Stuck for lippy...?

This article landed on my desk a couple of weeks ago and like most of the people who commented on it*, I too couldn't get past the first image. Your own menstrual blood as lipstick. And I've seen a lot of weird period shit.

I guess, if money's really that tight, why not use it as lippy. Or if you've run out and want to impress that guy you're on a date with. And to be honest, if he goes on another date with you and doesn't curl up into a ball weeping, you've got a winner. Or a weirdo.

Ingrid Berthon-Moine is the lady behind these images. Yes, I do say images as a plural. She's compiling a whole bloody collection of women wearing their menstrual blood as lipstick.

Alongside Ingrid, you also have other menstrual activists such as Chella Quint who aims to take the shame out of periods using mechanisms such as comedy and tampon crafts. I agree with her bugbear - sanitary bins ARE the big fat grey elephant in the teeny room and they are a giant pain in the thigh, especially when you accidentally brush up against them in toilet cubicles. God forbid there's all sorts of nasties spilling out of it.

The article ends with a more serious note - there ARE people out there who don't know much about periods, who think they're dying when they have their first and those who believe that periods are 'dirty'. Plus, environmental issues. Sanitary products are something that I do believe are disgustingly unenvironmental, especially when you consider the average woman will go through nearly 11500 tampons in her lifetime. However, products such as mooncups, jam sponges and reusable sanitary towels are still considered icky by the majority of women. And I fall into this category. The thought of such close encounters with any blood, let alone menstrual, fills me with dread. It's messy, it's menstrual blood and there's more chance of accidentally getting it from fingers to clothes. Endless horrors.

Just as an aside, my housemate, although disgusted at the picture, was also quite admiring. When I asked him why, he said it was 'pretty clever as apparently a lady's facelips especially when smothered in lipstick are supposed to subconsciously remind them of a lady's front bottom lips'.

*Such as:

esdes - "I can't take this seriously and it's annoyed me in fact. The photo is gross. Why not wipe sh*t on your lips. Have I missed something?"

wanderingone - "I really don't care if people spread menstrual blood on their lips, as long as they don't try to kiss me or share a glass with me."

Scandaliser - "There was a young vampire called mable,

whose periods were always quite stable,
at every full moon,
she took out a spoon,
and drank herself under the table."

See the full article here...