I am going to try to blog MWF this week to make a little headway. I have about a billion things I could blog about – many of which I have been meaning to blog about for. ev. er. – but the months are quickly escaping me! I will start making draft blogs now though to remind myself of all of them and hopefully that will give me some impetus!
I am choosing to start this week with a special request blog from my friend (and amazing interior designer) Colleen. Norms I do NOT post photos of myself or loved ones in this blog, but this one is actually applicable. This weekend, the huzz and I went to a Swanky charity event and got all dressed up. I am now 7 1/2 months pregnant and feeling every week of it, but I had my hair done and made a go at my makeup and one of the resulting pics is this one:
Oh hey it’s me and that guy I married!
Well the outpouring of compliments on this photo has truly stunned me and I am SO grateful to have such kind friends! Besides that, however, I received this helpful suggestion from Colleen: “Please do a blog post on strong lipstick and disclose what you wore.” So here it is!
I tend to shy away from a bold lip. There are many reasons for this, chief among them:
- it’s hard to find a color I can commit to that is dark/matte
- it’s hard to color in the lines, so I am always afraid I’ll look like the Joker
- bolds often bleed – see previous reason
- I like to do eyes up and if you do eyes and lips, you end up looking like an 80s supermodel (which apparently is the new Estée Lauder campaign? Baffling.
![]( "estee lauder vivid")
) - I end up with color on my teeth
- I am afraid dark colors will highlight imperfections in my skin (it happens, truth)
- I am a wuss
That about sums it up.
Now, as an Aries AND a fair blonde, they tell me red is supposed to be my friend. But I am just NOT a red girl. I’ll go for red toenails now and then or maybe a red sweater around Christmas, and I do BUY red things, but wearing them is a real once-in-awhile experience for me. Now and then, however, the time arises for a bold lip and I try to take that bull by the horns and ride it, which is what I attempted to do Saturday night, and I think somehow pulled off.
Here are the hints I have:
1) Think of the lipstick as your accessory. It should either totally match your dress (like the red is the EXACT COLOR as the red dress you’re wearing, and that can be tricky!) or it should be your glitz, along with your jewelry. In my case, I wore a very plain black dress, some sparkly silver jewelry, had my hair did, and then whammo with the lips. If I’d worn a red dress and done red lips, I’d have toned down the jewelry/hair. And if I’d worn some fab dress and shoes and jewels, I’d probably have gone with a fairly neutral shiny lip. Point being it’s all about balance. Don’t throw yourself over the cliff of glam.
2) I did a low-key eye. I used a light pink base with a gray highlight (Lancôme’s Ombre Absolue Duo in shade A01 Night and Day, which they apparently no longer make), my Buxom eyeliner in Onyx on the upper lid, Urban Decay liner in Dime on the lower lid, and Lancôme Hypnose Drama mascara (which incidentally is okay but does smudge so I’m not recommending it). Okay yes that sounds like a lot but refer again to the Estée Lauder picture above and stay with me. It was understated, so allowed me to be a little crazier with the lips.
3) Normally I stay away from reds that have ANY hint of orange/warm undertone because they make me look jaundiced, but this one was a little on the true red side and still turned out okay. Still, my typical advice is: if your skin has yellow undertones, seek reds in the blue, purple, brown families; if your skin is pinkish, then you can pull off those more orangey or yellowy reds. A good way to know which type of skin you have is to ask yourself if you can tan. I tan like crazy because of all my yellow pigment. Pinky fairs tend not to tan as well or at all.
4) I used a lip liner first (helps to keep you in the lines!) and then as soon as I applied my lipstick, asked my husband, “Is this too bright?” He said no, that it WAS bright, but not too bright, that it looked good. And the key here: I BELIEVED HIM. I walked away from the mirror instead of obsessing, and tucked a lipgloss into my bag in case I got self conscious later.
5) I didn’t have to put this into action last night, but I recently read that when wearing a dark color lip, use your finger tip to apply and blend and it will help keep you in the lines. Genius! I do plan to use this in the future.
6) I took both the lipstick and liner with me, along with the gloss. I didn’t have to reapply the liner at all, but I did do one reapp of the lipstick to keep it looking fresh, and it did the trick.
Okay so! All that said, what are the products I used? Estée Lauder Automatic Lip Pencil Duo in 06-Poppy Red, and Estée Lauder Signature Hydra Lustre Lipstick in 35 Rich Red. WHY IN THE NAME OF GOD IS THAT LIP PENCIL SO EXPENSIVE ON AMAZON? Well I can’t find it on the EL site, so maybe it’s discontinued, which figures. However I know you can go on the EL site and chat with a beauty consultant if you really feel like you need to find the closest match, or they have one called “Red” that I bet is comparable. Stop discontinuing my products, people! Argh ANYHOW, I love that EL lipstick because it has that smell that is so pleasant. Lancôme lipstick smells like a granny to me, but EL lipstick smells like sweet tea, and seems to have good staying power. Plus they’re not lying about the “Hydra” part – in spite of that nice bold color, my lips didn’t feel dry or matte-y at all.
Also, a final hint that often works to keep color off your teeth: After application, wrap your index finger (otherwise known as your pointer) in tissue, place it between your lips, and close in an “ooh” mouth around your finger. The stick that gets on your teeth is the stick that’s in that area, so blotting it helps to reduce transfer.
This has taken me WAY longer than anticipated but I hope it satisfies – as usual, any questions, feel free to ask!
