Why Do Chicks Wear Lipstick? (WAL?)

Visual by www.PDImages.com.

Thus begins my new feature, What About Luuurve? (aka WAL?), which focuses on a subject which has fascinated me since I was but a mere Gothling: the science and biology of love. (And/or sex, I'm not that fussy.)

So, like, did y'all know that lipstick, or lip coloring, has been around for, like, forever? Well, at least since ancient Mesopotamian babes, chillin' in the Fertile Crescent (heh heh), painted their lips with henna, clay, and rust. (Ick.) Don't even ask how Cleopatra did it, 'cause that's grosser still, and my WAL? posts are s'posed to be all about the sexaaay...

Right, so: painted lips waxed and waned in popularity throughout history. Hot, then not, then a tool of Satan, then super groovy all over again. Over thousands of years, gals have been drawn to using lip color, but why?

Today's woman might say she feels confident/powerful/beautiful when she wears it and naked/vulnerable/ugly when she doesn't. OK, I'll buy that for a dollar. But what got chicks to start feeling confident/powerful/beautiful by painting their lips all them years ago?

Well...

DISCLAIMER: This next bit's where my adult content warning really comes into play.

Guess what else is happy to see ya?

Wouldja believe it's 'cause ruddy facial lips resemble a woman's labia when she's aroused, and women re-create this effect on their faces, so as to signal that they're ready for some nookie? This theory, proposed by science, is the foundation from which the other theories stem. To wit: facial lips also become engorged and redder due to the blood rushing to them when a gal's hot to trot, which is a major turn-on. As well, full, flushed lips are indicative of youth and fertility, another siren's call to sex.

You may cry foul, citing that lotsa chicks wear colors other than those in the red family, such as more neutral browns and pinks, and whatnot, or that women of color won't be flushing red. Fair enough. But you do realize that other things on a gal, which may be of a pinkish/brownish hue, also engorge with blood when she's raring to rock, right? Like, her nipples, for instance? Fact. And women of color may not go pinky-red, but the blood rushing to their naughty bits will further color those bits. Also fact. The bottom line is that the blood be rushin', indicating a chick's ready for action, which can sometimes be all the foreplay needed by a potential sex-partner.

So, you know, the next time you go shopping for lipstick, just remember what you're advertizing when you stroke that lush new shade across your lips, ladies. (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more...)

References/Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipstick
• "How Lipstick Works". Discovery Health.
• Cavanah, Claire, Rachel Venning, and Jessica Vitkus. Moregasm: Babeland's Guide to Mind-blowing Sex. New York: Avery/Melcher Media, 2010. Print.
• Wilson, Glenn D., and Chris McLaughlin. The Science of Love. London: Fusion, 2001. Print.

Edited to add additional disclaimer, above. I'd meant to do it before this post published, but forgot. My bad.