Tag: color names

Make up should make you feel good. Make up should make you look good. But above all else, make up should be FUN. And when someone asks you what lipstick color are you wearing, isn’t it more fun to say, “Seduction” instead of “Pink Mauve”?

Sometimes people have issues with our names. I’ve had customers take offense to our eye liner name Smoking Gun. The name has nothing to do with a weapon. Smoking Gun refers to evidence that is highly suggestive in favor of a particular hypothesis. There are also customers who won’t buy our Orange Mimosa or Strawberry Champagne lip balms because their names have alcohol connotations. And I once had a very angry lady call me complaining that the Brown Sugar eye liner she purchased did not match the brown sugar she had in her cupboard.

But how do we come up with those crazy color names? Is there a formula to it, a science? Nope, it’s nothing like that. Sometimes it’s as simple as looking at a color and calling it what it looks like. The shade Chrome in the Rock the Smokey Eye Shadow Palette just looks like chrome. Sometimes we will post the color on our Facebook page and ask customers what they would name it. Other times we all sit around and look at the color and make a list of names we think we should call it, and then pick the best name from that list. Sometimes I’ll be driving to work and think “Hmm…Bombshell would be a cool name for a lipstick.” And then there are times when the names we come up with have a story behind them. Some of the stories are happy, some are melancholy, but I think the coolest names are the ones that have a meaning. I’ll share a few.

San Francisco – I’m not a city person. But if I was ever going to live in a city, it would be San Francisco. I just love it there.

Camelot – I think my dad secretly wanted to be a performer. I remember him bouncing around the house when I was little, singing “Light My Fire” by the Doors at the top of his lungs. But one of my favorite memories of him is when he would act out and sing songs from the musical Camelot. He acted so serious, like he was Richard Burton himself up on a NY stage. Used to make me laugh and that’s how I want to remember him.

Valentine – This is a family name on mom’s side. It makes me think of my mom, my grandmother and how much I miss them. Also I just missed being born on Valentine’s Day by 4 hours.

Fairy Dust – Okay, there’s a part in the movie “The Bird Cage” where Nathan Lane is rehearsing for his show. He’s supposed to be a getting a perfect mythical creature to come to life, so he waves his hand, motioning like he’s sprinkling something and says “fairy dust, fairy dust, fairy dust…” You’d have to see the movie – it’s a funny scene and one of my favorite movies of all time.

Mocha Latte – my favorite coffee drink and one my close friends tease me about (because I get it decaf, non-fat, no foam, no whip, one pump…..)

Sunset Strip – Named after the famous street in Hollywood. Kinda straight forward, but I love Hollywood (also the name of one of our lip gloss shades)

Charisma – A song by the band KISS

Vanilla Pie – This is an actual pie that a family member used to make. I swear it was pure sugar, but tasted heavenly.

Orange Mimosa – The first time I was in the Napa Valley region of California, I took a hot air balloon ride. It was magical. When that was over, there was a breakfast buffet prepared for us. It was the first time I was introduced to the drink orange mimosa, and I was in love!

PS Pink – PS does not stand for Post Script in this case…we won’t say what it stands for LOL

Falon – Named after my precious kitten who sadly passed away last year. She came to us in very bad shape (she was missing an eye) but we nursed her back to health and she was a sweetheart who was full of life. Her handicap never kept her down. Sadly she had feline leukemia which cut her vibrant life very short. We only had her for three years, but I’ll never forget how special she was.

Abyss – Our little kitten Falon was black as night, and we believe she was part Abyssinian.

Kashmir – Named in honor of a friend’s beloved cat who also passed away last year. She was named after a Led Zeppelin song.

Innuendo – a line in a song by Guns & Roses