Preface: Observed on July 29 every year in the United States, National Lipstick Day fetes the cosmetic that many of us revere. Although Nicoleta lives in Romania, and I live in the USA, not only do we share love for fragrance, but we share mad love for lipstick. (Michelyn owns over 80, stores them in a climate controlled environment and wears lipstick to get the mail !!!) I have been known to hunt down discontinued colors (I am looking for you Kevyn Aucoin Dantique) the way perfumistas search the fragosphere for hard-to-find scents. To make our point about the connection… In 2002 Dior Addict perfume debuted and a lipstick line of the same name would follow. Nicoleta helps us celebrate National Lipstick Day by combining both passions.-Michelyn
AI Image Nicoleta ©
Lipstick has always been my “catnip,” and I swear I can feel the happy receptors in my brain lighting up each time I tear open the foil and swatch a new item on the back of my hand. Only a fellow makeup addict can understand the ASMR tingle triggered by the click of a Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick, the satisfying weight of a new YSL LoveShine perfectly fitting in your palm, or the relentless quest for the holy grail lip oil with the perfect longevity, consistency, scent, and taste. From the waxy “green” lipsticks that magically changed shades once applied that my grandma used, to the samples from the Oriflame catalogs in my childhood, to my cherished first “grownup” shade of YSL Opium Red (now sadly discontinued), the everlasting but drying KVD Lolita (that I have worn religiously for years), and the luxurious Chanel glosses I collected, I have a treasure trove of memories, nostalgia and emotions connected to lipsticks.
AI Image Nicoleta ©
The sad reality is that, unlike fragrance, makeup has a short(er) shelf life, no matter how well you store it. After decades of excess and overconsumption I’ve embraced a more minimalist approach and to manage my makeup addiction without falling back into old habits, I’ve embarked on a new side quest to find the perfect makeup-inspired scents. Compared to wearing makeup, where right now I seldom step out of my comfort zone of nude lips & winged eyeliner, when it comes to makeup – inspired – perfume, I am more adventurous and I take delight in every side of the olfactive vanity rainbow: from powdery to creamy and from sparkly, girly, fruity and sweet to the dark, deep and vampy.
Etat Libre D’Orange Putain des Palaces, image via Instagram
Etat Libre d`Orange Putain des Palaces (Nathalie Feisthauer) 2006: (wine red shade)
Etat Libre D’Orange Putain des Palaces evokes the traces of dark vampy lipstick, the rustling of a heavy brocade dress, leather gloves, a light dusting of powder, and there she is- a sophisticated, take-no-prisoners-seductive woman who is nonchalantly wearing her beauty like a weapon, in plain sight. In the world of makeup, Putain des Palaces would be the perfect shade of wine red, paired with a dark cool cool-toned lip liner, a glossy gloss to finish off the look, and… a deadly appeal.
Notes: mandarine, ginger orpur®, raspberry; iris, rose, rice powder, tonka, sandalwood, musk
Isabey Paris Prends Moi, collage by Nicoleta
Isabey Prends Moi (Luca Maffei) 2019 (my lips but better shade)
Isabey Paris Prends-Moi (it means Take Me in English), and I remember, before sampling it, reading the “Satin Lipstick” note of the pyramid with my heart rate going up and my nostrils fluttering with Pavlovian anticipative joy. The most “modern” out of my choices, and the easiest to wear – this is a glossy fruity texture, a satiny creamy lipstick note that never feels waxy or stale, and a powdery cloud with coca undertones. If you could care less about makeup, but love sensual florals with a twist, do give it a try for its contemporary take on tuberose. If it were a lipstick it would be that perfect shade of my lips-but-better that you could apply on, without thinking about it, no liner, no fuss, no mirror needed.
Notes: bergamot, pink pepper, raspberry; rose, red Satin Lipstick, tuberose, cardamom, iris; cocoa, sandalwood, amber
Rebecca movie still and Masque Milano L’Attesa, collage by Nicoleta
Masque Milano – L’Attesa (Luca Maffei) 2016 (just-bitten nude)
Masque Milano L’Attesa was the perfume that finally made me understand and love iris, with all the emotional baggage, nostalgia, ghosts, and faux memories it drags along. I went in the first time, fearing a thin-lipped-poised and icy-cold Mrs. Danvers, and found the red-blooded vision of young Rebecca. The sound of the brush, passing through her long black hair, the bitter cloud of powder, dusted on her ivory shoulders, her fingers, freed from the leather riding gloves, nervously searching in the drawer for that perfect shade of red lipstick, to finish up her look. If it were lipstick, this would be a just-bitten-sensual succubus shade. To die for – quite literally!
Notes: Italian bergamot, Moroccan neroli, champagne accord; Italian iris, French iris, tuberose, ylang ylang Madagascar; sandalwood Mysore, oakmoss, leather accord
Vermeil by Bienaimé, official photo
Bienaimé Vermeil (Patrice Revillard) 2022 (old school bright coral)
A vintage bullet lipstick, a little bit dry, but still so gloriously pigmented. Feeling the fuzzy texture of a Caron puff on your cheeks, and the nostril-titillating powder caress. The slightly bitter nostalgia of a tactile ghost: the special metallic heaviness of an intricately decorated mirrored compact, perfectly round, cool, and sleek in the palm of your hand. And it’s all here, in this gloriously vintage wonder, laced with rice powder, creamy sandalwood, and heliotrope. In makeup form, this would be the perfect bright coral-red old Hollywood charm choice, of course, paired with the most pointy and perfectly arched Cupid’s bow.
Notes: Carrot seeds, aldehyde, iris, violet, rose, raspberry, musk, tolu balsam, sandalwood, heliotrope
Cape Heartache by Imaginary Authors, official image
Cape Heartache by Imaginary Authors (Josh Meyer) 2013 (cherry Chapstick©)
Cape Heartache by Imaginary Authors captures the most realistic essence of an ‘90s Chapstick, (if you know the classic old-school cherry Chapstick – this is it). It starts with a sweet, nostalgic burst, but soon evolves into something much deeper and more complex. This fragrance tells a beautiful but dark love story, embodying the feeling of seeking pieces of a broken heart among the twigs and needles on the forest floor – and the scent transitions from the innocent sweetness of youth to the darker, more mysterious elements of a forest, making it a truly captivating olfactory journey. For me, this would be Laura Palmer’s Chapstick, forgotten at the entrance of the Black Lodge…
Notes: Douglas fir, pine resin, western hemlock, vanilla leaf, strawberry, old growth, and mountain fog.
Voleur de Roses, Artisan Parfumeur photo by Nicoleta
L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Rose (Michel Almairac) 1993 – (dusty-rose-petal vampire red)
L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses (translated as the rose thief) has stolen every trace of sweetness and rosy pleasantry from the bud, leaving us with a stripped-down, sensual thorny rose that vibrates on some kind of feral, low-humming frequency. Besides the dark tannic wine aftertaste, there’s also an autumnal feel to it, smartly put into play by the plum note, that mixed in with patchouli, gives the effect of damp earth, wet, dark, sweet, and encumbered by ripe fruits fallen from trees, heavy with the sugars of decay. If there ever were a perfect overlay of a freeze-frame of a movie superimposed over a fragrance, this would be it: Bram Stoker’s Dracula – the rose garden after the storm, the smell of wet earth, broken branches, ruffled petals, the heavy smell of night, old buildings, stone archways, merging into one dense and memorable fragrant scene. And let’s not forget Lucy, hauntingly beautiful in the most perfect red nightgown and blood-red lips. The goth kid in me swoons with delight –every time.
Michelyn’s lip print (Lost Cherry by Charlotte Tilbury while spraying on Tom Ford Lost Cherry Eau de Parfum)
Six Honorable Mentions: Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose (Ralph Schweiger) eyelash fluttering a what you see is what you get attitude); Histoires de Parfums 1889 Moulin Rouge (a vintage – almost “turned” lipstick accord); Francesca Bianchi Angel’s Dust (the best powdery boudoir scent ever made, IMHO); Wesker Deviant (beautiful, classical take on the lipstick accord); Terry de Gunzburg Ombre Mercure (that Robert Herrmann (R.I.P) brilliantly described as “If Guerlain’s L’Heure Bleue had a wild younger sister who’s never seen without wearing her Doc Marten knee-high boots”); Juliette has a Gun Lipstick Fever by Romano Ricci (the modern, sexy and fresh raspberry note of modern fruity lippies); and Maison Martin Margiela Lipstick On for when you need a playful wink from a set of over-the-top fake lashes.
-Disclosure from my own collection
Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor
Thanks to the generosity of Isabey Paris & Etat Libre d`Orange we have a 50 ml bottle of Prends-Moi OR one 50 ml bottle of Putain des Palaces for one registered reader in the US or EU. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you thought of Nicoleta’s lipstick/perfume picks, what fragrance you would like to win and where you live. What is your favorite lipstick scent? Draw closes 7/31/2024
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