The Vampy Lip

I’ve always been a fan of a red lip. Lately however, it’s the deep, vampy shades I can’t seem to get enough of; there’s nothing like a dark lip with a good ol’ LBD and Brigitte Bardot bed hair.

I suppose my predisposition for a bold lip came around the age of four. Ballet recitals required intense makeup, of which red lipstick was always a must. Surprisingly, it didn’t turn me off—instead it bred some sort of innate gravitation towards tubes of raspberry and plummy berry shades. It’s a demure version of the siren red lip, universal for most complexions (it’s especially lovely with golden or olive skin tones, pale or tanned), making it both wearable and a statement at the same time. The end result is a vampish, sexy pout.

According to Cosmo, daring, deep red is an incredible turn-on for men. It says just-bitten, dangerous, confident, voluptuous, all in a tube. Scientifically it arouses in men this primal instinct rooted in the history of human evolution: red lips are synonymous to youth, energy, and a woman in her, ahem, reproductive prime. Which gets his adrenaline pumping.

My favorite? Captive, by M·A·C. It’s a tad drying (flake-y lips aren’t so attractive), so I always moisturize with lip balm, blot off the excess, swipe on the lipstick, and top it off with C.O. Bigelow’s Plum Mint gloss to brighten and deepen the shade.

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