ABOUT OUR SHADES

We want to embrace every side of women. The good, the bad, the ugly, the amazing, the fabulous and all the unique traits that make you you. 🫶🏽

With this in mind, we are reclaiming the identity of “badly” portrayed female characters throughout history and embracing the intricacies that make them individuals.

Each lipstick shade is represented by a female character, stereotype or label whose society-given attributes can be embodied by any of us when we’re feeling a particular way.

From lightest to darkest shade, Eve is our rosy pink, First Lady is our smoked rose, Honeypot is our vibrant red, Bad Stepmom is our deep red, and Medusa is our purple-red. Click below to discover the story behind each shade and our insights into how you can embody the energy and determination of the women behind your lipstick.

We want to embrace every side of women. The good, the bad, the ugly, the amazing, the fabulous and all the unique traits that make you you. 🫶🏽

With this in mind, we are reclaiming the identity of “badly” portrayed female characters throughout history and embracing the intricacies that make them individuals.

Honeypot - deep red lipstick

Honeypot #01

LICENSED TO ENTRAP

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Discover the Story of Honeypot💋

LICENSED TO ENTRAP

Honeypots are female spies used to compromise male targets through their beauty and sexuality. Whilst honeypots can be male or female, the idea of women weaponising their beauty against men stretches across much of the portrayal of women throughout history and adds to the idea of women as manipulative, using their looks to catch or entrap the men that get in their way. Men often direct this portrayal, sexualising, controlling, and censoring womens bodies to reinforce an idealised reality of the supremely feminine woman; flawless, hairless, and subservient. The limited view cast by the male gaze demonises the women who do not fit into the perfect parameters set up by not-so-perfect men, condemning them as evil, dangerous, and, my personal favourite, bossy. In the spirit of embracing the labels society casts, our take on the female james bond is a deadly red, sharp and ready to pounce. Wear honeypot when you want to charm, seduce, and destroy, with the knowledge that whether you embrace it or not, youll be villanised anyway.

First Lady - dusty pink lipstick

First Lady #02

BEAUTY WEAPONISED

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Discover the Story of First Lady 👠

BEAUTY WEAPONISED

Iconic First Ladies past and present include Jackie Kennedy with blood smeared over her pink pillbox suit, Hillary Clinton supporting her impeached husband, Michelle Obama inspiring a generation with her platform and campaigns, Brigitte Macron owning her style and age next to her younger husband, and the short tenure of Eva Peron, Argentina’s First Lady, who played an instrumental role in women’s suffrage and improving the lives of the working class. 

The opinions and uniqueness that make these women themselves are often hidden behind a careful screen of policy and facade designed to promote their husbands’ agendas, but what of these powerful women’s capabilities? First Ladies are expected to diminish themselves next to their husbands whilst capitalizing on their beauty and grace to make an impact.

Must we wait for their husbands to leave office to see their true strengths shine? Can a woman in such a tenuous position learn to make the most of it? Thanks to the beautiful complexity of human nature, there is no one answer here, however, we at Censored believe in the right of the woman to make her situation work for her, embracing and releasing whatever serves her.

In that spirit, our First Lady lipstick is a bold take on the sophisticated shades we see women in power wearing. Wear First Lady on your job interview, first date, graduation day, and any day you want to embody the spirit of the powerful women before you.

Bad Stepmom #03

COMING FOR YOUR INHERITANCE

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Discover the Story of Bad Stepmom🥀

COMING FOR YOUR INHERITANCE

Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the baddest of them all? From Snow White to Cinderella, wicked stepmothers run amock in fairytale land, cursing their stepchildren in a bid to become the fairest, wealthiest or most powerful members of the family.

Let’s be honest, though, stepmoms get a bad rep as the female figure entering a family, usually destroying something in the process, whose central role appears to be mistreating and alienating the children of the family. Finding a partner is hard enough, and kids can be pretty annoying, so who can blame these ladies for not wanting snivelling schemers around their newly wedded bliss? Evidently, several generations of bedtime story readers and Disney watchers, cementing the role of bad stepmoms in society as gold-digging, power-hungry women whose dominance over their husbands and disregard for their stepchildren comes only second to their vindictive, evil, and vain natures.

Our shade, Bad Stepmom, is a gorgeously deep red, daring yet nonchalant, best worn for the days you set out to grab a little slice of the pie and dominate this cruel world.

Eve - nude pink lipstick

Eve #04

ORIGINAL SIN

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Discover the Story of Eve 🌸

ORIGINAL SIN

The Biblical story goes that Eve, tempted by Satan in snake-form, ate an apple from the forbidden tree of knowledge (of good and evil) and then offered it to her partner, Adam, whose consumption of the fruit brought about the fall of man from the heavenly Garden of Eden to this planet. Eve, the first lady in existence, damned women for eternity by plucking an apple from a tree, forever tying negative connotations associated with snakes to women.

Michelangelo, depicting this scene inside the Sistine Chapel, chose to portray the snake that tempted Eve as half female and half-snake, an artistic expression that followed women through the subsequent years. Taylor Swift, facing an onslaught of snake emojis plastered over social media following her public argument with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, reclaimed the snake identity throughout her Reputation album and embraced the label used to condemn her.

In this spirit, we have used Eve as one of our shades, a rosy pink that reimagines the meaning of the word Eve as the original mother, wife, and woman, and all that is encapsulated within that. Our carvings draw upon the snakes and roses in the Garden of Eden, reclaiming the infinite possibilities one woman can be, deceptive yet soft, smart yet sharp, evil yet elegant.

Medusa - dark plum lipstick

Medusa #05

IT'S IN THE EYES CHICO

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Discover the Story of Medusa 🐍

IT'S IN THE EYES CHICO

Medusa is known as the defiant, evil monster with the power to turn men to stone. Her portrayal as a snake-haired gorgon has been depicted in art, literature and cinema, immortalising her status as a mythological villain. While all accounts describe her as one of the three gargon sisters, Ovid wrote that Medusa was once a mortal serving as priestess to Athena but, after being raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple, Athena cursed her, transforming her curls to snakes. She was later killed by the son of her rapist, Perseus, who used the power of her hair to battle before relinquishing it to Athena to use the weapon she had created at the expense of Medusa.

The story of Medusa can be interpreted as a cautionary tale of monsters, a sad history of the demonisation of women, or, our personal favourite, a redefinition of Medusa as a strong woman who, despite struggle and strife, became a powerful lady who fought till her end.

The dark purple-red shade is a powerful statement for the days you need a little bit of her strength or want to embody her determination. Besides, isn’t the idea of turning someone to stone fabulous some days?

Hey there, lovely! Your presence here tells us that you're enjoying our writing and fantastic content. 😆 But hold on, there's more! Head over to our blog page for a delightful dose of fascinating reads. Don't miss out!👋🏼

Hey there, lovely! Your presence here tells us that you're enjoying our writing and fantastic content. 😆 But hold on, there's more! Head over to our blog page for a delightful dose of fascinating reads. Don't miss out!👋🏼