Makeup Names – The Lip Curling

By BR Kellie

I went years without bothering with lippy, partly because I was a bit lazy but mainly because I was quite happy with the natural dusky pink tinted colour of my lips (vain!!! Hahahaha), but something has changed since age has marched over my body, the old lippyloos seem to have faded in colour and I find myself reaching for lippy on most days to give them a boost. 

Revlon’s Rosy Nude, L’Oreal’s Rose Crème, e.l.f.’s Rich Red. I love the names of these lippies because I know what I’m getting when I reach for them. However, there are some lipstick names that just leave me going ‘huh’ and wondering how the heck the names came about.

Take for instance, MAC Twig. This colour is my absolute favourite lipstick colour in the whole entire world (and let’s not talk about how distraught I am after having lost it recently…). It can go from day to night with ease, it’s creamy, and it fades evenly. But yeah, it’s called ‘twig’, which makes me think of little bits of stick underneath trees that really hurt if you stand on them the wrong way.  A beautiful lip colour, yet the name’s not so appetising. (Doesn’t stop me planning on buying a replacement though…)

Jeffree Star’s Drug Lord leaves me a big head scratchy. An amazing matte white lipstick, which can be used as an eyeliner (!!!), with a name that as far as I can see doesn’t relate to anything? Or does it and I’m a bit too innocent to know!?

Colourpop have some super cool lippies – and some super cool names. Although how a lipstick called Peppermint isn’t green is a bit confusing. As for a plum coloured lippy called Tiger? It should so be orange. Unless there are plum coloured tigers? 

Of course, there are also lipsticks with interesting names that initially see you shrugging the shoulders, yet when you stop to think about them you end up having a big old light bulb moment.

Too Faced’s Marshmallow Bunny is a delightful name – especially when the colour is so similar to the inside of a chocolate marshmallow bunny.  

Poe by Kat Von D saw a questioning look flicker through my eyes until I realised it must be named after Edgar Allan Poe and once the brain made the connection it so worked. Poe is a divine navy colour as brooding as Poe’s work and as stunning as the portrait Kat Van D did of the man himself. 

Yep, lipstick names are a funny old thing. I think I’ll always first reach for the colours that tell me what I’m going to get, yet I do appreciate the thought that goes into the less traditional names – and if anything, it’s always worth investigating what’s inside the tube because you never know what Twig-gy gem you’ll find.

So what do you think? Are you a fan of obvious lipstick names? Are you attracted to lipsticks with names that are less traditional? Do you not care about the name as long as what’s in the tube looks and feels good on your lips? Get chatting!