Interview with the Lipstick Queen, Poppy King [PART 2]

Yesterday, you read Part 1 of my interview where Poppy King, founder of the Lipstick Queen brand of cosmetics, talked about creating her brand and being an entrepreneur. Today, find out how to choose and wear a red lipstick, and learn about the only wearable black lipstick on the market (yes, black. You read correctly!).

KJ: Younger women these days seem to have an aversion to lipstick – why do you think that is?

PK: They do! It’s changing very, very, very slowly. I think the key is to think of lipstick the same way that you think of lipgloss, and that is to think of it casually. I think the thing that stops younger girls from wearing it is the idea that they have to wear a very full face of makeup, and that it’s a look that can be aging – sort of the 80s idea of lipstick where it was with a full face and too much makeup. Nobody wants to go back to that! Minimize your makeup – young girls are getting into these really smoky eyes, and then when you put lipstick on it doesn’t look so great. If you minimize your eye makeup and switch the emphasis, and just put a little bit of eyeliner and mascara and then lipstick it looks fantastic and really chic and modern. It’s not aging or overdone at all.

KJ: You travel internationally for work. Is lipstick received the same way abroad as it is in the US?

PK: Yes I do! Mainly to London, and I also sell in Hong Kong and Australia. It’s pretty much the same everywhere. I think it’s a generational thing. In all of the markets that we sell to, there has been a fear and misunderstanding around lipstick, but I do think it’s changing. Wearing nude lipgloss over and over again can get really boring. I’m starting to see young girls around the area that I live in downtown Manhattan wearing lipstick again.

KJ: How would you suggest that women transition into wearing full color lips again?

PK: I think the nude lip trend started with shows like Melrose Place, when Heather Locklear was on it. She and Jennifer Aniston [on FRIENDS] started it as the celebrity look, and that’s when the nude lip took hold. Once you’ve gone to that extreme of always wearing a nude lip, you have to take baby steps back into color, sort of like you’re getting into a pool. Unless you are a really good swimmer, you don’t dive straight into the deep end! There are so many great sheer colors these days. I would start first with a really different color to what you are normally used to, but really sheer. Then gradually see if you can work up to more pigment.

KJ: We just came out of New York Fashion Week, and we saw a lot of red lips on the runway for fall! If girls want to try out the look, how would you suggest finding the right red?

PK: Basically, the general guideline is that the fairer you are, a more orange-red suits you, and then the deeper the skin and hair color, more pinky-red colors suit you. That seems general, but the most important thing when picking a red lipstick is to minimize the rest of your makeup. This is not supposed to look like drag! You don’t want to look like Lady Gaga – who I happen to love, but I wouldn’t suggest that look for every day.

KJ: Tell me about your Black Tie Optional lipstick and gloss. Do many people really wear black lipstick?

PK: It’s actually one of my most popular products. My black is very sheer, and it does what black stockings do to your legs to your lips. You don’t look like you’re wearing black lipstick; it just adds this beautiful smoky shadow on to your lips that brings out natural lip color by enhancing them the way that very sheer stockings enhance the shape and appearance of your legs! It’s not opaque or gothic at all. It’s designed to go underneath another product – you put it on first like black lingerie, and then you put a color on top. It really deepens the lip color in a really chic way.

KJ: What is your favorite product to wear from Lipstick Queen?

PK: It’s hard to pick. At the moment, I’m absolutely going through a phase of loving my Fifteen Minutes of Fame glosses. Today I’ve got on Number 6! My go-to, almost by reflex, is my Red Sinner Lipstick. That to me, it is as easy as putting on chapstick! I’m the opposite of most women in the world. But I’m really enjoying the pop of color from my Fame glosses, and I can’t get enough of them! I go through phases with my products – it’s almost as if they aren’t mine because I get as excited as any customer would be with them!

KJ: Finally, is there anything else that you’d like the readers to know?

PK: I would just love the readers to know that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and forms. Don’t ever let the big companies make you feel that you have to look anything other than yourself! The more you are yourself, the happier your life is. Don’t spend your life trying to live up to the ridiculous images that those companies put out. Ignore it! Enjoy their products, but ignore the imagery! I can vow I will never, ever use a standardized idea of beauty to sell my products. I use art, I use graphics, I use the intelligence that I believe women, as half of the population, have in great supply. Thank God I’m not dealing with the other half of the population, because who knows what they’re about! I really encourage you, just don’t drink the Kool-Aid.

Thanks to Poppy for sharing her story and advice!