I'm a big fan of lipstick and have probably tried every brand, formula, or shade out there. But when I heard about the VMagic Feminine Lips Stick, I was a bit confused. This very real product isn't actually for your lips. It's a lipstick for your vagina that's supposed to keep your vulva "balanced, moisturized, and purified." Seriously, who comes up with this stuff?
More from MamásLatinas: 11 Things you should NEVER do to your vagina
Now, if you're not weirded out enough, allow me to break down the product for you. The VMagic Fminine Lips Stick (what a name), is technically more of a chapstick than a lipstick. And I'm not just saying that because of it's packaging. It's the product's actual tagline and it's formulated like a chapstick–you know, only for your vagina!
"Because your other lips get chapped, too," it says on the website. This weird product is formulated with organic avocado oil and honey to treat things like itch, discomfort, skin dryness, "odor causing" bacteria and ingrown hairs. I can't.
I don't know about you, but everything about this unnecessary product bothers me from it's super anti-feminist claims to it's so called "purpose." For starters, we don't need some BS vaginal lipstick or chapstick–whatever the hell this thing is–to moisturize our vaginal lips. There are actual products out there for that. And if we feel itchy or uncomfortable we'll gladly pay a visit to our gynecologists, thank you very much.
It's upsetting how brands are always trying to bank on coming up with ways to make women feel super self-conscious about our vaginas, as if society hasn't already done enough to make us feel that way. Take a trip to the feminine aisle of your local drugstore and you'll find a ton of products dedicated to just making us "smell better down there." There are even surgeries women get these days to make their vaginas look like plastic Barbie doll vaginas and it's upsetting.
We don't see dudes rushing to buy penis lipsticks. Why not you ask? Because they don't effing exist, that's why! Because society has conditioned us to believe there's nothing gross or smelly about a penis. They've also convinced us that there's also nothing aesthetically wrong with penises, which is why you don't typically see penis surgeries being advertised because we believe they look the way god intended them to look–circumcised or not. And yet, women are constantly being told or brainwashed to believe our vaginas are not good enough. I'm sorry, but that's just a load of crap.
Did I mention that most of these feminine products aren't even good for our vaginas? That's right, Dr. Maria Isabel Rodriguez, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health and Science University, confirmed it to the Huffington Post.
"At first glance, the idea of vulvar lipstick sounds like a joke, or another harmless beauty product," she said while also explaining how products like these are actually harmful to the vagina. Rodriguez goes on to explain how "vulvar skin is very sensitive, and generally does best without any special soaps or shampoos."
"If symptoms are bothersome that women need treatment, they should absolutely discuss this with their gynecologist," she says. If you're struggling with vulva dryness, itchiness or discomfort, a shady vaginal chapstick isn't going to help you–your gyno will.
If we want to see bogus products like this off the shelves, than we as women need to take a stand. We need to stop purchasing this nonsense and we need to make an effort to not receive the dangerous and subliminal messages brands are trying to send us about our bodies. Because at the end of the day our vaginas are more than enough just as they are.
Embedded content: https://i.giphy.com/wjRNTN100juyA.gif
Image via Vmagicnow.com
