Really Red

~ Live & Learn

Humanity’s love affair with red lipstick dates back to 3500 B.C. when Queen Shub-Ad of Ur, one of the Sumerian city-states of ancient Mesopotamia, first wore a red lip made with a base of white lead and crushed red rocks…

For years I wore Really Red to make me look like I felt OK. Six years later my collection of lipsticks has expanded, but every shade is red. It’s the color I wear because when I wear it now I actually believe I’m OK, because it’s still the color that gets me, and because on any given day when I catch myself in the mirror with it on, I see the person I want to be. And therein lies the power of red lipstick: its innate ability to be anything at any time for its wearer…

~ Alison Fishburn, from “When Lips Speak for Themselves”

 

Photo: julia leonidovna with self-portrait

33 thoughts on “Really Red”

  1. I feel a little weird about this … preferring a more natural shiny gloss myself. Maybe because I am aware of the manipulation of women by men to create red blood pouting lips that are responding to their presence.
    ‘s ‘lips to emulate a sexy blood surged availablity towards men, in order to feel validated.

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  4. Love this! I’ve always been fascinated by the use of lipstick, especially red. I rarely wear red, like Val’s comment above, I tend to more natural colors, but on occasions when I want to “make a statement” red lipstick seems to be the accessory that does the trick 🙂

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  7. Couldn’t agree more!

    And isn’t every little girl’s first lipstick her mother’s red lipstick???

    Hardly wear red but on days when I do, the world better watch out!

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  9. I highly charged and dangerous post Dave! It will educate you on How Women Feel and Their Motives… 😉
    I am, strike that, I WAS a woman with very red lipstick, and as life plays out, I had the lipstick conversation yesterday with a woman who lives at our place until she has found a new home. I told her that, had she known me earlier in my life, she’d never seen me leave my home without mascara and my red lipstick.
    Now, with pollen allergy and swollen, unseeing eyes, both are rather seldomly employed… And yes, it IS in some ways a statement. I can’t brag with my painted nails; as a(n occasional) cello player my nails are not really impressive, BUT the worse I feel, or even if the weather is depressing, I put on more colours, my wardrobe choices tend to get more eclectic AND the red lipstick gets definitely an outing!
    On a ‘great’ day I can be out and about in simple colours, but on less great ones I must convince myself of being ‘alright’ with my heightened colour choices and red lipstick. Anyway, if you need womanly advice for your choices, just ask Sawsan. She knows best 😊
    Why is it that you so often (too often really) pick subjects for your blog that just ‘happened to happen’ in my very life hours or days before? Are you spying on me?

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  11. Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
    Red, red lips … ‘Humanity’s love affair with red lipstick dates back to 3500 B.C. when Queen Shub-Ad of Ur, one of the Sumerian city-states of ancient Mesopotamia, first wore a red lip made with a base of white lead and crushed red rocks … ‘

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  13. Perhaps, Miami has a higher per capita of women wearing “Sizzling Red” Lipstick or Lip Stain? (are you people watching at the beach or the hitting the night life?) I wonder what a tube of Red in a luxury store on Lincoln Rd…willing to bet their might be a tube nearing $75.00… I’d think that this time of year “Coral” would be a hot ticket for the lips?

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