Black Lipstick
Since the days of 1930 horror movies when actresses wore black lipstick for dramatic effect, black lacquered lips have served as an icon of sex, drama, occasionally evil and often protest. Mainstreamed in the 1970s and resurging in the 1990s with the Punk craze, the Goth movement and within Rock and Roll subcultures black lips continue to hold their place in society. The trend of painting lips black has long been considered more of a passing fad than a political statement. People who opted for the perceived “freak status” of the look did not represent ” established communities.” Recent fashion inspirations have changed the attitude about black lips, in fact nearly any lip color is now considered “Viva Glam” and that trend is evident from the runways to the streets.
Lipstick manufacturing has come a long way since the days of Cleopatra. It is historically documented that Her Highness used crushed carmine beetles and ants to perfect her pout. Later, it was discovered adding a pearlescent made from fish scales produced a shiny “natural” enhancement to the formula. Must have made for some yummy kisses!
Ancient Mesopotamians (the original lipstick pioneers) were believed to crush semi-precious jewels to make their lips simply irresistible. Since that time lipstick recipes have evolved from the potentially deadly concoction of fungus-algin, iodine and bromine mannite of the early civilizations to the hundreds of commercial formulas in production today.
Choosing lipstick is more a matter of personal preference, convenience and cost than of availability. The advantage of internet shopping offers a worldwide virtual store ready to ship any color, style and price of lipstick (and for that matter any other product) to any consumer 24 hours a day/365 days a year with no more effort than four keystrokes and a credit card number. It is not necessary to gain a personal appointment with Marilyn Manson’s makeup artist to score a favorite black lipstick, just use a decent search engine.
So what is the best black lipstick brand? The first deciding factor should be the effect of the lip color desired. Within the thousands of lipstick brands available there are subcategory products; lipstick, lip gloss, lip liner, lip ink, lip lacquer, lip pots, lip glass, lip balm and lip tints. The choice of a matte black lipstick may produce a long lasting, deep color while a black lip gloss provides a more subtle tint.
Combining multiple lip colors and applications create stunning artistic effects. A 2012 designer look springing from the fashion magazine pages is accomplished by applying lip liner to form a black lipstick band defining the shape of the lips. A nude lipstick or lighter gloss color is used to fill in the lip line. Mixing lip color is also a part of the more glamorous, high fashion make up trend. White lipstick is often used with pink, red, coral or even purple shades to create interesting, full, sexy lips.
The final purchase decision for most consumers is price. As with color and applicators the cost variable for lipsticks range from inexpensive mass merchant/discount store brands to custom order formulas designed for specific clients. One famous actress had her lipsticks and nail polish formulated to match the colors of her husband’s automobiles-expensive! Fortunately even by lipstick standards the higher priced brands are relatively low cost and the small investment makes experimentation appealing.
The introduction of black lipstick to consumers was a result of the dramatic efforts of Hollywood and the movies continue to direct shoppers’ desires to trends. The current craze is the vampire obsession. The popular appeal of the Twilight movies, HBO’s True Blood and CW’s Vampire Diaries have all created a cinematic surge of fascination with the undead. Consumers are snapping up any product promising to create the “look.” Several cosmetic companies produce a blackberry lipstick which blends a black tint with blood red colors to produce the “just bitten” look. Some of the lip balm compounds contain the additive menthol to produce a “swollen, puffy lips” affect to the mouth.
Is it a fashion faux pas to wear dark lipstick in the spring and summer? Glamour Magazine reports, “Shocking lip colors are the big news for spring.” To satisfy the consumer demands within every cosmetic company’s lip product line there a hundred more lipstick colors and application devices to select from. It would seem the only rule governing lipstick is NO RULE!
As with every other product the best brand of lipstick is simply the brand that suits the individual consumer best. It may be a 16-hour wear, outlast, kiss-proof, food-proof application. The best product could be a color that makes the mouth appear to have sucked the last drop of blood from a BFF, packaged in a flipstick of options or it may be a simple outshine gloss. Just remember to grab a credit card because how can anyone pass up a black lipstick that promises, “Layers of luster inspired by the lacquered look of black onyx!”