April 26, 2015

OBSESSED: Navy Blue Lipstick


Do you ever wonder why some cosmetic colors are considered "normal" while others are still strictly in the "offbeat" category? Like, who decided bright red lips were completely acceptable, but forest green ones were not? I know common lipstick colors generally imitate natural lip shades, but we overlook this rule for a lot of other cosmetics. For a majority of the past century, it was basically impossible to even purchase certain colors of lipstick, nail polish, or eyeshadow. Luckily, you can find almost any shade of makeup you want today, although the most popular and widely sold lip colors remain within the typical rainbow of reds and pinks.

Don't get me wrong - reds and pinks are awesome; that's what I wear nearly every day. But when I saw a photo of a dark navy blue lipstick recently, I got a little obsessed. It stuck in my brain until I found myself casually googling, and eventually obsessively googling, and pinteresting and instagraming and bookmarking...you know, the typical slippery slope.
Some inspiration {L to R: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven}


The ideas commonly associated with colors tend to hold true in lipsticks: red is bold and fiery, pink is sweet and girly, skin tones are clean and simple. When I think navy blue I think preppy, classic, neutral (I mean, it represents like 90% of school uniforms), but when I see navy blue lipstick, none of those associations apply. I think that's because of the set "rules" about makeup colors and what's considered "normal" or "weird," but someone somewhere just made those ideas up. Shades like cranberry or eggplant are in the same neighborhood as navy, but those are made by companies like Revlon and sold in every drugstore, whereas very few mainstream cosmetic companies make any kind of blue lipstick at all. 

To me, a deep navy shade can look vivid and unusual while still looking chic. I'd love to see velvety deep navy lips become a vampy standard, and I'm going to do my part to see that it does. 

Here are some navy lip colors I'm loving:



Would you wear navy lipstick? Do you often wear any other "weird" lipstick shades? What's the craziest makeup look you've ever tried? 


24 comments:

  1. I love off beat lipsticks. Red and pinks are popular because it can enhance one's natural lip colour. Blue lips is usually associated with lack of oxygen which is why it's not very popular. But I like mixing it up once in awhile. Great picks!

    http://www.mintnotion.com

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    1. Totally! I just find it odd that we tend to follow that color guideline for our lips, but not for most other cosmetics. Purple eyeshadow should look like bruises but is beautiful! Either way, I just love the look of navy lips! xo

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  2. Very strange, I was just looking up navy blue lipstick today...! I own a dark blue lipstick by Wet n Wild, it was a special Halloween colour, I believe. Love it. I wear metallic silver and gold a lot, but those are the "strangest" colours I own.

    Pinks and some corals I can understand, reds pushing it a bit, but purples and browns (unless you actually have darker skin)? Oranges? Always seemed strange to me that those can be considered normal shades. Granted, I love them all. =D I can't pull off white lipstick very well, and I don't like how black looks on me, but I think they're neat shades, too.

    Love your picks! <3

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    1. Oh, that lipstick sounds really cool! I think I've seen it around Halloween before, and I'll keep an eye out for it next fall. I feel like we should embracing allll the colors of lipstick, just like we do for eyes and nails. So much potential! xo

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  3. Ooooh...love it too, need to get some :)) xx

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    1. Me too! I've got my eye on that LA Splash one next...xo

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  4. it's a fun trend i love seeing others explore.i play around with it at home, but i don't think i'm cool enough to pull it off! ;)

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  5. ooh such a good lipstick shade! i'm obsessed with navy clothes right now!

    from helen at thelovecatsinc.com

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  6. YESSSS totally in love with this trend, too. Obviously I'm all in for crazy lip colors (seen by Coven). I thought I'd mention that I'm going to order some NYX lipsticks because their lavender shade is almost identical to Coven... In case you're interested!! Sinful looks beautiful too so I'll probably throw that into the order, too!!

    Much Love,
    -Stephanie Eva

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    1. Ooooh, I'll keep an eye out for a post about your NYX lipsticks! I've swatched the wicked lippies line and the macaron line in Ulta and was very impressed overall with the texture and color opacity. Can't wait to see what you pick! xo

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  7. I love this look. Then again I would I love purple lippy too!

    Jenn | Jennifer Jayne

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    1. Yes! Purple lipstick is the perfect 'in between' shade - in between "normal" lipsticks and "weird" lipsticks. I have a bunch of great purples that I wear all the time (Maybelline Brazen Berry and Revlon balm stain in Shameless to name a couple!). xo

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  8. I think these looks are really stunning. I'm noticing though that all of the ladies in the photos have brown or green eyes... I tried a navy lipstick a couple years ago and felt like I had a hard time pulling it off. Maybe blue eyes + blue lips is a little much.

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    1. Oh, that's an interesting point! I didn't even notice that almost all of those ladies above had darker eyes. I still think it looks awesome on the one blue-eyed gal, but that's also because of the contrast with her red hair. I feel like if you found the perfect shade it could still look really cool though! Or just go all in and wear blue everything to "distract"! xo

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  9. I definitely sport a Navy Blue lip. :-) Probably not as often as some of the more "traditional" shades but I agree that there is something intriguing about the colour. :-)

    Beauty Isles | An Island Girl's Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

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    1. Yay, another member of the navy blue team! I just find it SO beautiful! xo

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  10. Ooh this is such a different but cool trend - it's amazing how good it looks on people considering it's not the every day shade. I really enjoyed reading this post so thank you.

    Kristy | thevioletblonde.com

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    1. I know, right?! Even though it could come across as unflattering, all the ladies above wear it in such a way that it totally doesn't - instead it looks pretty and even soft, somehow. Thank you! xo

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  11. Wish I could pull off the dark lipstick! I look like an idiot! Haha

    www.tusksandtails.com

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    1. I bet you don't! Everyone feels that way when they try something new with makeup, especially with lipstick it seems. If you want to try a darker shade, just try something a few shades lighter and work your way up through slightly darker ones until you feel comfortable. I swear anyone can find a great dark shade just right for them! xo

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