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Makeup Names: The Eye Raising

17 January, 2016 - 09:18pm by - First Lady | 14 Comments

By BR Amelia

You know who I reckon has a pretty awesome job? The people that get to come up with names for beauty products. There are times where I’m perusing the in real life or virtual beauty aisles and I’ll see the name of a product, say an OPI nail polish, and have a right giggle. Honestly, the names the OPI brander* comes up with – Glitzerland, Kiss Me On My Tulips, Red My Fortune Cookie - how much fun did they have working those names up? Anyway, every now and then a name pops out and, well, my eyes and my eyebrows hit the ceiling. So which eyeshadow products have reached those glorious heights?

The Balm’s Meet Matt(e) Palette – now this is just plain out quirky. A palette featuring products all named Matt-something, as in Matt Smith, Matt Chung, Matt McDonald…you get the picture. The packaging is cool, the shades wonderful, but I just don’t know if I can put a man on my lids…

Urban Decay’s Asphyxia – a truly lovely purplish lilacish shade. Yet, naming a product after a condition, which can lead to asphyxiation? I’d be too scared to try it just in case it magically lived up to its name!

Another shade of purple from Urban Decay that has me a bit worried is S&M. Much like the connotations of purple in relation to asphyxiation, the connotations of purple in relation to S&M are… well… um, it makes this prissy pants pansy go nooooo. (Great if you’re into that and all but it’s not my cup of tea. Oh, and PLEASE don’t look it up if you don’t know what it means and are of a gentler sensibility.)

Now l just have to say that MAC Naked Lunch needs to be mine. It’s the prettiest shade of pink champagne and oh how I’m sure it would turn my eyes into supermodels, however the name… well… I don’t know how it relates to eyes (and that makes me wonder, does it really need to? But I tend to think yes…). Maybe if it were just called ‘Naked’… but then they already have one of those. Ok, I’m starting to think it’s quite a good thing not being a namer of makeup, after a while you’d have to do some serious stretching for new names.

There are also a couple of names that I’m plain not sure about – do they refer to what they I think they refer to or not? Is it them? Or is it me?

MAC Smut. This is a dirtyish brown/black/charcoal colour (yeah, I’m unlikely to ever be hired as a colour describer….) and part of me thinks, yep, it’s related to soot, as in the stuff that you get in chimneys. Then part of me wondered… what if it’s related to sexy things that your Nanna would deem ‘smutty’? Is it a play on words? Or is it just chimney dirt? 

NARS Stud. The website describes this as a soft pewter bronze, so I’ve decided that it’s named after studs you might use it building, or perhaps studs you might put in your ears after getting them pierced. However, when you think about the other names NARS has chosen for certain other products you do find yourself wondering…

So tell me, have you come across any eyeshadow names that have left you a bit flummoxed or just plain out disturbed? Would you like a job as a makeup *brander or would you prefer to leave the name-making-uppering to the professionals?

*By the way, I’ve no idea if ‘brander’ is the correct term but I like it and I’m going with it.

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Comments

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3rd February, 2016

I love coming up with names for products (a few local companies ask for suggestions on social media from time to time), I actually find it easier to do that than I did naming my own children lol I love cheeky names too... a company with a good sense of humor wins it for me :D

22nd January, 2016

I never really think about the names, if the product looks good, I will buy it.

18th January, 2016

I'd really like to meet Matt....making up names must be such a fun job. The Lush names are cute....

18th January, 2016

Hehe, I love the little disclaimer for S&M! I love different names and these ones don't seem to outrageous to me, I think the nars blush range of names has desensitized Me!

18th January, 2016

I have a lipstick called "Underground", which is a beautiful blue-toned red. I also have a (limited edition?) nail polish from Essie called "Shelter Island", it's a gorgeous, bright, turquoise blue colour. In my mind, I expected the name Shelter Island to be a greenish colour.

18th January, 2016

While some names are like okay, I wouldn't have chosen that or okay, that's original. It doesn't stop me getting the shade if I really like it.

18th January, 2016

I love the quirky names companies are coming up with now... it makes me think. Also I feel we a society that can cope with the out of the ordinary. How many times can something be called "dusty rose" and the like? Dream job to be a 'brander'

18th January, 2016

Nars G Spot Multiple was my fav a few years ago - can't say if it matched the actual colour.

18th January, 2016

Lorac's Unzipped palette is impressive for the number of un-words they came up with. I like Unattainable the best - an awesome name for an eyeshadow I think.

18th January, 2016

Mac Smut and Naked Lunch and Matte nude are fun names and also represent the colours so they are fun and make sense .

17th January, 2016

I love my O.M.F.G palette but I really wished they'd named it something else it's just too easy to sound either rude or like a teenager when talking about it. And there are certain eyeshadows that I wonder what the brander was thinking while there are others that I think have got the name perfect.

17th January, 2016

I do get caught up in names. Even though I like to think thT I dont. That Urban Decay one had my toungue twisted a bit. I enjoy OPI their names are fun and I like the formula.

17th January, 2016

Haha Mac Smut actually looks like Smut! This would be a fun job coming up with names, I used to purchase products from B----- slap cosmetics and they have some (ok lots) of eyebrow raising names for their products lol

17th January, 2016

I would've thought the color S&M would've been a gorgeous deep red, looking at it's silvery loveliness I'm really disappointed, it had so much potential!! NARS Stud made me think of nose rings bulls have, no idea why, and now my mind is wandering to those lovely cowboys... bahahahahaha

Julieal
18th January, 2016

sexy !!

Rezee
18th January, 2016

It would probably make a good name for a deep red lipstick!

MareeB
18th January, 2016

Hahaha 'stud' makes think of Olivia Newton-John in Grease (tell me about it - stud!!!)

MareeB
18th January, 2016

That's true Mallomiss, it adds a bit of fun doesn't it?

mallomiss
18th January, 2016

Absolutely!

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