entire bottle of Benetint down your front).
Red lips haven’t gone anywhere and won’t be going anywhere any time soon. Some say it’s because red is a powerful, classic colour that is always in fashion. Others say it’s because red lips signify aroused labia (those people are anthropologists, and they are either the best or the worst people to have at parties). Maybe it’s a combination of the two. Either way, it just looks great.
Sources
Reading Our Lips: The History of Lipstick Regulation in Western Seats of Power
Fun fact: my father’s favorite cousin and my Godfather invented non-smear lipstick in the early 60’s. You’re welcome
BLESS.
YO that’s amazing. I need to know more!
This was fabulous. Also I’m currently sporting a red lip so I feel extra relevant right now.
Same!
I love this! I’ve decided to start wearing lipstick more every day, I’ve always had my Chanel Red for the nights out; but good lord is it hard to find a shade of lipstick that works for me. Even within ‘Red’ lipstick, there’s so much variation!
Have you tried Nars Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl? It’s one of the truest, most neutral reds I’ve tried, and should work on most skintones.
all hail the nars matte lip pencils!!! mysterious red makes my life better on a daily basis.
I haven’t tried it! I feel like make up brands are more diverse in the US
However I have recently discovered lip pencils and they’re amazing! I have a bright pink minty one from rimmel; I doesn’t suit me at all but I love it.
(I am however the worst lipstick wearer. I have a full blown Vaseline addiction, I start to panic if my lips get dry. I tend to forget I’m wearing lipstick and put Vaseline on and then it’s ruined.)
That’s the beauty of using a lip pencil instead of a lipstick! It has great staying power, but can look a bit dry unless you put some gloss or Vaseline on top.
My daughter gave me a new Chanel red for Christmas, and it is fabulous.
I have realized recently that red is my power color–if you come into my house, all the accents and accessories are red (think Marie’s thing with purple in Breaking Bad), plus my purse, my phone case, etc. Consequently, I keep auto-buying red lipsticks, even though they are not THAT different from each other in shade and it’s not like I’m going to run out anytime soon.
Current favorites: Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella, Besame 1946 Red Velvet (aka the Peggy Carter lipstick), theBalm Meet Matt(e) Hughes in Loyal
Red Velvet is rapidly becoming my go-to red lipstick – I carry it with me all the time and wear it more than I’ve ever worn any other color.
I’m a bit scares of red tbh. I have a very red face (or ‘high complexion’ as my mother calls it) and so I tend to stick to cool colours in my clothes and make up. (Although I do have dyed red hair. I didn’t say it made sense!)
I’m trying to get away from red lipstick for this reason, I can’t wear it during the day, it just completely takes over my face!
Peggy Carter lipstick. Getting it!
Aaah I really want to get the Agent Carter lipstick. I have an okayish red in almost the same colour from forever 21 to tide me over until I can afford the besame one.
I saw “the Peggy Carter lipstick” and immediately ran to Amazon (I live in the UK and Amazon is the best bet for US make up brands not costing a fortune). No such luck. Sold out from the Besame seller and SEVENTY QUID elsewhere. SEVENTY. IT BETTER BE A MAGICAL LIPSTICK THAT LANDS ME EVERY JOB I INTERVIEW FOR AND MAKES ANIMALS AND CHILDREN FALL AT MY FEET IN WORSHIP.
Maybe I’ll just keep checking back until it’s back in stock with the Besame guys.
Definitely wait until it’s back in stock! I mean, it’s good, but not seventy quid good! It is still a lipstick!
Oh no, I will! Even in the context of my eternal quest for the perfect red lipstick. EVEN in the context of being halfway talked into cosplaying Peggy by a friend who does cons.
I never understood why MAC had so many reds until I started wearing them. It’s ridic how different lipsticks look depending on lighting, liner use, skin tone, and so on.
Sephora’s cream lip stain in Always Red is a great neutral red that stays forever and ever!
“By 1770, British Parliament declared that women who wore makeup and “seduced men” by using it would have their marriages annulled and also be accused of witchcraft.”
So what I’m hearing is that not only is red lipstick a tale old as time, so is insecure men proclaiming that women who wear makeup are fake lying liars!
Truly a circle of life, this.
I think they were just jealous that they couldn’t pull it off themselves, what with their tiny pinched lips from sucking on lemons and their shrivelled hearts and whatnot. They just don’t seem like fun people, really.
Red lipstick is one of those things that seems daunting, and then you put it on and instantly power up 100 levels and feel unstoppable.
Hear, hear! I used to loathe it until I found the right kind.
This was my exact experience. Between red lipstick and my red fedora (which I bought for my Peggy Carter cosplay), I feel like such a sexy, confident badass.
I read somewhere (I know, sorry) that a wartime / post-wartime marketing strategy for cosmetics was “Do your part to keep up morale, ladies! BE PRETTY.” We don’t want to see your ugly plain faces, girls, it makes us want to die in a foxhole.
Yep. It was supposed to “motivate” the men the way cheesecake posters did.
I’ve only recently broke my “I only like makeup that looks like I’m not wearing makeup” philosophy, and you can view my progression by lining up the lipsticks I own in order of date of purchase. They range very evenly from “vaguely pinker than my lip color” to the one my mom gave me over Christmas, which is basically the color a clown would wear, and I love it.
Next up: sparkly eyes. My SIL gave me some eye shadow that is basically glitter and I am ROCKING it
it’s been the same for me! I went from shooing away tinted lipstick to a wide range of reds, purples, and, most recently, a very exciting blue.
Though I’m still shy on the whole eye shadow thing… Continue rocking your glitter awesomeness!
History (well into the 21st century) is just chock full of people not realizing lead was a bad idea. It’s a miracle we survived.
The lead asides might have been my favourite part of this sparkling jewel of an article.
“By the time of her death, her lips were caked in lip rouge, due to her habit of applying it in an attempt to feel better.”
I have never identified with Elizabeth I more.
Ah, but some cosmetics still have lead in them, especially lipstick :(((
From the FDA:
Has FDA set limits for lead in cosmetics?
No, FDA has not set limits for lead in cosmetics. FDA has set specifications for lead in color additives used in cosmetics. FDA approval of color additives is based on safety evaluations that consider the color additives’ intended uses and estimated consumer exposure resulting from those uses. FDA-approved color additives are listed in Title 21 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
From the CDC: “No safe blood lead level has been identified.”
— Signed,
Debbie Downer
WHAT! Why??
FDA’s studies have found no lead levels that would pose safety concerns when lipstick is used as intended.
Yeah ok FDA, but wouldn’t no lead at all be preferable to lead at a level that doesn’t pose a safety concern?
Visit the Environmental Working Group’s site, and check out their list of lipsticks.
It’s okay to have lead in lippies (the amount of lead in lipsticks is TINY). It’s the dose that makes the poison, not the ingredient itself.
http://thebeautybrains.com/2014/10/is-lead-in-lip…
http://thebeautybrains.com/2013/04/does-lipstick-…
http://personalcaretruth.com/2013/11/cosmetics-in…
Stuff the Endlessly Whin(g)ing Group/Campaign for Scaring Consumers and their scaremongering.
Whoa, ok. Stuff them I guess.
“…which means that the ancient Egyptians were the original goth kids.”
I’m impressed that you were able to drop this without mentioning eye makeup at all.
during the Edo period, some women would pair red lip rouge along with white face powder and blackened teeth
BLACK TEETH. hot damn.
I always wondered if this was from a perspective of “ew, teeth are gross” and trying to hide them? (Since I know at some point in (relatively recent?) history it was considered good manners for a woman to cover her mouth while smiling or laughing, my brain insists these things are related.)
No, we’re talking about a thousand years ago for this practice (it goes back further than Edo, to Heian at least).
Teeth were blackened because people with high-sugar diets (the upper class) would have their teeth go rotten and hence black, and so it became a desirable trait. I am fairly sure the mouth covering came after, when teeth were white but makeup was whiter, making the teeth appear yellow in contrast. So, covering one’s mouth to laugh or smile.
Don’t forget the Victorian treatment for syphilis (drinking mercury. super effective guys.) made teeth go black as well, so covering the mouth was a common habit for many upper-class types (they were all rotten with the syph)
I think in Elizabethan England black teeth meant you could afford sugar and therefore had money. Not sure the same logic applies here tho.
It could be partly that, but it also was due to the fact that the lead makeup was so brilliantly, unnaturally white that even perfect teeth would look dingy in comparison. Another reason was that normal teeth looked a lot like the spirit tablets that people would put out to honor ancestors or nature spirits. This was believed to be highly inauspicious, so noble ladies and/or geisha would blacken their teeth almost as a sign of respect and to ward off bad luck. (Interesting fact — at one point, this custom coincided with a fashion for wearing iridescent green-black lipstick, so the overall effect was of a white mask with a black mouth, floating above an elaborate kimono.)
Why yes, I do have a passion for traditional Japanese costume history, can you tell? 😉
I have always found the “red lips represent labia” thing to be gross, because I think it’s just such a shallow and lazy explanation. Mouths and eyes are such incredibly powerful, subtle, intimate, evocative conduits of human expression. We perceive human faces in just about everything–any substance as long as we can make out two points for eyes and a squiggle for a mouth.
A quirk of the lips can convey so, so many different emotions, whether it’s lifting a corner in a smirk or lifting the center in a sneer. Pressing the lips together in exasperation or puckering for a kiss. There is so much to a pair of lips! So why doesn’t a desire to emphasize one of the most essential conduits of human expression work as an adequate explanation for seeing red lips as beautiful? Why does it have to be reduced to something as crudely unsubtle and condescending as “it makes your face look like your cooch”? Because if that argument really held water, wouldn’t women in history have also been painting pubic goatees around their red lips? Honestly, gimme a break.
I see a contender for “most metal makeup trend” emerging…
(srsly, pubic goatees, I’m DYING. 100% agree.)
I don’t know if its as simple as lips =labia, but lips do definitely have a sexual thing about them and I think red lipstick just brings that out more?
Oh, lips can definitely be sexual. No doubt about that!
But as I understand it, the general idea is really pretty much as simple as lips = labia*, for all sorts of silly evo psych reasons like “we can’t see women’s cooches like we can see chimps’, and therefore women have to show off their labia with their faces”.
Just because lips can be sexual, and the color red can be sexual doesn’t mean that the equation is always so simple, and that’s the part that bugs me. Red is a bold, powerful color that can represent all sorts of strong emotions. To me, a red lip is a statement look, but whether it’s a sexual thing depends on the context and the relationship of lip-haver with lip-beholder.
*Yes, labia is just the Latin word for lips.
I think you make very good points, and described the importance of eyes and mouths very beautifully!
But I’ve always thought the logic for red lips being sexual and the lips = labia thing was more…red lips = visible arousal = mental association with labia, rather than literally “put your vulva on your face”? Like using reddish blush because it makes you look flushed and excited. Actually, to me most makeup seems to mimic and exaggerate more subtle indications of arousal. I don’t know if we respond to it because of biology or just because it’s hugely ingrained in our culture to do so, but I think there is at least the implication of sexuality or arousal with red lipstick (even though I know I’m not thinking about sex when I’m putting my makeup on for the day–far from it!). I say this only because it is very interesting (“interesting”, cough, sexist) to me to think about how our ideals for women revolve so much around being seen as sexually accessible at all times but not as sexual actors, and I think makeup historically has been a major player in that.
Either way, evo psych nonsense is condescending and crude, and I totally believe there are people who think female lips are supposed to function like chimp estrus (as if chimps don’t also have lips? or, you know, men?) and that is super frustrating. As you’ve noted, people emphasize their lips for a variety of reasons, sex being just one of many, and a visual similarity to labia isn’t a very good or creative explanation.
There are good and bad evopsych explanations (SO MANY BAD EVOPSYCH EXPLANATIONS) but I think this one might be legit? “Oh, lips remind you of labia” sounds more Freudian than anything else, though. I can think of three possible mechanisms…
1. Lips have estrogen receptors, just like labia and other kinds of mucous membranes in female reproductive parts do. So when girls hit puberty, our lips fill out. Grown women usually have bigger, softer lips than men. Lipstick could be saying “hey did u know I’m of fertile age, yep I sure am”.
2. Red lips could be a visible measure of sexual arousal. There are lots of blood vessels and such in lips, and they fill out even more and look brighter red (depending on which skin colour you have, of course) when your blood surges. The opposite happens when you’re cold or scared, your lips go flat and bluish because the blood vessels have constricted. Now, I know that sexual arousal makes the labia fill out and your heart beats faster and your skin flushes, and that should mean that your, uh, face lips thicken and become red as well because of the blood flow? I definitely feel like I’ve noticed this in real life, and I think I’ve read about it too, I just can’t remember the sources. It works with lots of theory and other observations as well. Having a visible signal of sexual arousal is very normal in a social species (male humans certainly have one, we just invented clothes and covered it up). Red lips might be such a signal.
3. A red lip could be a signal even if lip colour doesn’t correspond to arousal. There’s another possible explanation that really does sound more like “lips look like labia and labia means sex”. There really is such a thing as inborn visual cues. It’s easy to think of cues that tell you to back off (stay away from big teeth and big eyes), but some animals have more inviting symbols too. Dunno about humans, but I know there’s a bird species with a red dot on the beak, and they will pick A LOT at any kind of big red dots (young birds feed by picking their parent’s beak, making the parent puke up food) even though red dots aren’t obviously related to food. Scientists have discovered that they pick more at bigger, redder dots than at more realistic ones. An exaggerated signal gets an exaggerated response. Cool. Sooo if the sight of aroused labia is actually a straight up “activate sexual arousal right now” signal for us (which I have no idea about), intelligent humans probably WOULD exploit the signal by copying it and putting an exaggerated version of it smack dab in the middle of their faces…
TL;DR: it’s plausible that red lipstick exaggerates some kind of sexual signal, because lips really are kind of tied to arousal in women, either through age, physiological responses or visual similarity to labia (or maybe all three??). Visual signaling in animals can be symbolic, because signals evolve and lose unnecessary parts just like everything else. Thus, no need for hilarious pube-like goatees.
I’ve never heard about the “red lips represent labia” argument in a non-sarcastic way. I think the argument is (or was, I don’t know if it’s still a thing) that the red lipstick resembled someone’s lips turning redder due to sexual arousal.
I love this so much!!! I’m wearing new red lipstick today, and in general I’m trying to get over my hangups about lipstick (it makes me feel like the Joker) and wear it more. So this was fascinating and relevant. I especially love that Hitler hated red lipstick.
Wear red lipstick or the fascists win!
I have been feeling very strongly moved in the direction of bold makeup lately, and especially all those wild, purple lip colors on the market right now! Unfortunately, this has coincided with a period in my life where 1. I am on a seriously strict budget, and 2. I’m just not attending events where I can reasonably get myself all dolled up. I will just sit over here and stroke my computer monitor over the pretty, pretty colors.
Although I haven’t bought any yet myself, I’ve heard many people sing the praises of Colourpop’s lipsticks, which come in a lot of bright shades (blue, green, violet, etc.) and are somewhere in the neighborhood of $5-6 USD. Has anyone tried these who can weigh in?
they’re decent for that price, and very fun with the range of colours. obviously, with something that cheap, there’s not much durability to them, but it can be a good way to sample different colours before/instead of committing to a better quality, more expensive lipstick. and they have some fun names!
I really like them! They’ve got a good range of colors and finishes, matching pencils if thats your thing, and more staying power than I would’ve expected. It’s also pretty easy to get some discounts from them if you’re willing to sign up for their mailing list. Plus, they’re swatched on multiple skin tones, not just a white person. Definitely a good place to start.
I just bought some colourpop liquid lipsticks! While the application is patchier than some more expensive brands and bleeds more on me, the color is really nice. Basically I have to do an apply-blot-apply-blot-apply with them to get the color even, and I do it over a cheap like $3 eyeshadow primer stick to prevent bleeding b/c I hate lipliner and couldn’t find lip primer (i’m assuming it’s all basically the same at that price point, but i’m probably wrong, but it works for me!)
I love the Colourpop lippies. They have great staying power on me. No liner, no primer, just some balm while I’m doing the rest of my makeup before applying.
I happily wear my drugstore purple lipstick at home by myself. (And also to the grocery store, mall, and basically anywhere that isn’t work.)
I love red lipstick, but my skin tone/natural lip color is such that every red lipstick I’ve ever worn ends up looking pink. I will have to be content to admire it on other people.
Even ones that lean more orange in the tube?
Maybe? It’s been awhile since I’ve even tried to buy a red lipstick.
This is true for me too, but I’ve found a few that work for me. Try looking at lines that are designed for women of color.
Many early lip colours were made from things that would be inadvisable to glob on, such as crushed ants and carmine beetles in ancient Egypt
Don’t we still use carmine beetles for lip color? I could have sworn this was still a thing. Or is this something we prefer not to think about? Maybe this is not a question I should have raised. No, by no means are there any beetle substances on anyone’s lips, right now.
we use bugs called cochineal still for carmine red! I used to be grossed out until I realized cochineal is probably much better for me than some of the other stuff that goes in cosmetics
jk just googled it and found out some people can have really bad allergic reactions to it. The More You Know
Vegan lippies wouldn’t use carmine.
We do still use beetles (not only for lipstick for but lots of things, including food). There are vegan-friendly lipsticks so you can still enjoy them without any bugs.
As everyone knows, lipstick is red to symbolize the nightly feasts of blood.
Oh good, I’m not the only one.
Clearly, not many people know about this, we must keep it a secret
What do you mean, ‘symbolize’?
I’m very late to this thread, but:
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I am a lip-licker/toucher/biter – what are some good stains/lipsticks/lip colors for monsters like me? I tried Benetint once a few years ago but it made my lips look all wrinkly and dry. Not sexy!
I’ve had good luck with Badger Brand lip tints. A bit of color, and very emollient. No stupid drying mint oils (fuck you Burt’s Bees and TerraTints).
If you feel like dropping the coin, NARS Audacious lipsticks are my Holy Grail. I have Fanny and Anita and I swear to gods, they do not fucking budge. And they’re not dry!
I was excited to see this comment about NARS Audacious bc I had Audrey in my Sephora cart all weekend and finally bought it after reading this article about lipstick over lunch.
Running about $20, the Kat Von D line of Everlasting Liquid Lipstick is GREAT (speaking as someone who unconsciously chews the hell out of her lips), but very matte, so if you’re not into that look, it may not be for you.
Also, she’s working to ensure her entire line is vegan, so that’s something you can watch for, if that is a concern for you.
I love the liqui-gel stain from Beaute (plus an accute accent) in Fever. It stays on forever and you can make it quite sheer if you’re not feeling too brave. Swatches here: http://karlasugar.net/2009/03/beaute-liqui-gel-st…
Also YSL has a range of glossy stains that are the longest things that have ever lasted on me. I think number 10 is a kind of red if I remember rightly. I used to do experiments wearing these: how many cups of tea do they last, how long do they last in hours, how many meals can I eat before reapplying (because I am a super fun person who used to have a lot of time on her hands!). A friend of mine with very dry skin loves them but finds them quite drying on her lips – I don’t have any problems with them but obviously it differs from person to person!
Berrisom My Lip Tint Pack (Korean brand) is really quite good. It’s a little odd to apply at first as you put it on your lips, it dries into a sort of… well, I guess it’s kind of like when you let white glue dry on your hand when I think about it, and then you peel it off, leaving the stain behind. I got some on my hand recently and it WOULD NOT COME OFF.
If you’re a drugstore-makeup person, I’m all for Neutrogena’s “MoistureSmooth Color Stick.”
Looks like a big fat crayon, smells delicious (unexpected bonus), and is wonderfully soft and forgiving. Comes in a range of colors for $8. Softish color that doesn’t last forever, somewhere between gloss and lipstick consistency.
My lips always peel around an old, permanent scar in my lip (accepting suggestions for ways to make this better), making me scared of dry lipsticks and stains that tend to highlight the unevenness. But the color stick is a good one.
Maybelline 24 hour super stay is the absolute bomb! It comes in a billion shades and it does not budge even after eating/lip biting/whatever. I have to scrub it off my lips to get it all off.
I have always loved red lipstick, so red that it tends towards the brown. Even when I was a wee girl learning about makeup, I wanted garish, bright clown colours on my face. My dad hated it.
I almost fainted when I saw that black lipstick was A Fashion Thing, immediately bought some AMAZING black lipstick from the Portland Black Lipstick Co. and have never looked back. I wear it to my bureaucratic job and my colleagues are lovely and humour me. Walking around, I love it because it is like wearing an invisibility cloak. Ppl actively don’t make eye contact, even when I let my resting bitch face slip, which is always.
“the idea that one has long held of a person is apt to stop one’s eyes and ears; my mother, for three whole years, had no more noticed the rouge with which one of her nieces used to paint her lips than if it had been invisibly dissolved in some liquid; until one day a streak too much, or else some other cause, brought about the phenomenon known as super-saturation; all the paint that had hitherto passed unperceived now crystallized, and my mother, in the face of this sudden riot of colour, declared, in the best Combray manner, that it was a perfect scandal, and almost severed relations with her niece”
–Proust (of course)
I knew I was gonna like this article for the content, but then the writing style just MADE IT. This, in particular: clergy and some lawmakers approached lip colour with the sort of generalized disgust with which most people today approach gas station toilets.
Alex’s writing on Millihelen was so so good. I’m glad to see her here!
I love red lipstick but it makes my thin upper lip disappear. I shall stick for admiring it on other people! I like that it seems to have historically been a consistent way for ladies to say Fuck You to the world.
i came of age during the exception to this rule. In the 1960s and 70s red lips were most definitely not the thing. I can’t tell now if I just look terrible in red lipstick or if it’s just that I’m conditioned not to feel comfortable with it. I need to figure this out during this year before my son’s wedding.
Here is what I recommend re. your son’s wedding. Find a friend with a decent camera. Put on red lipstick and have them snap a bunch of pictures. I had a photo session earlier this year where I had light lip gloss on the first half and then was like “oh hang on I’m going to try to put on some scary intense red lipstick with this compact in the woods”. I can’t even express how greatly I prefer the red lipstick photos, BUT I definitely needed the separation of a photograph (as opposed to looking at myself in the mirror) to get used to how it looked.
I like red lipstick on other people, but whenever I put it on, I feel as though it highlights all the red imperfections in my face (mostly my dry red eyes, which drops do nothing to help, but also the acne scars that are otherwise fairly unnoticeable). Meanwhile Birchbox is absolutely convinced that red lipstick would look fantastic on me and keeps sending me all the samples which I can’t use.
I read an anecdote a long time ago about lipstick being included as part of an aid airlift, along with all the more practical food stuff. This was derided – who cares about looking nice when you’re starving? But not only was it welcomed, even men started wearing it, because it was such a symbol of being treated like an *actual goddamn human, who is going to look hawt if they want to.* And it helped them keep their heads up. And just this tiny little scrap of pride did enough good to justify continuing to include the lipstick.
Unfortunately the internet is failing me, and I can’t find the book/magazine/site where I read this, and googling “lipstick effect” just turns up a bunch of articles saying “women buy frivolities when the economy’s bad, look at those silly women”, which is kind of the same thing but from an immensely more depressing angle. Does the airlift story ring any bells for anyone? :-/
I’m not familiar with this exact anecdote but as far as I’m aware something very similar happened after the liberation of Bergen-Belsen by the British in 1945. Soldiers and medical personnel were apparently sceptical at first, and annoyed that something more practical hadn’t been sent instead, but the tubes of lipstick were a huge hit with the women in the camp for exactly the reason you gave. I’m not aware whether there are any stories of men wearing it too, but I could well believe it.
I never wear lipstick – or makeup – at all, but I admire people who can do so effortlessly.
Also: “crocodile feces and sheep sweat in ancient Greece” – I bet the sheep “sweat” was actually lanolin, a natural oil in their fleeces and normal byproduct of wool production. It can well serve as a lipstick base.
I have to pass on the croco poo though.
I love this! I really want to wear red lipstick, but I’m having a really difficult time finding the right shade. I’m pale and have very pale lips, to the point that they’re bluish. I want a nice bold red, but everything I put on ends up looking brighter and pinker than expected.
(I also need something that stays on well because I hate the paranoia that comes with knowing my lip color might have partilaly worn off and it probably looks strange right now oh no has anyone noticed)
I love bold red lips but the colors I pick always seem to make my teeth look yellow. I know blue-toned reds tend to do that, which is sad since I love those shades. Any recommendations for red lipsticks that don’t have blue tones?
Soooooo it really depends on your skin undertones. For instance, I have pink undertones so blue-based reds make my teeth look white, whereas orange-based reds make my teeth look yellow.
Whoa, ok. Stuff them I guess.