Alongside fashion, the beauty industry is the biggest proof of the concept “sex sells.” After all, while beauty is about self-expression, how much of the daily rituals of cleansing, exfoliating, moisturizing, and painting go towards making ourselves feel more attractive to others?
The lipstick has been at the forefront of beauty’s sexual awakening. A phallic object in form, often pictured being pressed up against a voluptuous female mouth, the erotic implications are very clear. However, the product’s shape also has more critical connotations. As Jessica DeFino writes in The Unpublishable: “For as long as lipstick has existed in bullet form, it’s existed as a symbol of both patriarchal violence (and thus, indirectly, the penis) and the penis.”
In spite of this insight (undoubtedly overlooked by most consumers), shoppers are still hungry for not only bullet lipsticks but products that make direct odes to the male form. Within four days of launching, the inaugural LIPS collection (consisting of a cardinal red and blackened balm shade housed in a metal penis case, priced at $95 a pop) by ISAMAYA sold out. The brand recently extended the range with a fuchsia pink shade. The brand’s debut collection, Industrial, borrowed from the worlds of BDSM subculture to inform its packaging and shades, with Prince Albert–like piercings on packaging components and hues such as the antique gold Fetish. “I can't help but put ideas of empowerment, my own female empowerment, into the work that I do. Hopefully that translates to everybody,” the brand's founder Isamaya Ffrench told BeautyMatter. In a male-dominated world, pulling a penis-shaped lipstick out of one’s pocket can be seen as a bold act of subversion: that which is usually glorified has now been objectified, but on the product owner’s terms. Furthermore, as Lauren Cochrane points out, women and queer men are the biggest drivers of these sexual aesthetics, emphasizing that phallic products are not patriarchy personified, as one might first assume.
Looking beyond lipstick, NSFW products have built booming business empires. NARS’ blush in the shade Orgasm, which launched in 1999, meant to emulate the post-coital glow with a shimmery peach shade, has been a bestseller in its own right for decades. It is touted as the #1 blush sold in the UK, and one Orgasm blush is sold every 20 seconds. The product also spawned an entire diffusion line of eyeshadows, lipsticks, and glosses. In 2019, Too Faced and Erika Jayne collaborated on a makeup collection including a DSL (short for “Dick Sucking Lips”) colorway. The brand also counts the Better than Sex mascara among its bestselling products—one tube is sold every 7 seconds. Urban Decay has a blue-based red lipstick shade in its Vice range named 69 after the infamous sexual position. Etat Libre d’Orange’s buzzworthy scent Secretions Magnifiques (which translates to Magnificent Secretions), launched in 2006, takes blood, sweat, and sperm as its olfactory inspirations. Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry and Bitter Peach fragrances ($390 for 50ml), despite their names derived from virginity- and anilingus-focused terminology, continue to remain popular perfumes. Lush has a Sex bath bomb in its lineup with jasmine, ylang-ylang, and clary sage essential oils to “have you relaxed and feeling in the mood” and released eggplant-shaped bath bombs for the last Valentine’s Day collection. Jeffree Star Cosmetics has released items such as Fuck Proof mascara and a nude-tone Orgy eyeshadow palette.
More conversations around sexual liberation and health, driven by an increasing fusion of the worlds of sex, wellness, and beauty, equates to an emerging opportunity. National retailers like Sephora, Walmart, and Target are now selling vibrators and lube to shoppers who no longer feel they have to meekly pick up a product in a sex store and greet the salesperson at checkout under hushed breath. Sexual wellness brands are creating cross-category items. Ole Henriksen partnered with sexual wellness brand Smile Makers on a bodycare collection. Lelo collaborated with Diesel on limited-edition versions of two of its vibrators, shaded in Diesel’s trademark red and branded with the fashion brand’s logo. Celebrity endorsement of sexual wellness brands is also furthering the acceptance of pleasure principles: Dakota Johnson became an investor in Maude, Lily Allen a brand ambassador for Womanizer, and Christina Aguilera recently joined Playground as co-founder.
However, NSFW products are not a one-size-fits-all approach, nor is it for every brand. A more mature Hourglass or Chanel shopper might perhaps not feel the same way if either brand released a sexual color cosmetics product. ISAMAYA, NARS, Urban Decay, and Too Faced have all been brands that have pushed the boundaries with provocative product ideas and shade names from day one, and their consumer audience has come to expect less-than-shy creations from them. Beyond the bold product names and concepts, all brands have created flattering shades and finishes, showing that the proverbial bark is louder than the actual bite. Furthermore, striking the balance between provocative and crude can be a fine line.
When Too Faced released a Glow Job peel-off glitter face mask for its 20th anniversary, some online audiences believed the product name was taking things one step too far. A selection of interviewees for a Stylist article deemed sexual product names as “out of touch,” inviting the “uncomfortable connection that wearing make-up invites inherent sexualisation,” and in most cases being more off-putting than alluring when it comes to purchasing products.
Then again, is there no such thing as bad publicity? In the oversaturated beauty market, perhaps some entrepreneurs believe it is better to have your product talked about in the realm of controversy than not be talked about at all—better to stand out to some (even if for the “wrong” reasons) than being forgotten by all. However, shock value alone does not guarantee more than a flash in the pan. ISAMAYA’s LIPS products and Industrial collection showcase intense pigmentation and unique colorways, Better Than Sex mascara boasts long wear and a collagen-infused formula that boosts lashes, Orgasm is a universal shade adding a flattering flush to the skin. As the bestseller status of the aforementioned products show, being sexually bold may come with its marketing risks, but if maneuvered correctly and with the formulas to back them up, the end result is pleasurable all around.
