Lipstick Queen: Black Lipstick for the Living

Black lipstick is nothing like “the little black dress” essential to every woman’s wardrobe. After observing customers gathering around the Lipstick Queen island at Barney’s I came to the conclusion that women have an instinctual reaction to the idea of black on their lips; they adore it or abhor it. Personally, I am of the latter camp and find that black lipstick looks good on models that project enchanting images as strutting cadavers or goths that buy their fragrance at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. I was wrong—dead wrong.

Poppy King has taken the element of surprise and molded it into the perfect black lipstick. When used alone Black Tie Optional makes lips look slightly darker than their natural color, adding dimension to your pucker. When used in combination with another lipstick, Black Tie Optional intensifies the existing color. Remember that drawer full of lipsticks that looked better on you in the department store than they did when you arrived home? A few alchemical experiments with Black Tie Optional might turn the lipstick you were ready to ditch into a keeper.

I wonder if Poppy King, the brains behind the Lipstick Queen brand, would consider dabbling in the fragrance equivalent of Black Tie Optional. Imagine a perfume that would change an existing fragrance ever so slightly, a perfume that would enhance the character of what you were already wearing, making it more beautiful. In a sea of unimpressive fragrance releases that might be too much to ask for, but hey, a Perfumista can dream…

Notes:

Black Tie Optional can be purchased for $18 at the Lipstick Queen online store and at Barney’s. A gloss version, in Lipstick Queen's Shine line is also available for purchase at Barney’s and retails for $22.