Regular Dudes Designed a Lipstick, and This is What it Looks Like

 

I don’t wear bold lipstick often, but when I do happen to slick on a coat of Ruby Woo or a similar color, my husband usually grimaces and says something to the effect of, “Why is it so bright?”

 

Yet studies show that men are drawn to a crimson mouth. One experiment in France even found that male customers tipped their waitress better if she was wearing red lipstick. 

 

So maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised that the ultimate lipstick shade as imagined by 11 regular straight dudes is not just a red, but a vibrant orange-toned version that’s about as far away from no-makeup makeup as it gets.

 

The shade I speak of is Uslu Airlines’ TOR, named after an up-and-coming street called Torstrasse in the cult beauty brand’s native Berlin. The company recruited 11 straight men, all of whom live or work on Torstrasse, to dream up the hue. 

 

The lipstick designers. Photo courtesy of Uslu Airlines

 

For two years, TOR has only been sold in stores lining its eponymous thoroughfare — everywhere from pizza joints to laundromats — but nowhere else in the world. Beauty obsessives made pilgrimages to the street to get their hands on the coveted color, and it became one of the brand’s bestsellers. Now the shade is being released worldwide, no passport necessary, and just in time for (what else?) Valentine’s Day. It launches later this month at beautyhabit.com, and my husband will have to just learn to like it, because I definitely do. 

 

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