All About Lips: Lipstick Tricks & Tips
All About Lips
Renowned artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo took years to learn their trade before they produced the Mona Lisa and the Sistine Chapel paintings.
When it comes to painting our lips, it shouldn't take years to learn or complete, but it should be done deliberately.
Applying lipstick is an art. Don't let anyone fool you. Taking out a tube of lipstick and painting your lips should not be taken lightly. Lipstick will complete your appearance and will go a long way in defining who you are.
Lipstick color is up to the individual and usually blends with one's eyes, complexion. and the outfit one is wearing. I can stand at a lipstick display for an hour, rubbing the colors on my wrist to determine "how will this color look?" I've probably bought and never used, and discarded more lipstick than most girls have in their makeup kit. I may just be too finicky. Oh well...
My number one rule is: "Never let a lipstick tube touch your lips."
"What?" you ask? "How can I wear lipstick without it touching my lips?"
Please notice, I said "tube." I use a good quality lipstick brush to artistically paint the color on my lips. Perfect lips are not easy to develop. I should know. After years of trying, I have yet to be 100 percent satisfied, but then again, I'm a perfectionist.
Good lips require a sharp lip liner pencil, concealer, a Q-tip or two, some clear gloss, a steady hand, and a little imagination. I will try to make the following simple.
How to Get the Look
Start by puckering your lips, as if you are going to be kissed. Using a lip liner pencil slightly darker than your preferred lipstick color, carefully outline the crown on your upper lip. Then slowly draw a line to the corners of your mouth. Don't worry about using too much liner or making the outline too dark. We will solve that problem later.
On the lower lip, you have two choices. Are you preparing for day or night? Your lower lip should always be smaller (thinner) during the day than at night, since you want to be more dramatic after dark.
For the bottom lip, start the pencil from one corner and work to the other. If you're applying day makeup, run the line at the bottom of your lip. For night, go a little farther down below your lip, but make sure the curve is identical to your lip line.
Now, you should have a well-defined outline. The next trick is to use a makeup concealer to sharpen the corners of your mouth. A pointed Q-tip will help shape the corners as the liner can often be too thick/wide when drawn.
With that accomplished, use the same lip liner pencil and fill in the entire lip area, just like when coloring a picture as a child. You lips will begin to look more defined.
Now to complete the painting, dab your lipstick brush on the top of the color stick in the tube with even stokes to pick up the color. Start with the upper lip and use even strokes to slowly paint the crown and down the sides, and blend the color with the outline of the lip line. The lip liner will virtually disappear. Do the same with the bottom lip, again blending. If you desire, a little liner seen on the bottom lip can add drama to your appearance.
Don't blot your lips! Let the color settle naturally and don't over paint as more lipstick will end up on your teeth than your lips. If that occurs, you have too much lipstick on the inside of your mouth. To remedy the problem, stick your index finger in your mouth, pucker, and remove your finger. The "overage" will be history.
Concealer can again be used with a Q-tip to even out the rough spots on the outside line of your lips. If satisfied, use another clean brush to top off your lips with a bit of clear gloss, again brushing from the inside out. Your masterpiece is complete.
Painting is practical at all times and is much sexier than any lipstick tube application.
For more expert makeup tips, check out: fake eyelashes guide, contouring lesson, and more makeup tips.
That's another thing about lip color, red isn't for everyone, but I always encourage people to give red a fair chance. I myself look fantastic in red, but have no aversions to other hues, though earthy tones like chocolate and coffee I don't prefer as my style overall falls under hard glam and glitz, as well as vivacious and sometimes mysterious. I also like blues, greens, oranges, and grayscale hues (black/white/silver/etcetera).
I've used many different lipstick types, and I have two distinct preferences, lipstick in a tube, and lip paint that is applied via a calligraphy brush (in most cases the lip paint will drip off the other brush types and be quite messy – you don't want it on your clothes because getting it off fabric is very difficult). In the case of the latter, it is by design to be very long lasting, and when layered correctly, has no drying effect but also doesn't come off easily (it wears off eventually and is made from plants so it is non-toxic). Yes, layered correctly. It requires at least two, for some no less than six depending on a long list of factors. I usually am good after two or three layers and the color lasts three, four days (not a bad thing either).
As for lipstick from a tube, using a brush can be helpful, but I've found that I get my best results from using the tube directly, likely because I've figured out how to use the various curves and points to accentuate the bow and the corners. Sure, it may not be the most professional way, but it works for what I need.
My favorite color is the pink. I hardly ever paint my lips in red. Complexion is olive and so the pink lights my face. Although my mouth is small, I adore to start with a pencil black or brown. I use the brush to make my lips and finally I covered with grease to shine like an apple. In this way In invite someone to the shine,
Goodbye from Spain.
One thing I've always wondered about and envied is the glossy and shiny lips that so many women are able to attain. Though I have tried numerous lip glosses, those sexy shiny lips elude me.
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