Lipstick: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Cosmetic (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "What is lipstick anyway?..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The book for every woman who can't leave home without her lipstick.

What is it about lipstick? It appears on the counters of drug and department stores with the come-hither wink of candy and chocolate. There's something about the way it looks and feels. There's a ritual to putting it on. It's like a drug. An instant fix for sex appeal and glamour. It's a bite-sized magic wand.

From the Publisher

What is it about lipstick? It appears on the counters of drug and department stores with the come-hither wink of candy and chocolate. There's something about the way it looks and feels. There's a ritual to putting it on. It's like a drug. An instant fix for sex appeal and glamour. It's a bite-sized magic wand.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (December 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312199147
• ISBN-13: 978-0312199142
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #802,444 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, informative., September 4, 2000

By A Customer

I enjoyed this book very much. I'm 83 years old, so have had very much experience with lipstick. My favorite part was the historical reminiscences from women my age and somewhat younger who talked about things I remeber, such as Tangee and being suspect if you did not wear your lipstick to the office. It was a very informative book, and funny, and I am surprised that I enjoyed a book on the subject, which I thought at first to be an unusual choice for a book. I will tell my friends about it.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adorable. I loved it., April 5, 1999

By A Customer

Although I originally bought this book for myself because I'm so in to lipstick, it's taken some interesting turns of ownership in my family. My husband became really intrigued with it. Then his male friends started reading it, as if they were being let in on female secrets. They say its the humor, though, which isn't just written for women. So now the book belongs more to the guys than to me and my daughter, who, as a teenager, also got a kick out of it. Every now and then all of us pick it up and look through it and laugh. You just never know when you buy a book, but this time we all got to have lots of laughs and fun. And by the way, don't fool yourself if you think its just one big giggle. This book must have been researched intensely. There's some amazing historical information in the book. I recommend it to Amazon readers.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your ordinary makeup book!!, April 2, 2003

By	Jennifer Ortiz "jenortiz" (Morristown, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was really surprised at how witty and informative this book was. I just loved reading about the evolution of makeup through the ages. I am so glad we have it so easy. Our toughest choices are to decide what brand of lipstick to buy and what color to wear. Just thinking about those poor women in the middle ages that used everything from pig brain and wolf blood as skincare potions. If I had to crush ant eggs as kohl for eyeliner like the Egyptians did, I'd just wear a paper bag over my head.

The history lesson isn't the only interesting part of this book. There is also the section on "Lipstick Freud," which tries to analyze what your lipstick says about you. Who would have thought lipstick would be so deep?

The section about dealing with pushy and "evil" makeup salespeople is definitely a valuable tool. I can't count how many times I was bullied into buying a cosmetic that I wasn't quite sure about.

If you love lipstick, get this book. If you love a good history lesson, get this book. In other words, it is worth the money. I am glad I took the chance!