I’m not sure what it is about nipples but it seems to inspire beauty products.
While browsing at Sephora over the weekend, I randomly picked up a product called Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips.
Dr Lipp Nipple Balm for Lips – $14.50 at sephora.com
When I see the word “nipples” out in public it takes me aback. It’s not a word you see or even hear on an everyday basis. I don’t walk around talking about nipples with my girlfriends and I never heard guys talking about it when I eavesdrop their bro-versations.
Yet there it was at Sephora – NIPPLE BALM for lips. Apparently it’s made from lanolin, or wool wax, and used by nursing women for sore nipples. I’ve heard of nursing moms professing love to lanolin, but I’ve never heard it being used as a lip balm. According to Dr. Lipp’s website, since it’s safe for babies to ingest their lanolin nipple balm, it’s safe for adults to use it on their lips. Plus lanolin is extremely hydrating so it works as a great lip balm.
Even though the concept of marketing a nipple product as a beauty product is pretty weird, there’s a product that everyone loves and uses that originated as a nipple product!
Benefit Benetint – $29 at sephora.com
Did you know that Benefit’s iconic cheek stain – Benetint – was originally formulated as a nipple stain! Story goes that a stripper went into the original Benefit store, The Face Place in San Francisco’s Mission District, looking for something to make her nipples rosier. I suppose rosy nipples attract more tips, but I really don’t know.
The founders Jean and Jane Ford whipped up a “Rose tint” for the stripper and voila – it’s now part of cosmetic history!
So next time you apply your lip balm or cheek stain, think of its nipply origins.
