01 Beauty lies in the Soul: Perfect Lipstick

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Perfect Lipstick


A slick of color that will make you love your lips. Lipstick has been around for about 5000 years! It's the easiest and quickest way to give your face a focus and create an instant splash of color. A woman can convey her mood status and personality with her choice of lipstick. Yet there is no perfect shade, brand or formula that each woman must follow! The problem is that one woman's treasure is another woman's trash. Your friend's favorite and most flattering lipstick color often won't look the same on you (and voice versa!). With that in mind here we offer you some guidelines, a map as it were in your search for your perfect color!

Kinds of Lipsticks
Sheer lipsticks allow your own lip color to shine through and are there fore more universal (i.e. flattering) than more opaque lipsticks and less likely to overwhelm your features. Sheer formulas have the added bonus of being very moisturizing and lightweight. The downside is that they are not as long wearing as other formulas. Cream lipsticks are the happy medium when it comes to lipstick - they're moist, but they wear longer than sheer lipsticks. The downside is that the cream formulations are more opaque, so you need to be more selective about choosing a color.

Shimmer lipsticks are very long wearing, but are not everyone's cup of tea. Unlike shimmery eye shadow or blush, a shimmer lipstick can be flattering at any age. Their light reflecting quality has the added bonus of making the lips look fuller. The downside is that shimmer formulas look terrible on dry, chapped lips.
Matte lipsticks are the longest wearing formulas. They are a good choice if you are trying to make a bold statement with your lip color. The downside of matte formulas is that they are extremely drying, so should not be worn by anyone with dry, chapped lips.

Selecting A Color
Your lips are the one area of your face where you can really play with color. Traditionally, use deep, rich colors in the winter (burgundy, chocolate, plum, reds), lighter, more pastel tones in the spring (pinks, lavenders), any color in a sheer or glossy formula for summer and warm earth tones for autumn (brown-based mauves, nudes, warm golden reds).

A Few Color Guidelines
  • If you are super fair, a little color goes a long way. Stick to nudes, beige tones, light corals, light pinks.The most flattering formula for a super fair complexion is sheer
  • If your complexion is medium colored, try a brown-based mauve, sheer berry or spicy brown lipstick. The best formula for medium complexion is cream.
  • If your complexion is whitish, you will look great in red, especially) reds with golden undertones (rather than blue). Pink shimmer also looks great. Both color schemes work well in any formula.
  • If your complexion is darker colors look best in rich, deep shades Dark burgundy, chocolate, plum in any formula.

Remember that these are just guidelines. You should select lipstick in any formula or color that makes you happy. Lipstick is, after all, a temporary fix. You can always wipe it off and try that new, hopefully perfect shade.

A Slick of Color
Lipsticks in a bullet form are the most popular way to use lip color. Some lipsticks even come with in-built sun protection sunscreens. Another way of applying color is with a lip-gloss. These can be used alone to give your lips an attractive sheen, or over the top of the lipstick to catch the light. Lip liners are used to provide an outline to your lips before applying lipstick; you can also use them over your entire lip for a dark matte effect. However, you may need to add a touch of lip salve (balm) over the top to prevent drying out this delicate area of skin. A slick of color will make you love your lips. The best way to apply lipstick is with a lip brush. A selection of lipstick colors is the key to creating different looks.

For Applying Lipstick
Ensure your lips are soft and supple by smoothing over moisturizer before you start. Prime your lips by smoothing them with foundation, using a make-up sponge so you reach every tiny crevice on the surface.

Dust over the top of the foundation with a light dusting of your usual face powder, to help your lipstick stay for longer. Rest your elbow on a firm surface and carefully draw an outline using a lip pencil, that it does-drag your .Make sure that you warm it slightly in your palm. Start by defining the Cupid's bow on the upper lip, and then draw a neat outline on your lower lip. Finish by completing the edges of the outline to your upper lip.

Use a lip brush to fill in the outline with lipstick, ensuring you reach into every tiny crevice on the surface. Open your mouth to brush the color into the corners of your lips. You'll help your lipstick last longer if you blot over the surface with a tissue. It'll also give an attractive, semi- matte finish to your lips. Reapply to help a longer-Lasting finish.

Golden Rule
Whenever your mouth shows a difference in volume and proportions, the upper lip generally appears thinner than the bottom one. As the bottom lip is your point of reference to balance out the contour of both lips, outlining the upper lip is must. The golden rule when penciling out the upper lip is that the width of the bottom lip should equal in proportion the width of the upper lip, from the pointed side of the cupid bow to the centre slit of the mouth.

Lipstick fixer: First apply a thin layer of lipstick. Then, scoop out a blusher (or eye shadow in a matching shade) with a cotton bud or a lipstick brush before applying it on the lips. Apply a second layer of your lippy and you are ready.

Lipstick Sealer
For the lipstick to stay you can apply lipstick sealer as it seal and holds lipstick. After putting on lipstick simply brush it lightly all over the lipstick and keep lips apart until dry. The lipstick will last longer.

More Lip Tips
Optical lip effect: always remember that what ever the shape and volume of your lips it's always the shape you give your cupid bow that characterizes your point. A rounded cupid gives a fuller more sensual smile while a pointed angular one signs a more assertive outgoing personality.

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