Meet the Staff: The Sketchbook
· Blog Home
· Profile
· MySpace
· Contact Us
· FAQ/TOS
Older Articles
· Fashion Notes: Independent Fashion at Refinery29
· What is Style? Odds and Ends (part 8)
· Beauty Notes: perfumes part 7
· Beauty Notes: Mom Makeup: The Early Years
· Beauty & Fashion Notes: Old-Time Musings
· Beauty Notes: Mom Makeup
· Culture Notes: Gokusen
· Terminology: Muted (TONE)
· Terminology: Jewel (TONE)
· Terminology: Bright (TONE)
Comments
· August 29, 2007 9:13 AM by
cmm
· August 30, 2007 5:44 AM by
Colleen Shirazi
Archives
· Beauty Blog (2003-2004)
· Fashion Blog (archive)
· New Releases Blog (archive)
· Beauty Articles (archive)
· April 2005
· May 2005
· June 2005
· July 2005
· August 2005
· September 2005
· October 2005
· November 2005
· December 2005
· January 2006
· February 2006
· March 2006
· April 2006
· May 2006
· June 2006
· July 2006
· August 2006
· September 2006
· October 2006
· November 2006
· December 2006
· January 2007
· February 2007
· March 2007
· April 2007
· May 2007
· June 2007
· July 2007
· August 2007
· September 2007
· October 2007
· November 2007
· December 2007
· January 2008
· February 2008
· March 2008
· April 2008
· May 2008
· June 2008
· July 2008
Recent blog posts:
Links
Barneys
refinery29
The Sartorialist
Jargol
Perfume Shrine
Ambre Gris
Polyvore
The Fashioniste
The Powder Group
LA-Story.com
Dain's Literary Attempts
Colleen's Beading Blog
Colleen's Adult Acne Blog
The Beauty Blog Network
Eponym Blog Directory.
TBF Project:Blog
Posted by Dain, Wednesday, August 29, 2007 7:08 AM (Eastern)
On the back of every lipstick from Lipstick Queen are written the words: "Hello. My name is Poppy King and I am obsessed with lipstick. I have been ever since I first put my mothers [sic] on to play dress up. Lipstick has been my entire career from the moment I left high school." This has got to be the most idiosyncratic makeup line ever—beyond even the most daring NARS duo—the visible manifestation of Poppy King's devotion to red lipstick. She was gracious enough to provide a quick interview. I hope you enjoy!
I heard that you started Lipstick Queen simply because you were passionate about lipstick. Could you tell our readers a little about your story?
Basically I was 18, had just completed high school and was not sure which direction to take so I decided to try starting a lipstick brand because I had been so disappointed that none of the lipsticks I tried could give me the same glamour look as old fashioned Hollywood. Rich, matte and dense in pigment. All the lipsticks were glossy and glittery and seemed to turn pink. I found a factory in Melbourne Australia (where I am from but now live in NYC) and then I put together a business plan, found a business partner and the rest as they say is history!!
What are your inspirations behind a shade for Lipstick Queen? How do you go about choosing a shade?
I am inspired by the purest form of color. That is I like to take all the classic shades and design what I consider the ultimate in each category. Red, Pink, Wine etc. I find fabric swatches, or paint chips or even just a petal that is the shade I have in my mind and work with the chemists to get it to exactly the right balance. Having spent the last 17 years of my life devoted to lipstick and talking to customers about it... I have become an expert at understanding the most flattering and dynamic shades.
What is your earliest lipstick memory?
That's easy! I can remember when I was seven years old playing dress ups with my mom's lipsticks and feeling so glamorous when I wore lipstick. Like I had been transported right into a movie. I still feel that way. I used to wear lipstick as a little girl everywhere I went and refuse to go without it. Not much had changed!
What is your makeup philosophy?
Less is more. Pick a feature and play off that but no need to do everything to the fullest. If you do the lips, back off on the eyes and vice versa. Most importantly... don't follow trends. Find your look and stick to it.
Any tips for finding a perfect lipstick?
If your hair, skin and eyes look brighter as a result of the lipstick then that is a great shade for you. If any of those features seem duller or drained then keep trying shades until you hit on one that illuminates you.
What are your favorite products (skincare, perfume, etc.)?
I love Darphin products for the skin, Bath and Body Works shampoo and conditioner and my favorite fragrance has been for years Narcisse by Chloe.
Red lipstick can be difficult to apply. Do you have any tips on how to achieve the perfect lip?
Straight from the tube the way you can get the most traction and most definition... so apply straight from tube; blot and reapply and viola!
The line is as yet very small, very select. Ten shades, without a particle of shimmer, meticulously calibrated archetypes (apparently) of berry, rose, red, coral, nude, or what you will. They are complex colors, which just goes to show that one does not need shimmer for interest. They come in two formulations: Sinner, and Saint. Saints come in gold tubes, and are light, longlasting stains with a satiny finish, unlike a MAC Lustre which is glossy and moisturizing. The Saints are nice enough, but unless you found a shade particularly compelling (which is very possible, the shades are good), it's not really something you haven't seen before; they remind me of Laura Mercier's "Lips" lipsticks, in a lot of ways. However, this opinion is much colored by the fact that I'm not interested in sheers right now; if I were, I'd be all over this gentle, most stain with its lush colors. The Sinners, however, are a different story. I've never quite tried a lipstick formula quite like this: so dense and opaque (90% pigment, in black tubes) that you can feel the pigment on your lips, and yet creamy and smooth, with a velvety finish. It has the feel of a sacred tube of lipstick, brought back to a woman's vanity table from a Paris shopping spree, resurrected. I really like it, and want more, if only for that precious air of vanished glamor, though the offering of delicious shades make it well worth the while.
Speaking of shades: they gave me Saint Berry and Wine Sinner to test out:
As they say, your mileage may vary, so I suggest testing first. This is not a makeup artist line, whose interest is in universality, but an independent one, by an enthusiast, a red lipstick enthusiast at that. To my eye, these colors are seen from that perspective, variations on red, not that that's a bad thing, as I love red lipstick, and if you do too it is very likely that most of the shades will suit you. The berry is not what I would call an archetypal berry, and the wine is not what I would call an archetypal wine, but rather what a red-lipstick wearer would find beautiful and wearable. Someone who likes pearly pink glosses and nude lipsticks will feel like they've entered an alternate dimension!
I've heard people criticize the packaging, saying it's drugstore-ish. I don't know what people expect (too much, probably): this is an independent line, such things are rare, they're not gonna offer tubes like YSL or Chanel. The tube itself is pretty if simple, in matte gold or black metal, and heavy in the hand (a nice, luxurious touch).
Check out Lipstick Queen.
*Ok, maybe that's tacky.
Labels: beauty notebook, indie, lips, lipstick queen
subscribe
in a reader
August 29, 2007 9:13 AM,
interesting....very,very interesting.
I like that gloss thingey a lot. Good review, thanks for writing that up.
I've enjoyed your big fashion articles alot lately. I've been working on my wardrobe, look and style alot this summer. I joined (re-joined, actually) a "French Chic" yahoo group and have been studying profusely. The group itself is full of alot of chatter, but there are style files on there that have been MOST helpful. You and they mostly say the same thing, buy fewer but nicer things.
"Know thyself" is an important piece of the puzzle too. I think its taken me this long to figure that part out because I've been raising kids my entire adult life. Its probably why, too, I've dressed like a tomboy kid all this time too. Makeup, I've pretty much got figured out because thats (relatively) cheap and easy to experiment with.
August 30, 2007 5:44 AM,
Yup, I agree with that. When you're raising kids, you really can't dress too nicely. Some nicely, but not too nicely. It's not the same.
When you start growing out of the phase though, it is important to start buying some nice clothes. It takes time to collect the clothes...imo, a few years...unless you can afford to buy everything in one fell swoop, which most people can't.
For me it's been important to think in terms of--what goes with what, color-wise (I always gravitate toward certain colors)--what can be machine-washed...I really don't want to get into a drycleaning thing, partly for the expense, partly for the chemicals. What needs to be ironed. I ironed when I was a kid, I don't want to iron now.
Post a comment (NO SPAM)
Links to this post:
Create a Link