Friday, October 19, 2012

red lippy


All images from Vintage Vault @ style sight best example of red colours

I am a big lover of red lips and use to try and wear it every chance I got but I have always found that finding the best colour for me is a pain in the neck and not good for the bank balance ether.
A little anecdote about my red lips one Friday after being at a very late night of dancing at Hullabaloo, not removing my makeup before going to bed and a very early day at work (and avoiding a mirror) I ended up going to work with a full face of 40's makeup and because I worked with men no one told me I had it on until morning tea when I went to the admin building and was asked about it. Was very embarrassed but when I asked the guys why didn't they tell me they replied "we thought you where going for a new look".

If you like a good red lip you will probably be with me and have many colours of red with one never quite rite. Unfortunately I have found there is never just 1 that is universal, its too dark for summer or too light for winter, do you match it to your skin or to your hair, not appropriate for day time or night time. I have pale skin (ivory or porcelain base foundation normally with pink undertones) and have had every colour of hair from black to blond but try to keep to a pink undertone to match my skins.

When purchasing a new colour of red if you are not at a makeup counter swatch the colour on your wrist or inner arm because it is lighter than back of your hand making it a better comparison to your face (the skin on your face is normally lighter than the rest of your body). If you are at a makeup counter ask if they have a mirror with natural light simulator (the colour will look different in fluro light than it does in natural) so you can see the difference.

I have at the moment 4 lipsticks, 3 pencils, 1 lip stain and a lip gloss (it is edited down from what I use to have, that's not to say I am not still adding to it) which i find to be a good range for me. I like to also mix my colours to get the perfect shade for my mood or match it closer to my lip liner to make the blending invisible. If I only want a hint of colour I like to wear them more as stains than full coverage.
 they look very close in colour but until you swatch them you can never tell the correct undertone
as you can see, just because it looks red does not mean that they are the same
from left - lipstick: db Red Hot Red, chanel Rouge Allure, alverde Alpine Rose, mac Russian Red, lip stain: catrice Red & The City, lip gloss: natio Love, lip pencil: manhattan 94T, natio Scarlett, unknown brand

Keeping red lipstick in one place is also hard. There are many different ways of application for red lips but if you want it to stay using the foundation/concealer technique (a stick concealer works the best), powder technique or the liner technique are the best. To keep it on and looking good for hours even through eating (and avoid leaving a red mark on your partner) there are only 2 things not to use, any creamy formulas that make the lips shiny or/and are moisturizing to the lips, they are not made to last and the biggest no no is gloss it just slides off and all your hard work is gone ( if you want to use gloss use a stain then a gloss or a gloss with an in built stain).      

If anyone has any good tips to keep it in place please tell me, I am always looking for new ways

p.s. if you want to go relay vintage match your nail colour to your lip stick

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