What is double color lipstick? Vintage cosmetic video

This vintage commercial for Revlon Berry Bon Bon makeup has it all:

  • A couple sipping champagne from a fountain which is simultaneously gleeful and surreal.
  • A cartoonishly stereotypic chef who apparently created the desserts that inspired the Berry Bon Bon collection.
  • And a diamond studded actress who appears out of nowhere to show off her brilliant red lips despite the fact that it’s a BLACK AND WHITE commercial.

There is some beauty science afoot, however.

Revlon claims that their product is the the “only double color” makeup.

The claim could be supported simply by using multiple dyes to achieve a mixture of red and pink. According to YouTube the commercial is from the 1960s so Revlon certainly could have been the first one to combine shades like this.

A more modern, sophisticated approach to achieving “double color” would be to use a refractive pigment like mica coated with titanium dioxide. These are the so-called “duo chrome” pigments which subtly change shade as you change the viewing direction. Viewed from one angle it may have a deep reddish tint while from another angle it could be a little more pink or orange. Certainly this technology was not available back in the 60s… Unless the chef was some sort of chubby time traveler.