What is it with men and red lips? I fire the question at my darling group of man-friends (giving me a frequent insight in the male brain) and they confirm: “It’s sexy, uplifting and in cartoons the lips are always red” or “ Even a boring wall flower can turn sensual and attractive by wearing red lips.” Yes dear ladies, that’s what men really think. French sociologists even found that waitresses with red lipstick were tipped more than those wearing another color.

But what’s the story? Okay, red is a sexy color but the attraction definitely has a biological foundation. According to Adam Pazda, a psychologist at the University of Rochester the reddening of facial features is linked to female ovulation. Which in turn is linked to a peaking estrogen level. In other words; red lips remind men of fertility and that’s (consciously or not) an attraction to men. Get it?

So girls; pout those lips, if you’re into the fertile look.