Red Lips

From ever so little I found that red lipstick was intimidating, strong and powerful .It set alive my thoughts of delicious fruits like watermelon, raspberry and strawberries. It was at the experimental phase of my life when I began testing all forms of food to get those perfect red lips. I tried my hand at formulating the finest ingredients of  koolaid, sherbet and ice lollies to stain my lips and make me the ultimate fashion guru.Needless to say, that did not work out well as my Mom would often command me to wash it off immediately. 

It was not too long after that I discovered the actual secret gadget was in my mom's glass cabinet, the place where all things pretty and shiny belong. I would wait until my Mom would leave the room, time her steps until she was in the kitchen, climb onto her draws and reach over to get this magnificent object. It was like having a magical wand in my little fingers, decorating my face with every colour that reflected any red tone.A few minutes later and I was picture perfect, ready to take on my role in the circus.

Growing up I had made it imperative to explore all options of red lipstick to find the one. I know that most people think that red lipstick is wonderful but choosing the right one for your skin tone is often a challenge and a fear. It is a daring step in the make up world and yet when selecting the right one, the feeling is energizing. It gives you the upper hand of not needing to make the boldest statements with your clothing, it leaves room for  the less is more approach by giving you the freedom to dress in neutrals and using your lips as the tool to your allure.

I have tried to break down a few simple steps to support you in setting aside those nerves and taking that plunge to making that purchase.

When it comes to applying any lipstick, eye shadow or blush understanding your skin tone is critical. You may either fall in a warm or a cool category. Try to use the picture above to give you a guideline of which skin type you fall into.Once you understand your skin tone selecting what make up will make your skin look brighter becomes an easier task. 

If  your tone is cool you may choose any red lipstick with a blue undertone. An easy way to understand this is that when you apply the lipstick on the back of your hand  it almost turns to pink. On the other hand if you have a warm undertone you would choose a lipstick that has orange notes, I find this is allot easier to spot.

On the left is a red lipstick for a cool skin tone and on the right for a warm tone. 

Top:Warm skin tone(Orange red)
Bottom: Cool skin tone(appears pink)

 For those that still need that extra assistance I found a trustworthy selection of brands that you would be most familiar with on Karlasugar.net

These are ideal colours of well known brands for warm skin tones.

 A perfect lipstick selection from well known brands for cool skin tones

Application

This is the technique that I use when applying my red lipstick and hope that it will give you the self-assurance that you need to take on this task.

Step 1.Before applying your lipstick exfoliate your lips with a soft face cloth, this should plump them up and remove all dead skin or any left over gloss or lipstick. 

Step 2. Moisturize your lips using a lip balm of your choice and apply a thin layer of foundation or concealer to give it a good base tone to work with.
Step 3.Take a lipstick brush to line just the bows of your lips 
Step 4. Line the inside of your bottom lip parallel to to bows following the curve
            Join the sides of your lips
            fill in the gaps
Step 5. Using your lipstick brush color the inside of your lip
Step 6 .Apply lipstick on the entire lip staying inside the lines
Step 7: Press facial tissue on lips and brush loose powder over to set the lipstick

Repeat if necessary until you have the intensity that you desire.

If you have any smudges use a tad bit of make up remover on a cotton bud and wipe away the smudges.

Add clear gloss to complete your look.