All About Lip Color

Lipstick Application Basics
1. Apply a light coating of foundation or primer to smooth and soften lips. This step helps to fill in the lines and smoothes the surface of lips. Also helps lipstick to last longer. Dust with loose powder.
2. Use a lip liner that matches or is slightly darker than your lip shade (if you want to make lips appear to be larger.). Line lips starting at one corner of your upper lip tracing around your lip line to the other corner. Repeat for bottom lip. Do not go right to the corners. The top and bottom liners should not meet or you may get the "circle' look. It helps to form a half smile so lips are taut making it easier to line. Fill in lips using your lip liner to prevent a ring being left behind when your lipstick wears off. This step will also help lipstick stay longer. Smudge liner slightly or blot with a tissue.
3. Apply lip color with a lip brush to avoid smearing liner. Swipe the brush over the lipstick a few times. Starting at the center of lips, work the color outwards. Be sure to line color where lip liner ends at the corners of your mouth. Brush lips one more time with another coat of lip color. Repeat a third time if a more intense pout is what you desire. Blot excess off.
4. Optional, applying a lip gloss to give a nice shine to lips.

Lipstick Types
Matte Lipsticks:
Some are also categorized as “Long-Wearing”, which usually contains kaolin as the primary ingredient for staying power and give lipsticks a non shiny/greasy texture. They tend to be drying, but if you're looking for staying power, matte is a good option unless you are over 50 years old-a bad choice since they show lip lines and emphasize a crepey surface-go with a creamier based formula if you are older or have dry, flaky or wrinkled lips. Many Long-Wearing lipsticks claim to ‘last all day even through kissing’-these claims are a bit exaggerated…
Sheer Lipsticks:
The pigmentation of sheers is not very high and tend to be transparent. They can be more moisturizing then other types of lipsticks and wear off easy but leave a nice hint of color.
Cream or Moisturizing Lipsticks:
These contain conditioning ingredients such as shea butter. They tend to wear off easily due to moisturizing ingredients in them but if you have dry lips or aging lips, these are best.
Staining Lip Colors:
These often have dual uses for both lips and cheeks for staining. Some have good staying power depending on how much they stain. Apply lip gloss over stains for moister looking lips. Stains will give uneven color if applied to dry, peeling lips since the dead skin stains darker so be sure to exfoliate lips first before applying.
Gloss and High Gloss:
These will make your lips look fuller since they reflect a lot of light. They can be worn alone or over another lipstick.

Lipstick Color Choices
When choosing the correct shade of lipstick, look at your complexion. See my tips further down under the “Makeup Tips” category: ‘How to Choose Makeup Colors for Your Season’ a guide to colors to choose for your skin and hair color. The deeper your skin color, the richer and deeper you can go with lip color. Fair skin tones should stick with lighter, softer colors or a sheer lipstick. Avoid orange undertones in lipsticks unless you are sure you have a warm “season” complexion, either spring or autumn. Your lipstick color should be in the same color family as your blush-if your blush is rose, choose a rose or pink shade lipstick. If your blush is peach, choose a peachy or coral lipstick. Anyone can wear red but be sure to choose the right red for your complexion. If you have cool color skin tone, choose red with more blue undertones to it, for warm skin tone, choose red with orange undertones. To wear red with fair complexions, use a sheer red lipstick so it doesn’t overpower your skin tone by being too intense. Keep in mind that darker shades will make your lips appear smaller and lighter shades will make your lips appear fuller.

Lipstick Tips
-For a very long lasting stain use Jell-O or Kool-Aid powder. It stains lips and doesn’t wear off. Dip a brush into the powder (cherry or strawberry flavored) and apply to bare moistened lips. Apply red liner and fill in with transparent red gloss for lots of depth.
-If you wear braces keep your lips well moisturized, avoid drying matte lipsticks and wear neutral shades to avoid bringing attention to your braces. Play up your eye makeup so attention is diverted there instead of at your braces.
-Over the age of 50, you should not pick a really dark shade lipstick since it’s very harsh, aging and makes your lips look smaller. Since lips tend to get thinner with age, you definitely don’t want to apply a lipstick that makes them look thinner.
-Tone down a lipstick that’s too bright by putting some lipstick on the top of your hand, blend a little foundation into it and paint on lips with a lip brush.
-Lipstick will last much longer if you line lips thinly and fill in, blot with tissue, then line and fill in again using a thin coat. Top with a lip sealant clear film and apply a little gloss.

For the “Nude Lip” Look
The nude lip look is perfect for either a no makeup, natural look or playing down your lips when you have strong makeup on your eyes. Choose a beige that’s one to two shades darker than your skin tone and lean toward a little more color if desired-like your own lip color only a bit brighter-a hint of rose for cool or peach for warm color skin, pinky browns look good on fair, cool color skin and browns or golds for darker skin tones. Be sure to line lips for dimension and shape, then rub a bit of gloss on top-even a sheer colored gloss will look nice and give depth. To find a shade similar to your own lip color, make sure you have no makeup on since the color should look great without makeup. Choose a few lipsticks that seem to match your lips then brush a bit of the color from each in the middle of your bottom lip. It should not look milky, ashy, orangey or reddish. If you look tired, it’s probably too light, so go a shade or two darker. It should compliment your features regardless of what other makeup you apply without being overwhelming. It’s best to check the colors in sunlight and not fluorescent lighting which can change color quite a bit.