Last month I wrote a post on The Sexiest Cosmetics on my Vanity. I honestly wasn’t surprised by how many products on my dressing table were labeled using sexual innuendos. In the article I discussed here, Merskin (2007) found that advertising in the beauty industry often uses product variant names inspired by sex and romance. However, she also notes that, more often than not, they use product names inspired by food and beverages to appeal to the “essential components of human survival and desire.”
This is really interesting. Sure, sex probably sells products that are marketed to both men and women, but why use decadent desserts and beverages to market products specifically designed for women. I find this particularly intriguing, because I’m not sure that this approach would be effective for men.
Why?
I think the most obvious reason is related to body image issues. Women are constantly bombarded with television and magazine ads featuring the latest fad diets or exercise routines. In terms of body size, the most popular fashion designers seem to ascribe to the idea that less is more. Given this, it is actually pretty brilliant (and maybe a little twisted) that advertisers would use high calorie foods to market cosmetics to women…
With respect to naming products after food and beverages Merskin (2007) writes:
“This suggests that cosmetics companies and advertisers optimize women’s emotional connections with food, particularly desserts and rich beverages, through lipstick in two ways: (1) by symbolically consuming the forbidden fruit and (2) by transforming oneself into the consumable…”
Further….she states that “Rather than directly applying her dessert to her hips (an old saying) a woman can instead “apply” the dessert to her lips.”
Merskin’s (2007) study only examined the product names of lipsticks. In the spirit of Valentines Day and all things sweet ❤ I decided to do a quick inventory of the sweetest cosmetics on my dressing table!
See below a list of some of my favorite dessert inspired products:
Too Faced – Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer
This is my all time favorite bronzer! I usually use this for contouring, it is very matte and bendable. The best part is that it smells like chocolate!
Too Faced Cosmetics are actually pretty on-point when it comes to this marketing strategy. I don’t personally own any of these other products, but I am a little impressed by their creativity here…
I mean, who could resist Chocolate Bon Bons, White Chocolate Chips, (Milk) Chocolate Bars, or Melted Chocolate…and if chocolate isn’t your thing, there is always Sweet Hearts or Sweet Peach!
Buxom – Eye Shadow Bar
I’ve already raved about these eye shadows, but they are definitely at the top of my favorites list. For the sweetest list, the winner here goes to:
*Champagne Buzz*
Laura Geller – Baked Gelato Swirl
Mmmm. I love Gelato! I also love this highlighter. My favorite is Gilded Honey!
Anastasia Glow Kits
I’ll be honest, these aren’t my favorite highlighters. I only have the Gleam Kit, pictured on the left. They are great quality, I just don’t love these colors on my skin tone. The names are great:
Hard Candy
Mimosa
Starburst
Anastasia more recently released a Sweets Kit, pictured to the right. Check out these fabulous colors:
Marshmallow
Sassy Grape
Taffy
Butterscotch
Now onto
Lip Sticks!
(There are so many…)
Sugar makes some of the most amazing tinted chap sticks. These are definitely a staple on my dressing table in the winter months.
Right now I am loving the colors “Rose” & “Honey“
On the top left, Bobbi Brown’s “Chocolate” has been a winter favorite of mine, lately I’ve been pairing this with Clinique’s “Black Honey” gloss!
The bottom two lipsticks here are by Bite Beauty, and they definitely take the cake for the sweetest lipstick, and possibly cosmetic brand…they at least come in at a close tie with Too Faced.
The lipstick pictured on the bottom left is
Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick; in this product I have tried “Kimchi.”
As I was looking at their website, I noticed that every color they have created is named after a food or beverage!
Here are some of the sweetest colors I found:
Lavender Jam
Sugar Cane
Soufflé
Meringue
Honeycomb
Chai
Cotton Candy
Sorbet
Black Truffle
On the bottom left, you will see Bite Beauty Multi Stick in “Macaroon.”
There are so many other great names, here are some of the sweetest and most decadent lipsticks I saw from this brand:
Gelato
Biscotti
Mochi
Cococa
Crème Carmel
I am honestly not sure how much this marketing strategy has influenced my purchase history, but the inventory on my dressing table seems to suggest that it has had some influence. This is just a little food for thought…I always enjoying trying to pull research down from the ivory tower and look at how it applies to my every day life.
That said, I hope you all have the sweetest day today! Whether you’re getting all dolled up for a Valentines Day date with your favorite Black Truffle lipstick or simply enjoying Chocolate Bon Bons and Champagne with your girlfriends-
Don’t forget to treat yourself well!
Until next time,
xoxo
Marie
Strip Teas(e) 