Are you a Lipstick Queen?

Gloss & Glamour!

Poppy King is considered the authority on lipstick and is the creator of the cosmetics brand Lipstick Queen!  For more than 20 years, the Australian native has been developing and re-developing lipsticks with incredible textures and shades.  Ladies who’ve tried a tube of Lipstick Queen once rarely stray to any other brand, because they know what high quality lip color they’re getting. With the feel of a lip balm and the pigment of a lipstick, Poppy’s products have made quite a name for themselves.   In honor of Lips Week on Beauty High, see what the founder of Lipstick Queen, Poppy King, shared about the making of her line and her favorite tricks for lips!

How do you begin the process of creating a new lipstick color and/0r texture with each new collection?   I get inspired by recreating a mood, a feeling, or a finish. For example, Butterfly Ball — a formula of mine — was developed because I wanted to recreate the effect of a butterfly wing on the lips. And then Silver Screen, my latest creation, was inspired by the reflective quality of the actual silver screen that the movies were projected on that was so flattering on the women immortalized on the silver screen.

Do you go based on trends, customer feedback, or both?  I go based on what I think will capture the customer’s imagination and increase her sense of possibility for herself. It’s not about trends for me; it’s about opening up possibilities.

For someone who wants to try lipstick but is nervous, what’s a good gateway lipstick?   Look for sheer but bright lipsticks, because then your natural lip color will show through but you get that satisfying pop of color without it being a full commitment. If you want to go with more a statement lipstick and haven’t before, then minimize your eye makeup and the lipstick will be less intimidating without too much other makeup. It won’t feel overdone.

What’s your best advice for a girl who wants to try out a bold color like bright purple?  Very simple eye makeup, a little black liner, great mascara and a neutral eye shadow. Let the lipstick shade be the statement color and surround it with simple classics elsewhere in your makeup.

Any tips on getting the lipstick to stay put longer? Apply one coat, blot with a tissue to set and then apply another lighter coat of the lipstick on top.

What’s your best guess as to how many lipsticks are in your personal collection?  Hmm…one could say thousands as I feel like every single lipstick that comes off the production line for LQ is my personal collection, as I have the wonderful job of creating them!

What’s the best compliment you ever received while wearing lipstick?   When a woman simply smiles at me on the street, I know she is smiling because she loves my red lipstick!

Can you give us any hints about what’s next for the Lipstick Queen brand in terms of products?     I have some shades and textures coming that are like nothing seen on the market before. Following the enormous success of Hello Sailor (my sheer blue that gives your lips a sexy berry look) I have continued now to design some amazing lipsticks that look unusual in the tube and have these magical effects on the lips!