Red Lipstick: Queen of Beauty Products

What is it about red lipstick? It can be a real head turner, suits some women, but not others, and has created controversy since women first started smearing wax across their lips. For some reason we equate red with sex… the colour of the heart? Blood? Heat?

Women whose signature styles include a daub of red lipstick, and the confidence to match, can have an aura of inate attractiveness. Is the queen of beauty products, red lipstick, their secret? Why do guys find them so interesting? Why do women watch them walk across a room? Is it a subconscious message of availability? A subtle clue to health, vitality, fertility, or rather an implication of easy virtue, AKA "a scarlet woman", that men seemingly respond to? Or are women wearing red lipstick just more intriguing to both sexes? Confidence is certainly attractive, and that may be the key.

Perhaps the simplest answer is that it takes a bold and self-possessed woman to try new beauty products and experiment with red lipstick. It's not a "shrinking violet" kind of colour – but rather leaps forward and demands attention. Women not afraid to play around with their makeup may have a similar approach to life – go get ‘em, outgoing, positive, assertive – and that's both interesting and appealing to men and other women. We look to spend time with people who can add fun to our lives, enrich our experiences in some way. Red lipstick doesn't make women bold; it's the opposite way around. Bold women may be more naturally inclined to wear red lipstick.

Doesn't sound like you? Prefer a soft pink, natural coral or a touch of gloss? Got a bag full of beige beauty products, potions and powders? Even if you're not the boldest one in your crowd, you can still play the game. Change the way people see you by changing what they see! As red signals confidence, if you try a bit of red lipstick you'll trigger a second glance response: people will begin noticing the shy Betty that has turned (for a moment at least!) into Miss Thang. Will changing your beauty routine make you sexier or more desirable? Not by itself. Will it give you a bit of a confidence boost? Maybe. Besides, it's a bit of fun to challenge yourself, and step outside your comfort zone every now and then.

There is also a scientific explanation for why red is such an attention-grabbing colour. The wavelength range for red is about 600-750 nm. Frequencies that fall below this level are infrared frequencies which are impossible to see with human eyes. Another scientific explanation for the allure of red is its physical "heat" expelled. The frequencies emitted somehow make "red" a physically hotter colour experienced by people. "Red" is literally a hotter colour than any other colour and as any fine arts painter knows red is warm, and comes toward the viewer on the page, while blue recedes (a handy trick for landscape artists).

Other than scientific explanations for the appeal of red (and red lipstick), there are many cultural explanations as well. Our movies stars and up-and-coming starlets are often photographed in fabulous dresses and luxurious red lipstick at the Oscars and other red carpet events, creating icons others then emulate. Who can forget the gorgeous red lips of Marilyn Monroe? She was a sex symbol and the hottest star of the 1940's and for good reason. She also knew how to wear red lipstick, and boy, did she wear it well! Other celebrities that have worn red lipstick successfully are Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon and Paris Hilton. In a society driven that deifies its stars, perhaps it's no wonder we keep buying red lipstick in an effort o mimic that super-star glamour on a Saturday night out.

Red certainly makes a statement. Dress, shoes, shirt or lipstick, the colour leaps towards the viewer and compels attention. If you're ready to step into the lime light and have a little fun, try a rich red instead of a soft pink next time you dress your lips. It won't make you a movie star, win you a partner or give you a leg up the corporate ladder, but it will change the way people see you – for one night at least!