Women can't get enough of lipstick. But before you think this has to do with just the color, taste and smell, turns out that choosing the right name for the shade also plays a major role.



This discovery was made by Professor Debra Merskin, who categorized the names of 1,722 lipsticks for a paper titled, "Truly Toffee and Raisin Hell: A Textual Analysis of Lipstick Names," in which she organized popular lipstick names based on certain categories:

•     Food: 24%
•     
Color: 20%

•     Sex and Romance: 10%
•     Elements and Minerals: 9%

•     Emotions and Characteristics: 8%

•     Other: 8%

•     People and Names: 5%
•     Flowers: 5%

•     Places: 4%

•     Objects: 3%

•     Darkside: 2%

•     Arts and Media: 1%
•     
Birds and Animals: 1%

•     Times and Seasons: <1%

The study showed that food related shades were most popular while variants named after birds and animals were least sought-after (chicken lips anyone?). It would appear that our obsession with lipstick is more than just for adding a little color to your face.

Based on these findings, Merskin concluded that "When women ‘put on a face,' or ‘put on war paint,' they are not only acting in line with social prescriptions of feminine beauty, but are also involved in a system of meaning that helps them to navigate the sea of changing conditions that are a part of postmodern social experience."

via Daily Mail