Friday 31 January 2014

Perfect Red Lips

I've seen a few posts on how o get the perfect red lips and I thought I would give my take on this.

Red lips can be so intimidating for people to try but it is really about confidence, I think you won't truly look good in red lipstick if a) You can't apply it well and b) You don't feel comfortable wearing it. So if you feel like you're ready to give it a go then keep reading for my top tips!

So here's my application:

1. Start off with clean lips.
Remove any product on there are for perfect application use a lip exfoliator to remove any chappedness, this is especially important if you are going to use a matte colour because it will cling to the skin flakes and look terrible!

Before applying any colour use a treatment lip balm, lips can tend to feel super dry after having lipstick on for a long time. So try to give them a treat before and after to keep them in good condition.

 2. Use a lip liner.
This will help to firstly prolong the wear of your lip colour and secondly help intensify the colour.

Try and find a lip liner that will best match the lip colour. I also think a benefit of using a lip liner before lip colour is hat you can draw out the shape as a guide and it will make it easier and less scary to put the lipstick on.
Fill in the rest of your lips with lip liner, it will just help to keep the colour on everywhere and keep the colour even all over the lips.
 3. Choose your colour

There are so many shades, tones and finishes to choose from. This isn't just for red either, especially with MAC I have noticed the astonishing range of finishes in so many different colours. If you don't know what to go for then I would suggest that you speak to a MAC Consultant and they can help.
4. Apply!
I am using MAC Russian Red, this is a super intense deep red. It's a matte colour (it does look slightly glossy because of the lip balm but that does fade).









Here's a rundown of my tips and tricks to make your red lip flawless!

1. Choose the right colour for you
As I said there are so many options but mainly the issue is choosing the right undertone. If your skin has a cool undertone then you want to go for a blue toned red (like me!) and if you have a warm undertone then you should go with more orange based reds. If your a lucky duck with a neutral undertone then everything works for you!

2. Treat yourself!
Yeah you can go and buy an expensive red but that's not what I mean! You need to prep your lips for any colour to keep application smooth and flawless. I recommend a good lip scrub (my favourite id the Elf Lip Scrub) and then choose a treating lip balm to condition.

3. Keep within the lines
As mentioned before I think it is good to have a lip liner, it's not necessarily essential but it helps and you will see the difference in colour, application and crispness of the lines.

4. Powder power
Again not an essential step but I highly recommend for matte lipsticks and it again will help the staying power of your lipsticks. What you should do is apply the lip liner and lipstick and the blot of any excess, then apply a thin layer of loose powder and reapply the colour to finish. It just helps the colour grip onto something and last.

5. Winning smile
No one wants the dreaded lipstick on teeth situation. It's so embarrassing if your chatting away thinking you look good and then you look in the mirror and see big red marks on your teeth. To prevent this you can blot your lips with tissue after application to avoid excess or more for something more amusing put your lips around your finger and slowly pull your finger out, it will take away any excess that was too close to your pearly whites.

6. Clean it up!
If you're having trouble keeping within your lip lines then a good finishing trick is to grab a fine brush and concealer that matches your foundation and run it round the edge of your lips to cover up any mistakes. It will make the shape of your lipstick look super sharp.

And those are all the tips I have!
If you have any amazing tried and tested tip for red lips or lipstick in general leave a comment :)
- Roo xx

3 comments:

I love to read everyone's thoughts, comments and opinions and I'll always try to reply :)