'Fifty Shades of Grey' inspires eye shadow shades (really)

Bobbi Brown created a new, sultry makeup palette in honor of the racy novel

InStyle.com

updated 8/8/2012 9:57:31 AM ET

Print
Font:
+
-

Wish you could incorporate more Christian Grey into your life?

Beauty brand Bobbi Brown just released a "Fifty Shades of Grey"-inspired collection, a lineup that will satisfy inner goddesses everywhere with its assortment of smoky gray shades.

The limited-edition “Come Hither” selection includes sexy eye shadows in dark shimmering hues, a long-wear cream shadow, and gel liner. And with every purchase, you’ll receive a sample of Bobbi’s new fragrance, Bed. (How appropriate!)

The collection is available exclusively at Bobbi Brown counters at Macy’s and bobbibrown.com.

Video: Racy novel has women reading again

Open in new window

Closed captioning of: Racy novel has women reading again

Advertise | AdChoices

>>> what started as a whisper among friends haas turned into a loud roar. we're talking about a racy new novel called "50 shades of gray ." be warned. it contains graphic subject and language. it's appealing to more women than you might imagine, and it may answer that age-old question, what do women really want? there's a dirty little secret in the suburbs.

>> i guess it's kind of like, ooh. i was just breathless.

>> and it's not the change of a diaper.

>> it was very captivating, i have to say. things were going around and i could not stop.

>> the truth may shock you. but the fantasy isn't in a tropical paradise. it's in a book club .

>> fastest read ever. nine years haven't read a book .

>> shaun said what are you doing? is it the computer or the ipad. i said nothing.

>> and what's going on between those covers has to do with a story between the sheets . it's called "fifty shades of grey ," and if you're thinging fab yeo, forget about it. this is by a 40-something british woman. it's not a romance. it's a submission sex fantasy .

>> the most common women fantasy is a domination fantasy or submission where she's swept off her feet, it's out of her control.

>> sex therapist laura berman said she's not surprised the bodici ripper is back.

>> if you look back it's about empowering women not to be submissive to men. now we move onto to a new generation where women are more empowered than ever before, the glass ceiling is broken and we have as much control as we want. what are we longing for? a little bodi bodice ripping.

>> these women agree. although they like control in the boardroom, they would look more in the bedroom.

>> it's nice to have a man take over than you having to please hem after you made dinner and did everything.

>> but the word of caution about taking the fantasy into reality.

>> it's one thing to fantasize about your neighbor when they're mowing the lawn, it's another thing to really want to act on that fantasy.

>> although these 50 shades fans say their husbands are not complaining.

>> my husband and i shared some very good times together because of this book.

>> and maybe the book should land on the other side of the nightstand that every man should read the book.

>> if men only read it maybe there wouldn't have be such fantasy.

>> you might imagine we have been getting a huge viewer response about "50 shades of grey " on the website. one accuses the writer of plaj your rising. we can confirm james was the author of that story.

Show transcript

Photos: 'A Shade Of Red': One lipstick, many women

Open in new window

'A Shade Of Red'
Photographer Alyson Fox’s most recent project, "A Shade Of Red", is a book with more than 100 photographs of women - old women, young women, friends, family members, co-workers, sisters and grandmothers - with one common thread: all were photographed wearing the same shade of red lipstick.

Some of the women had never worn bright red lipstick before, and many had never been professionally photographed before. Fox, who is based in Austin, Texas, found most of her subjects through word of mouth, as news of the project spread.

“I didn’t know what my subject was going to look like or what my backdrop would be,” Fox told TODAY.com. “I would just show up at my subject's personal space. I would spend no more than an hour. I didn’t want it to be a staged shot, I was really going for something raw. I would just show up with a tube of lipstick.”

The end result is an arresting and frank portrait of a group of women, from Texas to New York to Florida, which celebrates the individuality which shines through a communal shade of lipstick.

Ruby:

Some of the younger portrait subjects were captured wearing lipstick for the very first time. “Ruby at the time was 9 years old,” said Fox. “She's not the youngest, she's the second youngest, but I really captured this look that was well beyond her years. She was incredibly comfortable in front of the camera.” (A Shade of Red/Alyson Fox) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Advertise | AdChoices

Related interactive Bright baubles: Get statement jewelry for under $100

Joy
The photographer strove to capture the women in as natural a way as possible. This picture of Joy, a friend’s grandmother, was the last photograph Fox snapped that day. “We went outside and she just bent down and scooped up this cat and I just shot it at the right moment.” Fox remembers. “I just loved it. This particular cat actually passed away two weeks after I photographed the picture.” (A Shade of Red/Alyson Fox) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Advertise | AdChoices

Related interactive Walk a mile in a celeb's shoes, for real

April
When it came time to choosing a lipstick for the project, Fox had no specific type in mind but she knew she wanted it to be a drugstore brand. “I wanted it to be something that everyone could afford and to me this is kind of about an everyday woman, a community of women so it just felt right being a simpler lipstick.” So Fox went to a Walgreens and headed to the beauty aisle. “I had 6 tubes in my hand. I strictly picked it on the name of the shade: [Revlon’s] ‘Certainly Red’ really struck a chord with me. I bought one tube.” (A Shade of Red/Alyson Fox) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Related slideshow Seeing red: Stars in scarlet style

Mimi
All the women in "A Shade Of Red" were photographed in their own space. “Mimi was photographed in her bedroom,” photographer Alyson Fox tells TODAY.com. “We talked about childhood stuffed animals.” (A Shade of Red/Alyson Fox) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Kaylan
“Kaylan was shot in her apartment with her sister Laura”, Fox said. “I was immediately drawn to the patterns in her space and on the couch. I first met her at Lamberts, a restaurant in town [Austin, Texas]. She was our waitress.” (A Shade of Red/Alyson Fox) Share Back to slideshow navigation

Related interactive Study: Makeup makes women look competent, trustworthy
Related slideshow The secrets behind Hollywood's best complexions

Jessica and Sally
The women featured in "A Shade Of Red" all had different reactions upon seeing their portraits. “I had some women who were like ‘You know, you really captured like, the defensive side of me’, and then they examined themselves a little bit differently which was interesting to hear,” Fox said. The two sisters featured in this photograph, “loved theirs, and actually asked for their image to give to their mom for Mother’s Day.” (A Shade of Red/Alyson Fox) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Advertise | AdChoices

Related slideshow 5 fall trends you'll wear into the spring

Mary
Most of the subjects in "A Shade Of Red" were arranged through word of mouth, but Mary was an exception. Photographer Alyson Fox explains: “I was in Martha, Texas on vacation. She walked into the restaurant where we were having breakfast. She had this great pink vest and these blue glasses and I thought 'This is what I want to be like when I’m older.' I introduced myself and the project, and she invited me back to her daughter's house and I walked over and we chatted for a good hour and a half. I got to see her paintings and I got to hear about her studying art in the '40s. It was really fascinating.” (A Shade of Red/Alyson Fox) Share Back to slideshow navigation
Related interactive The 6 best blushes for your money

Beatrice
For Fox, talking to the women was just as important to the project as shooting the pictures. It was important to her capture something of the essence of the woman, her history, her narrative. “I just talked the whole entire hour and just photographed the women as we started to get to know each other,” she explains. Beatrice, the woman photographed in this picture, owns a silkscreen company and has recently moved to California. “When I look at each portrait I have a little bit of history or something personal in each woman.”

For more information on "A Shade Of Red" click here.

(A Shade of Red/Alyson Fox) Share Back to slideshow navigation