Lipstick Love!

Let’s talk about my favorite makeup product…Lipstick!

“Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.” –Elizabeth Taylor

• Lipstick is one of the most loved cosmetic products of all time! It is definitely my favorite! I still remember my first tube of “Revlon red” lipstick that I asked my mom to pick up for me at the grocery store when I was 13 years old!
• 55% of ALL women, and 81% of American women use lipstick regularly.
• 25% of women won’t leave the house without their lipstick.
•  In 1938, it’s estimated that around 58 percent of women owned at least one tube of lipstick.
• Color films had a big impact on the market, as women could now imitate the shades worn by Hollywood starlets. By 1948, between 80 and 90 percent of women wore lipstick. 
• Today over 40 percent of women own 20 tubes or more at any given time in their adult life. In fact, the average woman will spend almost $1800 on lipstick in her lifetime.

“lipstick is happiness in a tube” -Charlotte Tilbury

Have you heard of the “Lipstick Effect”?

• 
  The “Lipstick Effect” refers to the theory that in times of crisis, consumers will buy less expensive indulgences. For instance, instead of buying diamonds and jewelry in times of recession, they will opt for lipstick instead. The term was coined by Leonard Launder, a chairman for Estee Lauder, who consistently observed that lipstick sales tend to increase in times of economic uncertainty. For instance, lipstick sales doubled in the months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

• Lipstick sales have also been proven to go up on gloomy and rainy days. Perhaps people feel the urge for a colorful pick me up on these days!
• Lipstick sales did drop during 2020 due to all of the mask wearing…but sales have surged by more than 80% in the past few months since many people have been vaccinated, and many mask mandates have been lifted.

“I decided to go for a bright red to highlight my mouth so that people knew my words were important” -Cristela Alonzo

Date night? Big work presentation? Choose red!

A study done by the University of Manchester found that men would stare at a woman’s lips for around 7.3 seconds when they were painted red. When the same pout was bare? That attention spans shortened significantly, with glances only managing to last around 2.2 seconds. 

My favorite red lipsticks are MAC Ruby Woo and Russian Red.

While the orangey red shade “Chili” holds the top spot for sales globally, “Ruby Woo“is MAC’s best-selling shade in the U.S. with seven tubes of Ruby Woo selling around the world every minute. Released in 1999 it is the brand’s second-best-selling shade globally, it was actually accidentally made when trying to make a different formula of Russian red, the lipstick that catapulted to fame with ‘Material Girl’ by Madonna, who wore the cool matte red shade on her Blonde Ambition tour in 1990. Ruby Woo has since surpassed Russian Red in sales!

Do you ever buy mini lipsticks? Here are some reasons you should!

In a world of full-sized lipsticks, I believe that minis are the real winners. They cost half the price of the big ones, are perfect pocket size, and will fit in the tiniest purse, and with regular use, you know you’ll finish them before the expiration date kicks in!

 The general rule of thumb for expiration of lipsticks is between 1-2 years, or if its original texture changes. For example, watch if your smooth lipstick becomes grainy or flaky.

If you applied lipstick three times a day, every day of the week, a single tube of lipstick will last you about three months. I don’t have a signature shade so I almost never empty a tube, but if you have a signature color that you wear regularly you would likely go through about 4 tubes of lipstick per year. 

Have you ever fully emptied a lipstick? Do you have a signature shade? Let me know in the comments!

Most women own many different lipsticks, let’s revisit that earlier statistic…40% of women own more than 20 tubes of lipstick!

I am a bit above average here! I own 15 full-size lipsticks and about 35 minis!!

I am slightly obsessed with lipstick minis! I love variety, and matching colors to my mood or outfits. I also like having different formulas to choose from, matte, creme, shine, sparkle…

My full-size MAC lipsticks are Russian Red, Diva, Girl About Town, and Chili.

Minis are also a chance to own ridiculously spendy products that you could only dream of buying the full-sized version of,  Some brands (like Yves Saint Laurent and Tom Ford) full-size lipstick can run about $40-$50 for (one!) full-size tube. I have several brand new high-end minis I found on Poshmark for about $10-$15 each! A lot of sellers will do bundle deals for multiple mini make-up items with discounted shipping.

1st pic:

• YSL mini in “#19 Fuschia”
• Tom Ford mini “Le Mepris” and
• Both Purchased from @poshgirl12 on Poshmark

2nd pic:

• -Charlotte Tilbury “Amazing Amal”
• -Laura Mercier “Rogue Ultime”
• -YSL Rogue Per Couture “01 Le Rouge”
• All Purchased from @swellswag on Poshmark

3rd pic:

• Tom Ford mini “True Coral” purchased from @missjphilips on Poshmark
• Buxom mini Full Force lipstick in “Dolly Dreamer”Purchased from @hey_its_gigi on Poshmark.

MAC mini lipsticks come in at just over half the size of full MAC lipsticks- 1.8g compared to 3g.

This is my favorite set of minis that I have purchased. I Purchased it on Poshmark from @barbararentz

 MAC has 20 of their best-selling shades available in mini sizes, and some exclusive gift and seasonal sets, always check your favorite make-up sites during the holiday shopping season!!

Many other higher-end brands are now offering minis as well. Many only come in sets, or as “free gifts” but If you buy sets with colors you know you don’t want, you can sell the (unused and unswatched) colors on Poshmark, or Ebay and easily make some money back! I am sure that is where most of my Poshmark finds come from!!

Let me know what your favorite lipstick brands and colors are in the comments!