Lolita controversy

[MsScarlette]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that KVD has a Lolita titled product? Not just one but multiple formulations of it at that. If you're not familiar with the background of Lolita - please research/google Lolita before commenting. It turns my stomach. I thought I could expect higher standards and better, more female empowering actions from fellow woman KVD.

[fieldsofclover]

KVD is no stranger to "edgy" vs. "over the edge" controversy. This particular fragment has never gotten any traction though.

[concreteroads]

Yes. It's a work of classic literature. It's also a Japanese fashion style. It was also a fairly common name/nickname in parts of the world even before Nabokov ever used it. 

While I'm sure part of the naming is deliberately intended to be provocative, I'm also tired of people immediately associating Lolita = pervert, when there are perfectly legitimate associations as well. 

[berlingot]

going by the color theme of the Lolita makeup, it looks more associated with "young girl's blush" than the various colors of Lolita fashion.

speaking of Nabokov and colors, I remember reading this list describing Lolita's clothes in the book: "Dream pink, frosted aqua, glans mauve, tulip red, oolala black" and thinking ewww at what he just put there in the middle. yikes!

[concreteroads]

LOL I definitely don't remember that quote, but that's amazing. I had to read the list twice to catch the one you were talking about. :'D 

I do think the KVD Lolita products could fit in with the Loli fashion style-- I don't have much experience with the lip products but the blush/eyeshadow is a pretty dark burgundy red, which could potentially go with a more gothic-y take on the Victorian theme. 

[GG84]

It's a name. End of story.

[unfungirl]

Way to keep the conversation going!

[trishavt]

Wow. I bet you’re fun at parties! 

[berlingot]

but what a story! that's like saying Scarlett O'Hara or Joseph Stalin are just names, the end.

[LCResz]

KvD also makes Underage Red, so the brand is definitely all about being provocative. But there are plenty of other companies that toe that line between edgy and offensive. Even bad publicity is good publicity in the overcrowded world of beauty. For every person who thinks a product's name is awful, there is another who thinks the name is funny/interesting/not important since the product is in fact great. I still giggle when I am asked what color lipstick I'm wearing and I proudly say "TooFaced Lady Balls!"

[unfungirl]

right! urban decay and NARS certainly push the envelope with their product names. i could see how someone might be offended by the names for sure, but it's not enough to deter me unless the names were truly offensive or off-color.

[purly]

Pretty sure 16 year old me would have bought it because the name sounded edgy, just like 16 year old me thought Hot Topic was the bees knees. As long as teenagers have money to spend, there will be brands trying to make money off them.

I think there are way worse things to worry about in the world than whether a teenager wishes they were sexy. 

[berlingot]

as far as I can tell, no one here is worried about the $ spending youth 🙂 . except maybe for Lolita's short-lived well-being. but yeah, Lolita's background & sexuality doesn't trouble me so much as the people who solipsise & objectify her.

[berlingot]

lol, there's also an old Urban Decay shade called Jailbait.

sorry for dredging up an old thread, but I've been scouring for news/updates about the Lolita eyeshadow palette. apparently there's the Lolita Obsession set but without any sister eyeshadows, just the original shadow/blush (I guess that's what Kvd means when she named a lipstick the "OG Lolita") and other lippies with boring names ("Lolita II" like Thing I and Thing II from Dr. Seuss). I guess you could call Dolores Haze an OG for surviving, um, a few years. you could also call it

Spoiler

"Pregnant Teen Dies In Childbirth."

anyway, there's no Lolita palette yet. (edited to hide the book spoiler.)

[shanny500]

lol urben decay has a eye shadow that's white called bump 😂

[berlingot]

haha, that reminds me of the Sisley advert of models snorting a white tank top with little straws.

(I was gonna post that image along with the fake Nars Cocaine eyeshadow, but then wondered if it would be flagged as inappropriate here. which would be ironic since this very site offers a white eyeliner called Yeyo.)

[fieldsofclover]

"kids these days and their names for everything... who can even keep track?" = plausible deniability 😉 

[berlingot]

I don't know Kat Von D's reasoning for naming the product, but my guess is that it's supposed to sound edgy and illicit rather than empowering? or maybe to be an edgelord is empowering in itself. Perhaps she named it after someone she knows, Lolita was a popular name before Nabokov ever touched it. Apparently KvD is going to offer a Lolita palette as well. I wonder what names of the shades in it will be.

[berlingot]

just adding thoughts about the original post:

as for "female empowering actions," we can start by empowering Lolitas with their own voices & actions regarding oppressors/predators/abusers instead of stifling a lipstick name or the discussion (or "controversy") it produces. maybe there is something to be said about the glamorization of a famous & misunderstood abuse victim by a supposedly "empowered" woman. but what higher standard is she not measuring up to, that of not being fascinated/inspired by the complicated nature of Lolita? is it impolite, indecent? is this glamorization? another form of objectifying her? why am I asking Socratic questions? ???