It is said women started to wear lipsticks almost 5000 years ago. 5000 years. Since then, women’s fascination with lip colours has only grown. And why not? It’s amazing how a little bit of colour can really define a woman’s mood. If she’s wearing a shade of burgundy, she is probably feeling like a vixen. If she is wearing a pink, she is in a breezy state of mind. And if she’s wearing red, she is confidently wearing her sensuality on her lips.
Then, what would purple mean?
Lilac On Her Lips
That was a question many in India woke up to, as they saw Aishwarya Rai, the country’s unofficial annual ambassador to the Cannes, wear lilac on her lips. But ace makeup artist and Maybelline guy, Elton Fernandez, explains the colour’s choice well, saying it boldly stood outside the realm of the “commercially beautiful”.
Modern beauty is all about embracing what’s not perfect, what’s not considered commercially beautiful, and making it stand for something. Women everywhere have begun to skip on popular colours and opt for looks that make them stand out and feel separate from the crowd.Elton Fernandez, Make-up Artist
Bold Lip Colors: Resonating With African-American Women
Elton isn’t wrong. African American women have been increasingly wearing deep browns, purples, greens, blues and stone golds, and the colours look glorious on their dark skin.
Matte Black Lipstick: Kylie Jenner’s Next Big Bet
A matte black lipstick is also what Kylie Jenner is betting on. Her latest offering from her eponymous make up label, Kylie Cosmetics, is going to be a black metal matte lipstick, the teasers of which she has been giving out on social media for the past few days.
Fashion Weeks Endorse Dark Lipshades
The Autumn Winter’ 16 fashion weeks in London, New York, and Paris, all showcased dark lipshades on the ramp – creating a visual imagery of unafraid and severe makeup – that’s meant to reflect an attitude rather than simply being employed as a beautification drive.
Even on Indian skin, says Elton, the lip colours look just as beautiful.
I think purples and blues look rather lovely on the mouth! Metallic golds and silvers might just be the biggest statements waiting to be made.Elton Fernandez, Make-up Artist
To me as a fashion watcher, the big change is that dark lipshades –having long been a favourite of avant garde fashion directors whose job is to produce striking fashion editorials – are now being embraced by ordinary women, who are miles away from the fashion world. Perhaps this is true democratisation of fashion.
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