During a woman’s menstrual cycle, there is an increase in body temperature right after ovulation. Before ovulation, estrogen levels are very high which causes the hypothalamus to secrete luteinizing hormone or LH. Now, LH causes the ovaries to start to secrete another hormone called progesterone in copious amounts. Progesterone increase basal body temperature. An increase in body temperature would cause blood vessels, like in the face, to dilate giving the skin a red-to-pinkish hue. Full, pink lips may be a cue in which females display their reproductive status. Progesterone levels fall if the ovum has not been fertilized.
To answer your question, I suspect men are turned on by red lips because its represents a fecund woman. Women might wear lipstick to (a) always appear to be fertile or (b) to hide their reproductive status. The former might be the best answer since lipsticks are often in some shade of pink or red. Or maybe women wear it because they think like good in it.
Note that lips tend to be fullest at the height of reproductive ability, and both older women and young girls have much thinner lips. The blood vessels in the lips also dilate when aroused. Lipstick is therefore a way to fake always being sexually receptive, thus attracting more mating behavior.
Well, sexual dimorphism in and of itself isn’t necessarily attractive to the opposite sex. I doubt seeing my prostate would be a major turn-on for you.
One obvious issue now is the meme lipstick= labia is so common that that claimed association is part of the equation regardless of whether its origins are actually correct or not. Ie it may have become a bit self-fulfilling rather than the real origin.
Also there is the possible connection between facial flushing and lipstick. Ie it might be more about association with other aspects of general arousal than a direct link to the vaginas colour.
The colour range also seems to have varied over time. Wiki says it came back into fashion during WW2 due to movies which strongly suggests contrast being a major aspect, given they were in black and white.
I practically never use lipstick, because it’s so messy. Unless you want to emulate old R&B songs by leaving traces on a cigarette (but cigarettes are gross). Instead, I use the type of lip color that stays on all day and doesn’t smear. You can kiss someone on the cheek and not leave smudges. You can drink from a glass and not leave smudges. You don’t have to reapply it after eating. It also goes on neater than lipstick. Truly a work of genius. But so far it doesn’t have a name of its own, except “lipcolor.” So nobody seeing you knows it’s something different from lipstick. Wikipedia doesn’t even have anything about lipcolor. It’s one of modern women’s greatest secrets. P.S.: Don’t forget lip liner for neatening up the outlines. As for lip gloss, it looks great when it first goes on, but it rubs off even more easily than lipstick, and the only reason it doesn’t look sloppier is that it’s very sheer and tinted less intensely.
Earlier this year, when the Progressive commercials with “Flo” attracted so much attention just because she used foundation, red lipstick, and black eyeliner, I began to think early '60s-style makeup may be making a comeback. Flo experienced a big burst of popularity and got me thinking America may be ready for overt makeup again. Fashions always go in cycles. LOL, there’s often a fine line between behind the curve and ahead of the curve.
I’ve heard that brunettes depend on lipstick, while blondes and other light complexions depend on mascara. My GF is very light-complexioned and uses minimal lip color, but piles on the mascara. By contrast I’m a Mediterranean olive-skinned brunette and have to have really dark, rich lip color, while I do fine with minimal mascara. Flo is another example of a brunette who rocks an intensely colored lipstick. But eyeliner is everybody’s friend. The eyes are the most important feature of all.
My GF and I don’t care about attracting men in the slightest; we make up to please each other and to please ourselves. And we use it to maintain a professional look for work. I did so even when working in an office full of only women with no men around. It’s just part of being put together and is not necessarily sexualized at all.
It’s oil soluble, so makeup remover or baby oil does the trick. As, sadly, does a nice greasy cheeseburger. But it you limit yourself to nice dainty feminine nibbles of cheese and crackers and pea salad, you really can eat without affecting it much. I love that stuff!
I am a heterosexual man, and I find that lipstick is, in general, a turnoff for me, and I prefer a “natural” face. It almost feels that a woman using lipstick is trying to be someone she isn’t, and I prefer approaching someone as they are, rather than who they think they need to be to attract me.
Yeah, lipstick is slightly (sometimes very) gross.
Before attempting to explain a phenomenon, wouldn’t it be a good idea to first make sure the phenomenon exists? I assume some men find lipstick attractive, but what are the stats? Even if, say, 75% of men find lipstick attractive, that’s a serious blow to any theory that posits a primarily evolutionary and / or physiological explanation. (Did that other 25% or whatever% just not get the evolutionary memo? Are we physiologically broken?)
Man, I hate that stuff! It’s possibly because it is something that was intended to be a subtle effect that is generally used in a very non-subtle fashion. But when it is noticeable, it looks awful. As noted above, lipstick - indeed most makeup - emulates natural phenomena. When a woman is sexually aroused, blood may rush to her face, darkening her eyelids and reddening her cheeks and lips. But I have never seen a clown-like line appear around any woman’s lips.
While I’m ranting, when are those awful white tips on fingernails going to go out of fashion? They look terrible.
My wife of 28 years has worn makeup two or three times in all our years together. But she has dark hair and a naturally colorful face.
I believe you’re referring to a “French manicure”. I’ve never had one (or any kind of manicure, for that matter), but a lot of people like them because the white tips actually make them look more natural than other painted nail styles. When the nail grows past the nail bed then it looks white because there’s no skin pressing up against the bottom. My unpolished nails look pink with white tips too, although if I did have a French manicure the white would be brighter and more even.
I wonder if there may be a certain–selection bias?-- in your perception. Because you only see lipliner when it’s done wrong. When it’s done right, it’s invisible. You have to match the shade of it to the shade of the main color, and make sure it isn’t any darker. Then you have to blend it in with the main color so it doesn’t stand out. It’s cringeworthy when someone uses it without knowing how. Maybe they confuse it with eyeliner and try to apply it the same way. Uh-uh.
Ugh, hate those things. Even shaking hands with someone with those nails would give me the creeps.
A little makeup, including lipstick, makes a women look like she is trying to appear more attractive for me (or whomever). Whether it works or not it shows an effort that makes her more attractive. Like when I wear a tie. It doesn’t make me handsome by any stretch of the imagination but it does show a clean, sharp look that says “I’m trying to look good for you”.
Probably never, or at least not within your lifetime. From what I can tell online the style has been around for 80 or 90 years already. There’s probably been some variation over the years, but the general style is pretty conservative and relatively natural-looking (compared to other nail polish styles) so it’s unlikely to fall totally out of fashion in the near future. I’d expect that French manicures are less common now than they were a few years ago though, just because it’s my understanding that it’s tricky to do them at home and in tough economic times there must be fewer women going to nail salons.
