Lipstick no longer an essential accessory

Visakhapatnam: A lipstick that adds to the glam quotient of a woman is now being masked. For a majority of women, it has been almost six months since lipsticks took a prominent place in the wardrobe.

With the coronavirus cases showing no let-up and a mask becoming an essential accessory, many are shunning lip colours and embracing eye make-up instead.

The glossy lip colours, matte lipsticks and lip-gloss are now being replaced with dark coloured mascaras, tinted eyeliners, nude eye shadow palette, shimmers and of course, the long-lasting 'kajal' without which the eye makeup could never be complete.

As eye make-up takes precedence over lipstick, a prized possession of most women, the lip shades are no longer a mandatory accessory in the vanity bag. Except for a virtual board meeting or a few online sessions, lipsticks are rarely being used by the working women these days. "It is not a great idea to apply a lipstick and then veil it.

Even if matte shades are applied, it does smudge and the masks get messy. Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, I stopped investing in lip colours and switched over to accentuating my eyes with the right application of make-up," says M Aarthi, who is working in a multinational firm.

With a majority of women shunning lipsticks, there is an apparent dip in the sale of lipsticks in cosmetics stores and e-commerce platforms. "Women hardly buy lipsticks these days. From April to September, there is a 30 to 35 per cent drop in the lipstick business," says G Srinivas, who operates a cosmetics and accessories store.

Though the sale of lipsticks has declined in the recent months, cosmetics outlet operators see a spike in other beauty care and skincare products. "There is a growing demand for face moisturisers, face packs, lotions, pedicure and manicure products along with the eye make-up products compared to the pre-Covid times," observes K Anand, CEO of Something Different, gifts and fashion accessories store.

Nykaa, a retailer of beauty and fashion products, had earlier shared that eye shadow occupied the top-three category during the lockdown period from the top five slot. Similarly, e-commerce sites too registered an obvious dip in the sale of lipsticks in the past five to six months.