LIP LOCKED

BEAUTY

Loose lips may sink ships elsewhere, but at Bergdorf Goodman word of mouth is everything. So when Edward Bess's $350 Lip Wardrobe—a sleek, lacquered box of five glosses and 10 lipsticks—spawned a wait list upon its launch there, the beauty world knew it had a hit.

"I really love the concept that everyone can wear them and everyone should own them," says the lithe 21-year-old from South Carolina, who nonetheless envisions a particular sort of worldly woman as his muse. "She's a kept woman who lives a fantasy life—Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Rampling," he says. Bess also cites model Kate Moss and the work of architect Philip Johnson as influences behind his lip product, which he sees as the "ultimate accessory" for a woman. "It's such a sexy, seductive gesture to apply lipstick. I hoped that it would evoke for the woman wearing it what she evokes for me."

This month, Bergdorf's will begin selling the lipsticks and glosses individually, so fans can replace favorites while newcomers can test the waters. In the fall, Bess will debut an eye palette which will, no doubt, sell out, too. But he seems in no danger of becoming jaded. "I find," he says, "that I'm pinching myself daily."

EVE EPSTEIN