The Simple, Most Perfect Trick to Finding Your Best Shade of Lip Color
The most flattering lip tones will be one or two shades darker than your natural lip color, according to makeup artist Bobbi Brown.To test shades, apply lipstick or gloss to one lip. If that color is just a shade or two deeper than your bare lip, then you've found your shade.
How to Pick the Right Shade of Red
Many women wrongly believe they can't wear red lipstick. The secret to choosing the right red lip color is in the undertones. Pink-skinned girls should opt for cherry red. Those with olive skin can wear fire-engine red. Dark skin looks great with deep reds. One big red lipstick no-no: It's best not to match lips to your outfit.
Don't want to go all out with red lipstick? Create a red lip stain with a little trick I got from InStyle Magazine's August 2007 issue. Makeup artist Angela Levin smooths on Dr. Hauschka lip balm, then applies red lipstick over it with her finger. The result is a gorgeous sheen of red.
Uh-Oh, You Hate the Lipstick You Just Bought
Don't throw out those lipsticks that are just a wee bit off. You can create a great lipcolor by blending lipsticks you don't like. For lipstick that's just a bit too bright, tone down the color with a darker liner before applying a lipstick.When to Use a Lip Brush
Use a lip brush when applying strong colors. You need a mirror and expert application so you don't paint the outside edges of your mouth.How to Use Lip Liner
To keep lipstick from wearing off so fast, fill in lips with liner before applying lipstick.
This acts as a color base, so when the lipstick wears off you still have color.
The More Complicated Way to Choose Lip Color
While picking the right shade is as easy as going a couple shades darker than your natural lip color, we can delve just a wee bit deeper in the science of shades and skin tone.Women with fair skin, look great in lipstick shades such as nudes in a slightly apricot shade, pinks and light corals. Stay away from browns, which will appear blah.
Those with a medium skin tone can go a bit darker. You'll look great in roses, mauves and berries. Skip the bright reds and consider a deep burgundy instead.
- Tip #1: Lipstick done? You might notice there's still a bit of lipstick down in the tube. Scrape out the last bits with a cotton swap or orange stick and mix it with Vaseline or lip gloss in a lipstick palette. Use a lip brush to apply.
I also love this tip shared by reader Patti Campbell. She scoops out the lipstick remnants from the bottoms of her
tubes and she puts them in a pill case, "the one with the days of the week individually capped." She then nukes the pill case
until the lipstick melts. Campbell uses a lip brush and enjoys seven new lipsticks. I would think this is perfect for the purse.
- Tip #2: Never use a test lipstick on your lips. It's just plain unhygienic. Instead, test lipstick on your fingertips. It's a closer fit to your lips than the back of your hand.
- Tip #3: Use liner on your lips as a base. Lipstick will last longer if you fill in your lips with the liner first. If you're using light lipstick, try a nude liner. Then slick your lipstick on top.
- Tip #4: Never use a dark liner with light lipstick. Defined lips are great, but make sure the liner matches the lipstick or gloss. Dark liner and light lips is tacky.
- Tip #5: Keep lipstick off your teeth with this trick. This is a trick I learned years ago from my mom. After
applying lipstick, take your index finger and pop it in your mouth, then pull it out. The excess lipstick will come off on your finger rather than your teeth. - Tip #6: Lipstick can act as a blush. But never use blush as a lipstick.
- Tip #7: Youcan line before or after you apply lipstick or gloss. Some women prefer to apply liner first, arguing that you won't be able to see the natural line of your lips if you apply lipstick first. But I find lips look more natural when I line lips after I apply lipstick.
- Tip #8: The older you are, the 'creamier' your lips should look. Women over 50 should avoid matte or a gloss and stick with a creamy lipstick.
- Tip #9: Don't throw out a bad color lipstick. Beauty editors know you can create a great lipcolor by blending lipsticks you don't like. You can also color in lips with a darker liner before applying a lipstick that's too bright.
- Tip #10: For 'plump' lips, apply liner just outside your natural lipline. Dab a bit of gloss in the middle of your bottom lip.
- Tip #11: Keep lip gloss on longer with liner. Lip gloss is infamous for wearing off fast, but if you fill in lips first with the liner, the gloss has something to stick to.
- Tip #12: Heal -- don't throw out -- a broken lipstick. If your lipstick breaks off, simply take off the broken portion with a tissue, then slowly wave a lit match under the broken piece of lipstick. When it's melted a bit, put it back on the base, swivel it down and put it in the fridge -- uncovered -- for 30 minutes.
- Tip #13: Avoid orange or brown shades, including corals. They tend to make teeth appear yellow.
- Tip #14: Camouflage yellowed teeth. To downplay a yellow cast to teeth, try lipsticks with a bluish undertone. Shades that work include plums, pinks, wines and violets, according to Lazarus, a NYC makeup artist, in the June, 2007, issue of O magazi
ne.
- Tip #15: Keep lipstick off glass. Discreetly lick your lips before taking a sip from a glass. It works!
- Tip #16: Experiment with blending lipsticks and glosses. Real lipstick aficionados create their own lipstick shades by blending different color and even formulations. You can start with a matte lipstick, follow with a shimmery shade and cap it off with a colored gloss
