I’m Obsessed With Make-Up

So… I put on make-up everyday, and I’m obsessed with them. Make-up is just so much fun and there are so many colors. It makes you look different and exuberant different vibes with different make-ups. And one my one little addictive hobbies, is to collect lipsticks. I don’t usually wear lipsticks normally, because I look too dressy when I wear them. Still, lipsticks are one of the most fun cosmetics products and their packaging is usually really pretty. My favorite lipsticks are from YSL(Yves Saint Laurent). They are really smooth and stay on all day. They have absolutely stunning colors and smell so good. My favorite shade is, hands down, mysterious red. I wear it when I’m really dressed up, and it’s the prettiest red I have ever seen. 

Also, I recommend the NARS matte color lip pencils; stay all-day and so easy to use! Before I turn this post into a make-up tutorial, let me talk about some chemistry about lipsticks.

Historically, ancient people color their lips with different things. In ancient china, people use pigmented paper extracted in plants and flowers to color their lips. The ancient Egyptians are known to use henna to paint lips, whereas there is another recipe that shows the lip paint is composed of focus-algin, 0.01% iodine and bromine mannite. This is toxic! Maybe that is why make-up is considered to be evil in the ancient times.

Lipsticks nowadays are made of wax, oils, pigments and emollients. Wax is pretty important in the composition in lipsticks and is mainly responsible for the smooth “glide on” touch. Also, of course, the shape of the tube. Beeswax is commonly used in lipsticks. It is made of esters of straight-chain monohydric alcohols with even-numbered carbon chains from C₂₄ to C₃₆, along with straight-chain acids with even numbers of carbon atoms up to C_36. Hence, this is a very stable structure, preventing the lip-color to decompose easily. Moreover, oil is essential as well. Olive oil, mineral oil, caster oil and cocoa butter are often used. Oil makes the lipstick thick and sticky to keep the color cling to the lips. The combination of oil and wax keeps the lipstick to wear off when drinking water or licking her(maybe his ;)) lips.

In addition, the pigments (dyes) of the lipstick have to be special to stick to the lips for a long time. Because dyes are soluble, they have to be “laked” first, meaning converting the soluble substances to insoluble ones by treatment with metal oxides. Eosin is a popular substance to be used. When it is in contact with skin, the NH₂ groups on it reacts with the surface and becomes a deeper red.

Lipsticks are awesome and definitely one of the greatest inventions. But I probably wouldn’t wear them if they were toxic like ancient times!