December 13, 2007

Lipstick Queen

Last night I attended a shopping event at Space NK, a British "apothecary" that recently opened it's first US outpost in SoHo. The space is wonderfully spare and the product selection tightly curated, which makes for a decidedly more relaxed and focused shopping experience unlike the harried beauty departments at Henri Bendel or Saks.


Anyway, I wasn't there for the free champagne or chocolates, my real purpose was to check out Lipstick Queen. I first read about the line's creator, Poppy King, when she was profiled in The New York Times Magazine last year (read the article here), and I was taken with how she described her fascination with the glamour, both real and symbolic, of wearing lipstick. Not only are the lipsticks wonderful (her reds truly are wearable), but the package design is gorgeous. I love the Arts & Crafts inspired packaging for the Sinner and Saint lipsticks and the Beardsley-esque backings for the Oxymoron glosses. Given the current minimalist and clinical look of most luxury cosmetic lines, it's refreshing to see a brand that has unabashedly decorative and saucy packaging - definitely a standout in the beauty department.

(Photos top to bottom: www.spacenk.com; www.lipstickqueen.com)