A Q & A With Poppy King, Lipstick Queen

By Sheila

Here at Painted Ladies, we’ve been so fortunate to be able to speak to so many beauty industry luminaries, and Poppy King is most certainly one of those stars.

The creator of the Lipstick Queen brand of lip products, Poppy has had such an amazing career, and most impressively is the fact that she’s done all of it based on her passion for her product.

What I really love about Poppy is that she dedicated certain products to charities — a portion of proceeds from her book, “Lessons of a Lipstick Queen” goes to K.I.D.S. – Kids in Distressed Situations, and 100% of proceeds from the Fired Up Power Gloss benefits Count Me In, a charity dedicated to women in need.

I’ve long been a fan of Poppy, and was thrilled when she agreed to answer a few question, including a couple from our readers! Thank you so very much, Poppy!

Painted Ladies: Poppy – we have many fans of your collection on our blog. I asked the readers if they would have any questions for you, and here is one of them: of all the lip products you carry, which are your favorites?

Poppy King: It is hard for me to pick a favorite because I design and love them all but my go-to every day most signature color is Red Sinner [Shine Hard-Core Gloss].

PL: Here is a second reader question: With all the concerns about parabens in products, do you have any plans to add a “green” line?

PK: My lipsticks are as “green” as they can be whilst still being safe to use. Parabens in lip products are very important to stop them being riddled with bacteria that would be extremely harmful. So I only have super low levels just to protect the product and all the other ingredients are very natural like shea butter and vitamin E etc.

PL: Even though I think you’ve covered pretty much every texture and color, do you have any plans to further expand your product range?

PK: You bet! I have some amazing new lip colors and products coming. Think Willy Wonka but with lips. That is me!

PL: For our readers who want to try red lips, but are a bit nervous about it, do you have a recommendation for products/colors they can try?

PK: They should start with Medieval which is the perfect sheer red for those nervous of red. The other suggestion would be to try wearing Red or Rouge Sinner but with very little eye make up instead of their normal eye make up. It makes the whole red lips look much less overdone or scary for the newcomer.

PL: Do you have any words of advice for makeup artists or makeup lovers who have dreams of having their own makeup line?

PK: Speak your truth. If you have something authentic that you want to bring to the market, customers are always interested in the passionate and the authentic. (And read my book Lessons of A Lipstick Queen; it is written to help anyone get started!)

To find out more about Lipstick Queen products, please visit Poppy’s fantastic website, www.lipstickqueen.com!