TRIM; Lipstick Queen: Rear View Mirror

CAMERA LONG SHOT

A shiny convertible, the chrome details beaming in the sunlight, is moving towards the camera. The landscape is hot and dry, with cacti all around. The ocean glimmers in the background. A sailboat passes in the distance.

Behind the wheel is a well dressed, rather smart looking woman. She pulls over before the traffic lights. Casually tossing her sunglasses to the side, she takes out a lipstick, glances in the rear view mirror and makes up her face, the lipstick a silver case of bright magenta. The light turns green and she zooms off, her Hermès headscarf blowing in the wind, revealing an escaped peroxide-blonde curl.

CAMERA GOES TO AERIAL VIEW AS THE CAR DRIVES OUT OF SIGHT

These vintage vibes are the inspiration for Lipstick Queen’s new lip lacquers; the Rear View Mirror line. With names like Berry Tacoma, Fast Car Coral, Drive My Mauve and Low Rider Raisin, it really paints the picture of old Hollywood glamour, driving through the hills of LA in a baby blue convertible with white mirrors. You are that girl wearing the cat-eye sunglasses and a scarf in your hair, so the loose strands don’t get stuck to your lips, glazed like a mirror. All the lacquers are high shine to remind you of the reflection in a brand new car’s paint, they offer full coverage and “they glide on like a balm and have a lightweight, non-sticky feel” (Lipstick Queen). They have a jelly texture and are infused with Vitamin E, to moisturize your lips.

I remember my own film noir moment very well, that summer night in my then boyfriend’s Mazda MX5, checking my lipstick in the mirror and feeling like I was that vintage looking moviestar in a TMC movie. I did not have the cat-eye sunglasses but Ray Ban Aviators and certainly no Hermès scarf, but I felt like a million bucks. I think I was about 15 when I realised lipstick brightens your face ánd your day. As Liz Taylor once said, “Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.” Words to live by.

The line has a colour “for every mood, occasion and outfit” (Lipstick Queen), so if you are channeling your inner Grace Kelly and you want to have a subtle eye but a pop of colour on the lips, go for Little Nude Coupe, a muted dark-pink with terracotta undertones. For full film noir glam, wear Low Rider Raisin, a seductive deep plum perfect for late nights at jazz bars, puffing on a cigarette holder and sipping whiskey.

Get the lip-lacquers at Lipstickqueen.com and get that 50’s glamour back in your life — maybe even go on a road trip wearing Drive My Mauve. Everything’s possible with a good lippie.