Nylon - October 2008 - (Page 94) dangerous liaisons NYLON: Why is this product called Medieval? Poppy King: In the Medieval era, women would squeeze lemon on their lips to get them to look red without looking like they were wearing lipstick. It would sting and bring the blood to the surface. This makes your lips look like that, but without any sting. NYLON: Why didn’t women want to look like they were wearing lipstick? PK: The Medieval era was such a strange era because it was really puritanical, yet so debauched. Their sensibility was all about purity, and wearing red lipstick was considered a sin. Up until Elizabeth I came along, makeup was considered something that was just for prostitutes and fallen women, and wearing it wasn’t something that anyone with any kind of breeding should do. NYLON: So how did you develop this shade? PK: I sat with my chemist in Toronto, and I squeezed lemon on my lips all day—I must say, those Medieval women must have had some dry lips—and then I got her to recreate the color. So this gives you that look, a sheer color and a little bit wet, but you just look like your lips are puckered. IF THERE EVER WAS A LIPSTICK ACADEMIC, LIPSTICK QUEEN FOUNDER POPPY KING IS IT. THIS FALL, SHE’S LAUNCHING MEDIEVAL, A SHEER, WORKS-FOR-EVERYONE SHADE THAT HAS QUITE A STORY BEHIND IT. NYLON: Why is it upside down? PK: It dropped on the floor once, and I picked it up upside down and was like, “Yeah! I really like it upside down.” It makes it like a Tarot card, and it’s also like, the world is so topsy-turvy, and the symbolism of the world is so all over the place. It’s a very layered little product, this one. KATE WILLIAMS $20, lipstickqueen.com. OLD SCHOOL LEMONY LIPS WEREN’T THE ONLY COSMETIC HORRORS THAT WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL TIMES HAD TO ENDURE. CHECK OUT THESE OTHER DOOZIES, AND YOU’LL NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT CURLING YOUR LASHES AGAIN. • Men and women would paint their faces, necks and hands with white makeup, which was often lead-based. This resulted in numerous physical ailments including, oh, death. • Women wore egg whites on their face because they liked the sheen. • In Italy, a woman named Signora Toffana was executed after creating an arsenic-based face paint that helped some 600 women murder their unsuspecting husbands. • Black silk patches were pasted on skin to hide warts and pimples. • Women often plucked their foreheads, to give the illusion of a higher hairline. • Lye was a popular hair dye, even though it caused the hair to fall out, and so elaborate wigs were introduced. They were often greased with lard to hold them in place, which meant they could become filled with lice and even mice. 94 beauty news still lifes: jonathon kambouris. agyness deyn courtesy of the everett collection. different strokes illustration: maja bergström. NYLON: The packaging is amazing. Who did the artwork? PK: It’s all original art by an illustrator named James Bernard. He did this from scratch, and everything has a meaning. Like the rabbit is a symbol of lust, and the river is baptismal water, which symbolizes the washing away of sin, because, you know, I love saints and sinners. On the website, you will be able to roll over the picture and read about everything. http://www.lipstickqueen.com
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