THE POWER OF RED
IT’S THE COLOUR OF CONFIDENCE AND SEX APPEAL, SO WHAT DOES A SLICK OF RED LIPSTICK SAY ABOUT YOU? SARAH MARINOS INVESTIGATES
“Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin,” Gwyneth Paltrow once said. “That, or a kick-ass red lipstick!”
The power of a slick of rouge across the lips is well known, and it’s the secret weapon of some of the world’s sexiest women – from Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Marilyn Monroe and Nicole Kidman, to Rihanna and Rita Ora.
“When a woman wears red lipstick she’s making a statement that she feels good about herself,” Professor Marita McCabe, a professor of psychology at Melbourne’s Deakin University, says.
“If you feel good about yourself physically and psychologically, putting on red lipstick is saying ‘I’m here’, and it separates you from other women. When you wear it you know people will look twice at you – particularly men.”
THE WAITRESS EXPERIMENT
In a two-month study of waitresses working in restaurants in France, sociologists from the University of Southern Brittany found that those who wore red lipstick received a tip from male customers 50 per cent of the time, while waitresses wearing brown or pink lipstick – or no lipstick at all – only received a tip a third of the time. However, there was no significant change in the quantity of tips from female customers. The scientists said male customers associated red lips with “oestrogen levels, sexual arousal and health”.
“People come to a restaurant for the whole experience – the food, setting, presentation and service – and wearing red lipstick has an impact on the kind of service you provide,” McCabe says.
“You look more attractive, you appear more confident, perhaps you behave more confidently and are more engaging so customers respond more to you.”
WHEN TO WEAR RED
As the waitress study shows, women can use red lipstick to their advantage in the workplace, however, it can also have the opposite effect, McCabe says.
“If you need to make an impact in your job, red lipstick would be an advantage. But if you want to be taken seriously, it may not be so helpful. It may be seen that you’re relying too much on your physical appearance and you may be treated in a more trivial way. So choose your moment to wear red lipstick.”
French researchers also found that single women who wore red lipstick attracted male attention more quickly and were approached more often in a bar. And scientists at The University of Manchester discovered that red lipstick draws the male gaze; researchers tracked the eye movements of 50 men as they looked at pictures of women, and found they stared longer at women wearing red lipstick – 7.3 seconds on average, compared to a 2.2-second glance at women without lipstick.
“For centuries, women have painted their lips red to enhance their appeal,” psychologist Dr Geoff Beattie, who led the research, says. “The practice dates back as far as the ancient Egyptians, who used red lipstick and rouge to enhance their attractiveness. Our research suggests that red lips and perceived attractiveness are still inextricably linked.”
THE CONFIDENCE
TO WEAR COLOUR
So why does red lipstick have such an impact on the opposite sex? Grant Power, national face designer for Giorgio Armani, explains that men find the allure of red lipstick irresistible because it signifies self-confidence.
“It suggests a woman has an edge and it’s a colour that also makes women feel strong and powerful – it’s a bold statement,” he says.
“I recently went out to dinner with friends and one friend had red lipstick on and she has very full lips. I lost count of the number of men and women who looked at her. Red is a colour that says ‘I want you to look at me and I want you to remember me.’”
MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU
Many women are reluctant to wear the colour for that very reason – because it draws attention.
“You can start slowly by first wearing a sheer red that doesn’t have the colour intensity,” Power says. “As you feel more comfortable you can go for a bolder red.”
He describes Jolie and Kidman as perfect examples of two women with very different looks who make the most of the power of red.
“My favourite would be Jolie when she wears a black outfit and shows off her pale skin and blue-based red lipstick. Her lips are so full and she knows you shouldn’t wear too much eye make-up with red lipstick.
“I also like Kidman,” Power adds. “She has thin lips but wears an orange-based red lipstick, which suits her colouring. Any woman can wear red lipstick, and once you do, and you get the compliments, you’ll never look back.”