The number one makeup complaint I get is about lipstick. It doesn’t stay on. It runs. The lips don’t look big enough. It gets on my teeth. You name it I’ve heard someone complain about it. So here are a few tricks of the trade for seriously good lips.
Keep Them Healthy
For the best lips you must keep them healthy. Feel free to use a moisturizing mask over your lip area once a week, or get a specialty treatment. Bioelements makes Lip Buff which is a sugar scrub for the lips that not only tastes great, but keeps your lips free of dead skin and hydrated. If you need a chap stick be sure you use a chap stick or lip moisturizer with an SPF of 15+ and that doesn’t addict your lips to it. Most chap stick’s teach your lips to stop producing their own moisture, so use a natural moisturizer like shea butter or coconut oil or get a good chap stick like Epicuren’s SPF 15 Enzyme lip balm. Without a good base for lipstick no lips will look their best!
Changing Lip Color
So you buy a lip color and then you put it on, or the as the day wears on, it looks totally different! Well one thing is the light in the store where you purchased the color might have mislead you. Always be sure to check color in natural lighting. The second reason could be that your hormones are fluctuating and as the pH of your skin changes it can effect the pigments in the lipstick. To put this problem to a stop just apply a thin coat of your face powder or concealer onto your lips first. This will keep the color on your lips true all day long.
Lip Plumping
So you have thin lips huh? Well we can’t all be Angelina Jolie, but with a little makeup magic we can all aspire to have lips as lush as hers.
- Outline your lips on the outer edge of the mouth starting from the corners and working inward with a nude color. For the most realistic look don’t extend the lip above the lip line, just keep the outline right on the edge of the lip.
- With the same nude color, color in the corner of the lips so you have a nude triangle on each side of your mouth. This gives your lips a pouty appearance instead of a bigger one.
- Blend all the lines so that everything is soft and you can’t see any lines.
- With a lip brush mix a medium shade of lipstick with a lip plumper like Jane Iredale’s Lip Plumper. The lip plumper with help plump up the lips, add hydration, and make your lipstick glide one. A medium shade of lipstick will make the lips look fuller than a dark or light one.
- Add some gloss just in the center of your lips. This will make your mouth appear full and kissable!
Whiter Teeth
Believe it or not lipsticks can make your teeth look whiter or dull and dingy. For a whiter smile stick to colors that have a blue base. If you worry about yellow teeth stay clear of all yellow or orange based colors. You can always be safe with a neutral.
Smudge Proof, All Day Wear
This trick is especially good for any occasion (weddings!) that you need to smooch.
For longer lasting lipstick without all the nasty chemicals used in “long lasting lipstick” try this simple trick:
- Line the lip then fill the entire lip in with the lip liner or your blush color.
- Blend the lip liner into the lip well. Imagine yourself pressing the liner into the lip more firmly.
- Apply your lipstick
- Dust your lips with a translucent powder and then apply another coat of lipstick Do not use gloss! If you want a shimmer try a gold dust powder/li>
Now your lips will stay perfect all day.
Staying in the Lines
If your color has a tendency to bleed or smudge out the edges the be sure to finish any application with concealer around the edge of your lip. Not only will this give your lips an ultra sharp appearance, but it will stop all that nasty moving. A trick I like to use with this is to apply a concealer one shade lighter than your skin. This highlights the mouth and makes lips look fuller.
Too Full
On occasion someone tells me their lips are too full. I know it sounds crazy, but to each their own. In a case like this I tell the client to love nude colors and light glosses. If you fell like your lips are too much just keep it all very low key.