Lipstick Tips

Try Before You Buy

Who has bought a lipstick and come home to find it’s the wrong shade and doesn’t suit?

When buying a lipstick from a department store, I would recommend asking the beauty consultant to professionally apply it on you.  Then you take a walk in natural daylight – don’t forget a mirror - and see if you like the shade and texture before you buy.

If you’re buying from a cosmetic stand in your local pharmacy and can’t try directly on your lips, the best place to test the shade is on your fingertips.  This skin is the nearest to the texture and colour of your lips, apparently (the back of your hands will be a totally different colour than your lips and face so).

My MACS

The Right Shade for You

When picking a shade, a simple way of determining this is, are you attracted to pinks or oranges (basically cool or warm tones)?  Personally I don’t like either but pinks tend to be blue-toned so these tend to suit me better.

My skin tone is beige and sallow and I am drawn to nude lipsticks but sometimes I get the colour wrong.  When I was with Shiseido, I bought one of their nudes but it completely matched my skin tone and it looked like I was sans lipstick (not a good look on a cosmetic counter) and quite frankly, as someone commented, I looked dead (I didn’t take it personally).  Therefore, a lipstick similar to your natural colour may have an insipid effect and so it’s best to contrast it.  Beige is a warm colour and pink is a cool colour so I am better opting for a pink nude rather than a beige one (I don’t want to look dead again).

Another way of finding out what suits is to see whether or not your lippie is giving you whiter teeth or not.  Everyone wants white teeth.

My Rimmels

Smooth Operator

Always make sure your lips are smooth and soft before lipstick else you’ll be left with coloured flakes peeling off.  If you need to exfoliate then there are lip-scrubs on the market but the cheapest method is buffing with a soft toothbrush followed by your favourite lip-balm.  Pop some lip balm on before you start your makeover and by the end of it, you’ll have lovely soft lips for your lipstick and it will stay on longer. 

24/7

When I worked on the counters, the question I got asked the most was, how can I get my lipstick to stay on longer?  Matte ones work a treat as do lip stains.  When I apply foundation, I sometimes apply it very thinly on my lips which gives a good base to the lipstick and gives it longevity.  You can also use a lightweight concealer.  This method is also good if you want your lip colour to be as close as to what it is in the bullet. 

You can also use a lip liner, in the same shade as your lipstick to make your lipstick last longer.  Fill in your lips with liner, press your lips together so you get a good stain and then apply lipstick.  Blot with a tissue and reapply the lipstick.  Then you can blot and apply as many times as you like until you think that your lippie will last the night.

Talking of lip liners, horror of horrors but I adored the Pamela Anderson look back in the 1990’s and used to buy a fab L’Oréal nude lipstick and wear it with a darker liner.

Finally, finish with translucent powder.  When I was at college (20 years ago), we were taught to blot the final application of lipstick with tissue and then powder on top of the tissue.

Catrice, Maybelline, Chanel

Little Mistakes

If you do make a boob when using an intense pigmented lipstick, dunk a cotton bud into make-up remover and eliminate the smudge back into the lips.  Once corrected, line again and sharpen up the pout with some concealer on a very small brush around the lip line.

 Kiko and Makeup Revolution

Lip Brushes

Instead of using a lip-liner, you can still get a great, sharp line with a brush and concealer.  Brush on the lipstick and at the end, use a concealer and apply around the lip line. Brushes are great at creating that stain as well, working the brush down into lips to make your lipstick last longer.

Finish with translucent powder.

The Age Factor

I’ve noticed now that I’m getting on a bit, my dark lipsticks are bleeding.  To prevent this, I have been buying clear lip liners; you apply to the lip line before you pop on your chosen lip liner and lipstick.  I really liked the E.L.F. one and I felt it did its job but it was a twist-up and my twist-up pencils tend to snap, which it did.  Rimmel also do one (again a twist-up - grrrr - but its not snapped, yet).  Alternatively, you can lightly dust your lip line with translucent powder to create a barrier or use concealer.

Rimmel Clear Liner

The Illusionist

It seems everyone wants fuller lips but if you don’t want to go down the cosmetic surgery route like Kylie Jenner then there are easier, less painful and cheaper ways of doing this. Highlighting the cupid’s bow is an oldie but a goodie at creating a fuller lip, reflecting light to that area, as is a dab of lip gloss in the centre of the lips.  You can always line the outside of your lip line.

Going back to concealer on the lips, by creating this nude, blank canvas, you are also forming a bigger base for your lipstick so this is a good trick if your lips are on the thin side or you want to wear a darker lip.  This can also be done by using a nude lip liner and fill in the pout.

Although, regarding the extreme, I can't get my head around any woman wanting to look like a blow-up doll.

My Lip Pencils (MAC and Rimmel)

Lazy Cow

It’s very easy to keep reapplying lipstick throughout the day but come night time, your lips will be as dry (and crusty) as a bone.  To be honest, I don’t want my lipstick to last ALL day as it starts to feel and look unpleasant, especially after food.  Best to remove with some wipes and start again.

My favourites…

§  Rimmel Kate Moss Collection: I find these great semi-matte shades, long-lasting and not drying at all.  From top to bottom: Brown #48, Pink Nude #45, Red #01, Beige Nude #03.  Lip liners: Red Diva, Tiramisu

§  MAC: The most long-lasting matte lipsticks ever but I do like a touch-up in the middle of the day so they look a bit fresher.  From top to bottom: Retro, Viva Glam 1, Myth, Diva.  Lip liners: Spice, Brick

§  Dr Hauschka #3

Second bests go to:-

§  From top to bottom: Catrice Wood Rose Propose, Maybelline Coffee Craze, Catrice Better than Nude, Chanel Rouge Coco Shine #89, Dr Hauschka #03

§  From top to bottom: Makeup Revolution Vamp, KIKO #509

As you can see from my photos, I have a lot of nudes and reds.  No pinks.  I don’t like.

I love a nude lip and I tend to wear with a dark smoky eye of an evening.  Its fine if I’m eating and/or drinking as it doesn’t matter if it starts to disappear as all emphasis is on the eyes so you still look made up.  Plus you can reapply even without a mirror.

For stress-free occasions, when I don’t want to have to reapply too often then I will opt for my MAC.  Even though they are long-lasting, I can get a bit panicky at lunchtimes, with the knowledge that they might come off a little bit and I’m left with a line.  Plus I always feel the need to wipe my mouth after I’ve eaten so I like to leave these lipsticks for day time shopping (I’d normally have my shades on anyway) with a slick of liner on the eyes, for example.

I love my Dr Hauschka too as it goes great with greens and blues plus it stays on as well and funnily enough, it is the only lipstick in my collection that I like the smell of – it smells of a good Spa;  botanical and expensive.

Have a good week!