The Lady In Red

Buzzing across the blogosphere last month (and displayed front and center on my yahoo homepage today) is the news that men like their ladies red hot.

Though this might seems obvious—red has been tied to carnal passions and romantic love across cultures and centuries—this study, led by psychology professor Andrew Elliot of the University of Rochester, is the first empirical support for society's enduring love affair with red. Each test confirmed that men are more likely to ask out and spend more money on women when they're in red.

Yes, this could be the result of societal "red is sexy" conditioning, but Elliot argues that a man's response to red more likely stems from deeper biological roots. "Red is linked to romance throughout nature," says Elliot.

Research has shown that non-human male primates are more attracted to females displaying red and female baboons and chimpanzees redden when nearing ovulation to send out sexual signals. "Our findings confirm what many women have long suspected and claimed: that men act like animals in the sexual realm. As much as men might like to think that they respond to women in a thoughtful, sophisticated manner, it appears that at least to some degree, their preferences and predilections are, in a word, primitive," Elliot says.

Prime your pout to red-hot perfection:

NARS in Manhunt

Kat Von D in Underage Red

ck in Sinful

Urban Decay in Gravity

Laura Mercier Lipstick in Truly Red