Here at ITG, we've been pondering the idea of silver lips for the past couple of weeks. So it was a very happy coincidence when writer Alex Ronan wrote us an email a few days ago: “Tried silver lipstick yet?” Certainly not, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't dip in a toe if recommended by the right friend. Read below for the more in depth review, and leave us a note—would you try?
Before it occurred to me to wear a silver-pleated box skirt that’s part post-marathon recovery, part alien prep school, I spent about 20 minutes wandering around the dollar store looking for something flashy and futuristic for a costume party. I almost bought a few aluminum foil containers, hoping I could bend them into some sort of top, but I ended up with a tube of silver lipstick, a roll of duct tape, and some tinsel.
My roommate, Claudia, twisted my hair into two pigtail braids in front of the mirror, and I pasted tinsel to my eyebrows. The train ran without a single delay, delivering us to the party unreasonably early. So we holed up in a booth at The Odeon, where I watched myself eat fries with silver lips in the adjacent mirror while Claudia, whose brother is a ketchup baron, quizzed the waiter on why they only carry Heinz.
The party was a wash, but the lipstick is perfection. Coming in at a meager $1.49, I figured it wouldn’t matter that I’d never wear it again. I was wrong, or at least partially wrong, I wear Nicka K’s NK Lipstick in 802 Silver all the time. And no, I’m not going to an excessive amount of costume parties. I’ve never even been to a rave. Instead, I swipe it on to get a drink on a Tuesday night at the bar where my friend slips us all free empanadas from behind the counter and makes me feel like a character on Cheers. When I’m sartorially uninspired, or—let’s be honest—haven’t done laundry in ages, a swipe of silver lipstick is a welcome distraction from a hole-ridden, wrinkled tee.
Statement lips generally feel a little too high maintenance for me; I always end up checking every reflective surface I pass to make sure they still look right. Thankfully, Nicka K's is strong enough to last a while and still creamy enough to fade into a shimmery, barely there look that’s also appealing. But that won’t happen until the night is nearly over, when all the fries have been eaten, the subway is moving at a glacial pace, and you’re trying not to fall asleep on your roommate’s shoulder.
—Alex Ronan
Alex Ronan lives and works in Brooklyn; most days you can find her writing for New York Magazine .
Photographed by Tom Newton. For more on lipstick, check out Nude Lipstick Is For Everyone.
