by L. Merlino

Created on: September 29, 2008

Red lipstick is the only lipstick shade to be taken seriously. Pinks may be flirtatious and other tones have their merits, but red gives the most definition and can be adapted to any occasion that calls for extra attitude.

Like many teenagers in the '60s I'd worn deathly pale lipstick colors till discovering that only bright red lips were truly "to die for." From that point on, I decided that red was the only lipstick shade to be taken seriously.

My initiation into the cult of fire engine red lips came in 1969 when I was first impressed by the store mannequins on display in the window of Henri Bendel, an upscale boutique. Dressed in fabulous, slinky matte jersey dresses by fashion designer Steven Burrows, the look was utterly divine, beyond the "baby doll" statements that Mary Quant and Biba had previously dreamed up. It was the beginning of the "hippie chic" and disco era, with a whole lot of extra glamour thrown in.

The actual fire engine red lip color had not made it to contemporary makeup counters yet. Even Henri Bendel had not yet stocked it and cosmetic companies were still producing pastel and nude shades. You might say that Steven Burrows was way ahead of his time. I was on a quest to get my own tube of killer red!

All of Steven's models wore the bold red lip signature and I intended to duplicate that high-attitude look. At the time, I was a junior at the "High School of Art and Design," down the street from Henri Bendel. As luck would have it, Steven's top model Pat Cleveland was a senior at the same high school and I got an inside tip.

I ventured forth to Delancey Street where a little-known cosmetic shop sold vintage lipsticks from the 1940's. Bette Davis herself would have been proud. Of course, many of those original lip cosmetics were way past their expiration dates, but that's besides the point. I was in red lipstick heaven!

Next, I had to learn how to apply the bold red lip-color to obtain the perfect cupid bow lips. I must have spent about an hour perfecting the technique. A lipstick brush came in handy.

After outlining and defining the desired pout with dark red lip-liner, I applied the lipstick, filling in the lip area with careful brush strokes. I blotted, and then, as a finishing touch, applied a bit of clear lip gloss to the surface. The effect was highly polished and screamed, "Mannequin with attitude!"

Not long after, I signed up with a modeling agency and landed the good fortune to model for Henri Bendel myself, privileged to join the ranks of "Steven's girls."

Steven Burrows was among the first Black American fashion designers, and his models came in all different complexion tones and hair colors. One "uniform" condition of modeling for him was the wearing of fire engine red lip color and nail polish. His models ranged from porcelain complexion to ebony. Some were blonde, some were flaming redheads or brunettes. All, including Grace Jones, Naomi Simms, Elsa Peretti, Pat Ast (one of the first 'plus-sized' models), Jerry Hall, moi and Pat Cleveland had attitude and all wore red lips very well - you see, red lipstick can work very well on all skin tones, with any hair color - my own was coppery red. There was a cheer we used to applaud the desired runway effect - it was, "Vous ette!" roughly translating to "You're it!" ... or quite simply, "You are divine."

Since then, many lipstick colors have gone in and out of style, but red lipstick has always remained a classic; one that even at 50-something I return to again and again whenever I desire to deliver that extra attitude - or "divine."

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