June 11, 2012
New Study: Women prefer Lipstick shades named after Food
June 11, 2012
New Study: Women prefer Lipstick shades named after Food
Ever wonder how beauty companies come up with lipstick names?
According to a recent study by Debra Merskin, a University of Oregon Professor, women gravitate towards food and sex-themed lipsticks.
In her study named “Truly Toffee and Raisin Hell: A Textual Analysis of Lipstick Names”, Merskin categorizes the names of over 1,722 lipsticks from 52 national brands in order to understand how meaning is constructed through lipstick naming.
Here is the breakdown of the categories organized by popularity:
- Food: 24%
- Color: 20%
- Sex and Romance: 10%
- Elements & Minerals: 9%
- Emotions & Characteristics: 8%
- Other: 8%
- People & Names: 5%
- Flowers: 4%
- Objects: 3%
- Darkside: 2%
- Arts & Media: 1%
- Birds & Animals: 1%
- Times & Seasons: <1%
Merskin stated, “Lipstick names draw upon the imagination first, then memory. They shock and fascinate us. They disturb us. Our lives are quiet. We like to be disturbed.”
Confirming the trend, a spokesperson from feelunique.com, that markets 15,000 beauty products online said, “Within our 50 top selling colours, food named lipsticks feature highly on the list. From Watermelon to Succulent Lychee the names speak for themselves.”
Here’s a few examples of beauty brands and their delicious-sounding lipsticks:
- Clinique: Black Honey, Rich Cherry
- MAC: High Tea, Popcorn, Creme in Your Coffee
- Bobbi Brown: Desert Plum, Rum Raisin, Salmon