The Goods

Bookish Cosmetics & Perfumes

Treat yourself to bookish inspired cosmetics and perfumes; literary lip balms, eyeshadows, nail polish, and delicious scents galore!

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Melissa Baron

Staff Writer

Melissa is the author of TWICE IN A LIFETIME from Alcove Press and represented by Laura Cameron at Transatlantic Agency. She lives in Chicago and works as a technical writer to pay the bills. She is a former English major, and has never met a semicolon she didn’t accidentally abuse in some fashion. In her spare time, she explores Chicago, writes a lot, and hangs out with her fiancé and two cats. You can find her on Instagram and TikTok @melissabaronwrites.

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Books and cosmetics may not be two things you would immediately connect, but there is a treasure trove of makeup and perfumes out there in the wilds of the internet that are literary inspired and just waiting for you to find them. Treat yourself this summer and add some bookish themed lip balms, makeup, and signature scents to your collection, because, well…why not?

Enjoy this gateway collection, broken into three parts: lip balms, makeup, and perfumes. You’ll find bookish inspiration ranging from fantasy and beloved classics to mythology and more.

This is a sampling from all different independent businesses and companies, and rest assured, there are more where this came from. Be sure to check out what else seller each has to offer.

Lip Balms

The Raven Boys Lip Balm: Take care of those chapped lips with a Gansey-themed lip balm by Bookish Balms for only $4.15. Gansey’s balm smells like fresh cut grass, teakwood, and cedar.

A set of three Gansey Boy labeled lip balms standing on top of The Raven Boys novel.

Pride and Prejudice Lip balm: Try out a lip balm inspired by one of Jane Austen’s most popular works, Pride and Prejudice. Scented with ginger and sandalwood, you can pick up this balm by Literary Lip Balms for $8.70.

Pride and peppermint lip balm on top of older style typewriter with flower petals

Makeup & Nail Polish

A Court of Thorns and Roses Eyeshadow: Go bold with this coppery red eyeshadow inspired by Lucien Vanserra, our favorite saucy redheaded High Fae from A Court of Thorns and Roses. Beyond Bookish offers this boon to you for a mere $7, along with other eyeshadows inspired by ACOTAR characters.

Loose eyeshadow in a coppery red color

Sailor Moon Eyeshadow Palette: In the name of the moon, you must add this gorgeous ColourPop eyeshadow palette inspired by the pretty guardian of love and justice herself to your collection. Priced at $22.

The front cover of the Sailor Moon eyeshadow palette with Sailor Moon on the cover.

Little Women Lip Set: Take all the sisters home with this handmade lip set by Flora Lou Studios at just $25. Meg will give you a natural rose lip; Jo a neutral brown gloss; Beth a berry stain; and Amy a classic red with pink undertones.

Four lipsticks on top of bound paper labeled Little Women, with the novel Little Women in the background next to two white candles

Mrs. Banks Lip and Nail Set: Give suffragette Mrs. Winifred Banks from Mary Poppins some love with this sweet lip and polish duo from Bésame Cosmetics, priced on sale at $26. The lipstick is a delightfully peachy hue, and the nail polish is a shimmery pink.

Lipstick with a blue Mary Poppins themed case next to pink nail polish

Hunger Games Highlighters: Add this trio of gorgeously packaged and flattering highlighters based off of each Hunger Games novel from Storybook Cosmetics. While the whole collection is $60, you can purchase each one individually for $28.

Image of three open cases of highlighters.

Alice in Wonderland Eyeshadow Palette: Enjoy up to three Alice in Wonderland-themed eyeshadow palettes by Zeesea Cosmetics, each one coming in at $35. Here we have the Alice and Flamingo palette, which contains some lovely pinks, purples, and browns (not to mention how pretty this case is).

Eyeshadow palette in pink and purple hues with the checkered palette cover displayed with Alice and the flamingo in the center

Perfumes

Smells Like Reading on the Porch: Dab a little of this perfume on right before settling on the porch with a good book during one of these hot summer nights. The Little Book Eater has a vast collection of custom bookish perfumes; some based off of characters, book genres, and well, reading. Reading on the porch, in this case, smells like iced tea, lemon honeysuckle, and sugar, and costs $14.

Perfume oil bottle with the text Reading on the Porch on the front

A Room With A View Perfume: Spritz yourself with the smell of the hills above Florence, where part of E.M. Forster’s novel A Room With A View takes places. CB I Hate Perfume‘s homage to the novel smells like violets, fennel, and wild grass. Prices begin at $28 for their smaller water-based and oil-based versions.

Perfume bottle with the label 404

Literary Lovers Perfume Sample Pack: Immortal Perfumes has an incredible line of book-inspired perfumes, and they’ve given you a great way to sample their biggest bookish collection, based off of famous literary couples, for $33.80. From here, decide which couple smells the most divine: Hades and Persephone, Heathcliff and Catherine, or Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester.

Two perfumes labeled Hades and Persephone sitting on top of flowers on a gold plate

The Secret Garden Botanical Fragrance: Transport yourself to Misselthwaite Manor’s wild and gorgeous garden with this lavender-scented, The Secret Garden-inspired perfume by Ravens Court Apothecary, priced at $50.62.

A perfume bottle labeled The Secret Garden sitting in a velvet box, with the box top tilted off to the side

Need even more goods to make your body a little more literary? You’ll want to check out these bookish press-on nails and decals, too.