Even if you have spent your entire lives in a cave in the Himalayas, only to return to civilisation now, there are still chances that you have seen the iconic/ally copied/tributed photograph of Marilyn Monroe where she posed for shutterbugs above a steaming jet of air in a white dress. Now, if we were to tell you that the most remarkable thing about it was her lusciously painted red lips, then you would brand us cuckoo before you could spell it.
However, it’s not us, but scientists at Manchester University who say that among all attributes of a woman it’s her red lips that are most useful in attracting men hook, line and sinker.
Popular VJ Yudhisthir (Yudi), like many other men whom we spoke to, however begged to differ. “Unless she has had a botox job gone wrong or something equally appalling done to her lips, I don’t think I would notice them first. For me, it has to be happy, expressive eyes that show that she is a warm and genuine person,” he says.
While copywriter Aritra Choudhuri says that the bright colour may draw his attention but will not do anything further than that. “I won’t be attracted to a girl just because she has red lipstick on. She has to have a complete spectrum and a genial personality along with it as well,” he tells us.
Though it may not have so much to do with colour, but instead the effort that a woman puts into getting dressed and turning out pretty. As designer Gaurav Jagtiani tells us. “The colour enhances it, but I think the real value of attraction comes from the fact that the woman likes to keep herself well groomed and looks beautiful. That’s why most men would notice a woman who is well turned out,” he says adding that women must learn to do red the right way as well.
“There is a red for every skin tone and one must choose it accordingly. If the colour is too loud or draws way too much attention, then it might just send out the wrong signals,” he warns.
And clinical psychologist Dr Rajat Mitra agrees. “Red is a very sensual colour, but merely putting it on wouldn’t make a crucial difference in terms of sexual attraction. It doesn’t depend on colour or rather any one body part, it is about the whole persona,” he tells us.