Lipstick (pronounced lip-stik)
(1) A crayon-like, oil-based cosmetic used in coloring the
lips, usually in a tubular container.
Lip-gloss & lip-liner (hyphenated and not) are the companion
products whereas lip balm is a non-cosmetic product to prevent drying &
cracking of the skin.
(2) As “lipstick tree”, the shrub Bixa orellana, native
to Mexico and northern South America.
The common name is derived from (1) the arils (tissue surrounding the
seed) being the orange-red colourant annatto and (2) the texture & consistency
of the arils recalling that of commercially manufactured lipstick.
(3) In slang, the canine penis.
(4) In certain LGBTQQIAAOP circles, as “lipstick lesbian”, a lesbian who displays
traditional, conventional feminine characteristics (opposed to a “butch lesbian” although there are more offensive ways the idea is conveyed). Some guides to such things note (1) the
term can be a slur if used in the wrong context and (2) in some sub-groups a “lipstick
lesbian” is one attracted to “other feminine women”, as opposed to a “femme” (a
feminine lesbian attracted to butch lesbians). The alternative to
(5) In economics, as “lipstick effect”, a theory which suggests that during economic downturns, consumers display a greater propensity to purchase low cost luxury goods (such as premium lipsticks).
(6) To apply lipstick to; to paint with lipstick.
1875-1880: A coining in US English, the construct being lip + stick. Lip was from the Middle English lippe, from the Old English lippa & lippe (lip; one of the two sides of the mouth), from the Proto-West Germanic lippjō (lip), from the Proto-Germanic lepjan & lepô, from the primitive Indo-European leb- (to hang loosely, droop, sag). The Germanic forms were the source also of the Old Frisian lippa & West Frisian lippe, the Middle Dutch lippe, the Dutch lip, the Old High German lefs, the German Lippe & Lefze, the Swedish läpp, the Norwegian leppe and the Danish læbe. However, some etymologists have questioned the Indo-European origin of the western European forms and the Latin labium, though it’s said they agree the Latin and Germanic words “probably are in some way related” and the Latin may be a substratum word. The French lippe was an Old French borrowing from a Germanic source. Stick was from the Middle English stikke (stick, rod, twig), from the Old English sticca (twig or slender branch from a tree or shrub (also “rod, peg, spoon”), from the Proto-West Germanic stikkō, from the Proto-Germanic stikkô (pierce, prick), from the primitive Indo-European verb stig, steyg & teyg- (to pierce, prick, be sharp). It was cognate with the Old Norse stik, the Middle Dutch stecke & stec, the Old High German stehho, the German Stecken (stick, staff), the Saterland Frisian Stikke (stick) and the West Flemish stik (stick). The word stick was applied to many long, slender objects closely or vaguely resembling twigs or sticks including by the early eighteenth century candles, dynamite by 1869, cigarettes by 1919 (the slang later extended to “death sticks” & “cancer sticks). The first known use of “lipstick” in advertising was in 1877 (although some sources claim this was really a “lip balm” and lipstick (in the modern understanding) didn’t appear for another three years. “Liquid lipstick” was first sold in 1938 and by the mid 1960s variations of the substance in a variety of liquid and semi-solid forms was available in pots, palettes and novel applicators. Lipstick is a noun & verb and lipsticking & lipsticked are verbs; the noun plural is lipsticks. The adjectives lipstikish and lipstickesque are non-standard but have been used both of physical materials and certain lesbians while the non-standard noun lipstickery is shared between (1) retail outlets (often pop-ups) where it's used in marketing for places selling lipsticks and (2) as slang for bars and clubs known to be frequented by lipstick lesbians.
In economics, the “lipstick effect” is a theory which suggests there is an identifiable phenomenon in consumer behavior in which there’s an increased propensity to purchase small, affordable luxury goods (“designer lipsticks” the classic example) during economic downturns as an alternative to buying larger, more expensive items. The idea is that as a consumer’s disposable income contracts, the lure of luxury goods remains so although the purchase of the $4000 handbag may be deferred, the $50 lipstick may immediately be chosen, an indulgence which to some extent satisfies the yearning. The theory is not part of mainstream economics and has been criticized for being substantially impressionistic although more reliable data such as the volume of chocolate sold by supermarkets had been mapped against aggregate economic indicators and this does suggest sales of non-essential items can increase during periods of general austerity.
The phrase “put
lipstick on a pig” is a clipped version of “even if you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig” and it means
that cosmetically altering something in the hope of making it seem more
appealing than it is doesn’t alter its fundamental characteristics and
flaws. It’s a saying in the vein of “you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear”,
“you can’t polish a turd”, “mutton dressed as lamb” & “old wine in a new bottle” and is often
used of products which have been updated in a way which superficially makes
them appear “improved” while leaving them functionally unchanged; it’s often
used of cars and political platforms, both products which have often relied on
spin and advertising to disguise the essential ugliness beneath the surface. It’s been part of American political rhetoric
for decades and usually passes unnoticed but did stir a brief controversy when Barack
Obama (b 1961; US president 2009-2017) used: “You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig.” as part of his
critique of the “change” theme in the
campaign of John McCain (1936–2018), his Republican Party opponent in the 2008 presidential
election. The reason Mr Obama’s use
attracted was that earlier, Sarah Palin (b 1964) had said during her acceptance
speech as Mr McCain’s running mate: “You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit
bull? Lipstick.” It turned out to be the best line of their
lackluster campaign. Because of her
well-publicized speech and the fact Ms Palin was the only one of the four
candidates on that year’s ticket actually to wear lipstick (as far as is
known), it was immediately picked up as a potentially misogynistic slur. However, the outrage lasted barely one news
cycle as the fact-checkers were activated to comb the records, revealing Mr
McCain the previous year had used it when deriding the abortive healthcare
proposal developed by the equally doomed crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US
secretary of state 2009-2013) while installed as FLOTUS (First Lady of the
United States).
Lindsay Lohan during phase applying red lipstick (left) and smoking a "stick" (right), from a photo-shoot by Terry Richardson (b 1965) for Love Magazine, Spring/Summer Edition, 2012.
Use turned out to be a long “across the aisle” thing. Thomas Harkin (b 1939; US senator (Democratic-Iowa) 1985-2015) applying it in 1989 to George HW Bush’s (George XLI, 1924-2018; US president 1989-1993) plan to send military aid to the El Salvador government and Ann Richards (1933–2006; governor (Democratic) of Texas 1991-1995) in 1992 added a flourish when she said of the administration’s call for the Democratic-controlled congress to move on a constitutional amendment to force the government to keep a balanced budget: “This is not another one of those deals where you put lipstick on a hog and call it a princess.” The line received much attention and she added a new variation in 1990 when criticizing the administration for using warships to protect oil tankers in the Middle East (which she labeled a “hidden subsidy for foreign oil”): “You can put lipstick on a hog and call it Monique, but it is still a pig.” At least in Texas, that may have achieved some resonance because in her failed 1994 gubernatorial race against George W Bush (George XLIII, b 1946; US president 2001-2009), her campaign used the slogan “Call it Monique” as a way of disparage her opponent’s proposals. The use of “Monique” was apparently random; as far as is known there was no “Monique problem” in the White House of George XLI in the way there was a “Jennifer with a ‘J’ problem”. Commendably, Governor Richards did stick to the theme, unlike Mr Obama in 2008 who couldn’t resist a further metaphor in case his audience was too dim to understand the first, adding: “You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called ‘change’. It's still going to stink.” That was laboring the point by gilding the lily.
As a courtesy to Lindsay Lohan and other redheads, Harper's Bazaar published Exactly How to Choose the Perfect Lipstick Shade for Redheads which included a list of “dos & don’ts” by celebrity make-up artist Emma Day (b 1974). Lipstick for redheads is a “special case” because with the overwhelming majority of lipsticks being red, the chance of a jarring clash is greater for redheads and the interplay between skin-tone, hair color and lipstick demands greater attention. It would of course be simpler were the term “red head” actually to mean “person with red hair” but the hues grown are typically coppers, ambers, gingers, oranges, auburns etc, not color ranges which typically mesh well with most reds, thus the need for expert advice.
Sarah Palin and Barack Obama, 2008. Sarah Palin was wasted in politics and was a natural for Fox News and such.
Helpfully, the industry has defined the math of "perfect lips" and even more helpfully (for imperfect women), a lip pencil can be used to apply lip liner to make one's shape tend towards the perfect, providing the definition lines within which lipstick can be applied. When using a lip pencil, a pencil sharpener is an essential accessory.
But it was pigs & lipstick which became the most
common form but apparently only after the mid 1980s although the incongruity of
the juxtaposition of pigs and lipstick had appealed earlier appealed to
some. In 1926 the “colorful” journalist Charles
Lummis (1859-1928) had a piece in the Los Angeles Times which included: “Most of us know
as much of history as a pig does of lipsticks.” but the first known
appearance of the modern phrase is thought to have been in the Washington Post in
1985, quoting a San Francisco radio host who suggested plans for renovating
Candlestick Park (instead of building a new downtown stadium for the Giants “…would be like
putting lipstick on a pig.”
After that it’s never gone away, an anti-abortionist in 1992 quoted as
saying of legislative amendments of which he did not approve: “You don't want to
put lipstick on a pig” and Rick Santorum (b 1958; US senator
(Republican-Pennsylvania 1995-2007) added spelled it out, telling the chamber legislative
reforms to government subsidies for southern peanut and sugar farmers were the
lipstick while the pig was the subsidy programme itself. In 1998, the often lachrymose Republican John
Boehner (b 1949; Speaker of the US House of Representatives 2011-2015),
apparently while dry-eyed, bemoaned what he called a “rudderless Republican congress”: "When there's no
agenda and there's no real direction, what happens is you really can't have a
message; you can put lipstick on a pig all day long, but it's still a pig.”
Lipstick, lip gloss, lip liner & lip balm
Lipstick is primarily for style, there to add color (and they are produced in just about every shade imaginable) but it also protects and to some extent hydrates the lips, indeed, some have additives for just this purpose. The texture can be creamy, matte, satin, or glossy and lipsticks have included glitter and even a swelling agent for those who want a plumper-lipped look although it applied with some expertise, even an unadulterated lipstick can provide the visual effect of greater fullness. Lip Gloss can be used either as a stand-alone product or as a finisher over lipstick, somewhat analogous with a “clear coat” over paint, providing a “varnishing” effect. What lip gloss does is add shine and often a hit of color to the lips. As the name implies, the texture is glossy and although usually lightweight, the finish can be sticky, models often applying lip gloss sever times during a photo-shoot to ensure the luster is constant. They’re mostly sheer or translucent, though some have shimmer or glitter added, thus they can produce a (sort-of) natural, shiny look or add visual depth to lipstick.
Lip Liners (applied with a lip pencil) are a maintenance tool. What a lip liner does is define the edge of
the lips, providing a protective barrier which prevents feathering or bleeding
of lip color (ie from a lip stick or lip gloss.
Almost always matte, lip liners are essentially pencils for the lips and
their use requires the same firm consistency in application that an artist
adopts when putting graphite to paper.
Specialists caution it does take practice to master the art and their
golden rule is “less is more”: begin
with several light applications until technique is honed and arcs can be
described in one go. Done well, a lip
liner can be outline the lips, fill them in for longer-lasting color and to a
remarkable extent, change the appearance of their shape.
Lip Balm is only incidentally a beauty aid; they’re used to moisturize, soothe, and protects lips from dryness or chapping so are used by those playing sport, sailing rock-climbing and such. Most are creamy and waxy, designed to endure for several hours of outdoor use (and often include a sunscreen) although some intended for those in indoor, dry-air environments (such as air-conditioned offices) are lightweight and glossy; aimed at the female market these are often flavored (mandarin, cherry, strawberry etc). The indoor variety typically are transparent or lightly tinted and while some can be used as a base under other products, not all lipsticks or lip glosses are suitable; it depends on the composition.
Cultural practices mean “lipstick” is associated mostly with shades of red although (depending on the manufacturer) just about any color is available including some which sparkle. Goths and emos of course like black and purple and a few manufacturers do have white in their range but it doesn’t suit everyone or every occasion. Apart from looking remarkably like one's recent application of zinc cream just prior to spending time in the summer sun, to use white lipstick requires more than the usual attention to the surrounding colors (outfit, hair, skin tone, eyeliner etc). Paired with dyed gray hair, white-framed spectacles or the right clothing it can work but the most dramatic contrast is of course available to those with dark skin who should probably use white lipstick as a stand-alone highlight, however tempting may be the accessories.
The photograph is from time-to-time re-published and often attracts comments about (1) the hair-styles being the most suitable for those in professions where “helmet hair” is an occupational inevitability and (2) comrade Pronyushkina diligently looking at her compact (mirror) while applying lipstick. Many commentators have suggested the quick touch-up may suggest the pair were preparing for a promotional photo-shoot or it was actually lip-balm being spread to counteract the effects of the dryness at altitude. However, according to authoritative Russian sources, what the parachutists did was apply a layer of goose fat to their faces, its properties offering especially good protection from the cold.
The intrepid skydivers set the records in stratospheric parachute jumps for women, comrade Pronyushkina in FAI class G-2 (night solo jump) jumping on 28 October, 1977 from 14,974 meters (49,127 feet) with a free fall of 14,400 meters (47,244 feet), the canopy deployment at 570 meters (1,870 feet). That record will stand for all time because the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (World Air Sports Federation, the world governing body for air sports, founded in October 1905 and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland)) subsequently discontinued the night-jumping class because it was ruled too dangerous. Comrade Fomicheva on 26 October, 1977 set the daytime solo jump record with a descent from 15,766 meters (51,726 feet) with a free fall of 14,800 meters (48,556 feet), the canopy deployment at 960 meters (3,150 feet).
The "Lipstick Mark": 1976 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, with Lipstick and White Luxury Group in Lipstick Red with White Normande grain vinyl roof in Landau style (left) and white-on-white (right). Even if ordered in white-on-white, the trunk (boot) was trimmed with a deep, cut pile nylon carpet in red, matching the interior.
The Ford Motor Company’s Lincoln Continental Mark IV (1971-1976) was a classic “land yacht”, a class of car which was a feature of the US motoring scene of the 1960s & 1970s; it was an exemplar of the “personal luxury car”, a subset of the breed. Although an exercise in packaging of wonderous inefficiency which today seems remarkable, the Mark IV was a great success for the corporation and was highly profitable because it was built on the same platform as the Ford Thunderbird with which it shared both a mechanical specification and a substantial part of the structure with only some panels, interior fittings and additional bits & pieces distinguishing the two. The pair was one of the industry’s more profitable lines and in 1976, Lincoln released the first of its “designer” series Mark IV’s, “trim & appearance” packages which included touches from the associated designers (Bill Blass, Cartier, Givenchy & Pucci) and to ensure those watching knew just which design house’s bling a buyer had chosen, the C-Pillar “opera window” (a much-loved affectation of the age) was etched with the signature of the relevant designer. More profitable even than the standard line, of the 56,110 Mark IVs produced in 1976, 12,906 were one or other of the designer editions.
Extract from 1975 Lincoln Continental Mark IV gatefold brochure.
As well as the “branded” designer edition cars, beginning in 1973, Lincoln made available its LGO (Luxury Group Option), trim package which offered a color-coordinated exterior, vinyl roof, and interior with the color mix changed each season. The Lipstick and White Luxury Group first appeared on the Continental Mark IV option list for the 1975 range but in its first season, externally, the cars exclusively were white, the choice for the “White Normande grain” (code LW) vinyl roof between a full covering of the optional “Landau” style which spread only over the rear section; there was also an alternative vinyl called “Cayman” (designed to resemble the skin of the tropical American crocodilian which is similar to an alligator). The “lipstick red” theme was quite a statement in the cockpit, extending to accent stripes across the button-tufted white leather upholstery (code DN), cut-pile carpets and other fittings such as the dashboard, steering wheel and highlights on the door trim panels. In 1975 the package listed at US$465.40 but it was an era of high inflation and by 1976 this had risen to US$477.00 (a modest increase by the standards of the time); in the same season Ford offered a similar “Lipstick Red Luxury Group” on the Thunderbird which was listed at US$337-546 depending on the configuration. It’s the 1976 editions which are most memorable because of the availability of red paint and for maximum effect red vinyl side moldings could be added for those who thought the ensemble otherwise too subtle. The Lipstick package was popular on the Mark IV (almost 6,000 sold in 1975 alone) and while most buyers seem to have opted for white paint, it’s the red ones which for obvious reasons are most associated with the option; the shade appears closest to Dior's lipstick #744 (Party Red).
1976 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, Lipstick Edition.
So a 1976 Continental Mark IV with the Lipstick and White Luxury Group (known among the Lincoln cognoscenti as “The Lipstick Mark”) could be painted White (code 9D) with optional red pinstripes (code 3) or Lipstick Red (code 2U) with optional white pinstripes (code 2) and either could be paired with the red or white vinyl roof coverings. In the brochure, like the side moldings, the custom pin stripes were “recommended”. All that meant from the outside one’s Lipstick Mark could appear either as a typical “white on white” land yacht of the era or really make a lipstickesque statement in red & white or all red; it was a matter of what one wanted from life. Such a splash did the Continental’s visual choices make in 1975 that for many buyers, the significant feature of four wheel disk brakes probably passed unnoticed and it's not known if Ford ever attempted (al la the Bill Blass, Cartier, Givenchy & Pucci associations) to partner with Dior or any other cosmetics house for the Lipstick edition.
1988 Porsche 911 Turbo (930) Cabriolet in Grand Prix White (Code L908) over Lipstick Red (Code HB, “Lipstick Red Special Leather” (bundled with some other features) listed at an additional US$900). The Flachbau (literally “flatnose” but listed by the factory as the “930S Slant Nose Package”) was available through the Sonderwunschprogramm (special order program) and the look was based on that used on the 935 (1976-1981) race cars which were 930-based. The Slant Nose Package (M505) was a US$29,559 option atop the base list price of US$115,000 (although most retailed for thousands more once the obviously tempting option list had been perused).
The “Lipstick Lincoln” in 1976 made quite a splash but other big news from the industry that year was Porsche making available in the US market the 930 (911 Turbo, 1975-1989) and although something of the rawness was lost in the “federalization”, it remained a visceral experience. Being very different machines, there was little cross-shopping between the Continental Mark IV and the Porsche Turbo and Lincoln’s “Lipstick and White Luxury Group” may not have made as much impression in Stuttgart as it did in the US but while it may be unrelated, Porsche would later offer the same dramatic color combination. However, unlike Lincoln, Porsche pursued the theme with stereotypical Teutonic exactitude, even the wheel for the “space-saver” spare tyre being finished in a coat of glossy Lipstick Red.
1993 Rolls-Royce Corniche IV in “Ferrari Red” (“red-on red-on red”).
The Lipstick Marks made an impression but there was a least one person who would have found them understated because in 1991 Rolls-Royce issued a work-order (WO) for a Corniche IV Convertible (by the 1990s even Rolls-Royce no longer called such things DHCs (drophead coupé)) ordered by a customer in Switzerland who had specified a number of what the factory called “production deviations and special features”. Stating the obvious, the theme clearly was “red” and the WO specified everything was to be finished in what was described as “Ferrari Red 9520120” and it certainly appears to emulate the Italian factory’s famous Rosso Corsa (racing red). There may have been technical reasons why a timber like rosewood wasn’t used but the effect was achieved with the WO instruction: “Veneer to be birdseye maple to match Ferrari Red” although there must be something different about the leather used for steering wheels because the WO included the proviso: “Steering wheel to be in red hide dyed to match Ferrari Red if possible. Otherwise St James Red”.
1993 Rolls-Royce Corniche IV in “Ferrari Red”. Both Rolls-Royce and Ferrari at the time used leather supplied by the English house Connolly Leather Tanners & Curriers.
These days, high-end manufacturers all run “bespoke” divisions which exist to accommodate just about any billionaire’s whim within what physics and engineering permit but by the standards of the early 1990s, this “Ferrari Red” Corniche was an exceptional build; the closest matches in the Dior lipstick color chart are #999 Velvet and #080 Red Smile (#754 Pandore being slightly more subdued). The industry term used to describe the color scheme of convertibles is “paint, on upholstery, on roof”. Between 1971-1995, the factory produced 6823 Corniches (including the equivalent Bentley model), of which 244 were the Corniche IV (1992-1995) and while not a few were “black, on black, on black” or “white, on white, on white” (the latter in the 1960s & 1970s also a favorite among Cadillac owners), this “red-on red-on red” one truly is unique, a genuine “one-of-one”.
In a promotion, the Tussy Lip Stick Company offered three 1967 Mustangs as prizes for contest winners, each finished in a shade of pink which matched the lip sticks Racy Pink, Shimmery Racy Pink Frosted & Defroster. Defroster sounds particularly ominous but to set minds at rest, Tussy helpfully decoded the pink portfolio thus:
Racy Pink: "A pale pink".
Racy Pink Frosted: "Shimmers with pearl".
Defroster: "Pours on melting beige lights when you wear it alone, or as a convertible top to another lip color".
The fate of the cars is unknown but nerds might note the three prizes were 1967 models while the model (as in the Mustang) in the advertisement is from the 1966 range. That's because the advertising copy had to be made available before the embargo had been lifted on photographs of the 1967 range. The men on Madison Avenue presumably dismissed the suggestion of what might now be thought "deceptive and misleading" content with the familiar "she'll never know".
