Blue Lipstick ? How Did They Come Up With That ?

Some find it unusual, an oddity even. Yet others would love to try it out. Blue lipstick is an intriguing choice. I’ve seen beautiful results when in the hands of skillful makeup artists. But then again I could also witnessed how bad it looks when poorly used. Such an unforgiving hue, that you will either make a stunning impression or it will mess up your look so badly, you won’t get unnoticed. Still, how did they come up with this color ?

Starting with the thirties and going all through the sixties, cosmetic companies went on a full throttle to deliver all shades of red and pink they could come up with. The traditional dark red was in much need of diversification. The culminating point of this period was the introduction of the white lipstick. This color was very sought after by some of the contemporary rock groups, namely Shirelles and Ronettes. With this kind of audience, the product was well-liked and rapidly gained popularity, more so among teenager girls. The growing trend in lipstick’s color diversity was yet to stop.

I believe what happened next was the manufacturers followed their own inertia, eager to deliver yet further nuances. With the pink-red-like colors pretty much covered, I think someone must have thought: “what other colors are out there we could use?”. The obvious response was found looking at all the “cold” and dark tones: blue, green, violet and black. Such inspiration although a daring one, was well-received by the public.

In 1970’s cosmetic companies introduced along with green, violet and black hues, the more notorious blue based lipsticks. At a first glance might seem an unusual selection of nuances to use on the lips. While the blue rendition of the lipstick never developed in a huge fashion blast or a style revolution, they found immediate acceptance. Particular groups of people and random events found them useful and expressive in regards with the theme they were aiming for.

The following years, lipstick makers brought up a plethora of blue shades, going from the traditional navy to variants like dark, silver sparkled, sheer aqua, translucent ice or sapphire.

Until today, blue lipstick found its own place in cosmetic products portfolios. Unlike the traditional warm colors, it’s not present in the catalogs all the time. This behavior follows the lipstick’s spiky popularity. Blue lips look come in and out of the spotlight as fashion designers or celebrities choose to use it. Whenever they want a unique touch, blue based lipsticks are a tempting and desired alternative, even the red lipstick with blue undertones.

Sometimes sporting a great success, other times bringing an unfortunate disaster to the wearer, blue lipstick is often regarded as a welcoming addition to the color palette. Because it’s always a good thing to have more options.