Another Lipstick Post: The Right Lipstick Colour

Choosing the Right Lipstick Colour

Yesterday I was going to a meeting and I was leaving the house I thought, “Oh I’ll grab a lipstick I haven’t worn in a while it will be fun”.  And let me tell you it wasn’t.

Firstly even though it looked like a good colour for my outfit it wasn’t a good tone with my skin.  When I caught sight of myself pre-meeting I looked not my best, in fact the colour drained me and I think I looked older. (Gasp of horror)  The lipstick was long lasting which made the consistency matt.  Additionally I could have benefited from some lipgloss to lift the colour.  The matt consistency was also quite drying and unfortunately as it was long lasting it didn’t rub off, but remained firmly painted to my lips.

Why wear lipstick if it doesn’t make you look good?

I’m  not going to do that again.  I’m not leaving lipstick to chance because it really does make such a difference to how you look.  More than probably any other beauty product it has the ability to dramatically alter how you feel and look.  You are painting colour on your face and you want to make sure that the colour itself is complimentary to the canvas on which it is painted.

Also I don’t really like matt lipsticks on me.  They dull my eyes and my skin.  If I do wear a matt lipstick I tend to wear a lipgloss over the top.  In my haste I forgot that.

So here are my 3 styling tips for successful lipstick wearing, designed to help you avoid the Gasp of Horror…

Firstly do a lipstick audit.

It only needs to take about 15 minutes.  Pull together all the lipsticks you can find.  Discard any that have run out, are dried up or in any way unusable.  Group them into categories.  I tend to group mine into summer and winter.  I wear darker colours in the winter, I wear  more red and tend to have more lipsticks.  My summer lipsticks tend to be pinker, glossier, lighter.  Put aside the out of season selection.

Then leave them where you can easily find them and know which lipsticks suit different outfits.

I have a previous post here on locating your lipsticks easily

Secondly try each lipstick out you can tell which ones suit you.

If in doubt or you don’t have many go to a make up counter and try a few and get a second opinion.

This is a great article on different lipstick colours suiting different skin tones, and the comments below the article are informative too:

Intothegloss lipstick colour

Additionally I found being a little experimental was a great decision.  My favourite ever brown lipstick was found by accident when I thought I’d like a brownish lipstick and searched for a darker one than I would normally have chosen.  Even though I have quite fair skin, my lip colour is quite dark.  I have found that paler lipsticks don’t suit me, I think because my base lip colour is quite dark.  That might be worth remembering when you shop for lipstick.  Top tip, no charge 🙂

Thirdly, lipstick type matters

Make a note of which liptstick type you like the best or have the most of: classic twist up, lipstick crayon, lip brush, lip gloss.  These are probably the ones that you are most drawn to and have a preference for.

However, if you’re choosing the same lipstick type because you are stuck in  a rut, it may be time to choose another lipstick type.  I would recommend going to a reputable beauty company where the founder is still working, such as Bobbi Brown or Trish McEvoy.  Book in for a session and see how you get on. If you don’t like what they do, don’t be afraid to say what you are looking for and why you don’t think you’ve found it.  Btw I think you can visit the counter of companies such as Estee Lauder or Christian Dior and also receive amazing service and advice.  However, the reason I mention about the founder/creator is that I think, personally, that there is something more innovative about these companies and they are focused on the customer.  This is just my opinion though.

I personally found my favourite lip crayon/lip gloss combination at Trish McEvoy. A lip crayon like this:
or this :

and a gloss like these:

or this: or this:

And I found my favourite eyeshadow combination at Bobbi Brown. This is a lovely small compact with great colours:

I love this sparkly eyeshadow.  I use it over a black eyeliner to soften the line and add sparkle.  I’ve had it for a couple of years now and there is still lots left so it lasts for a long time.

Chat with a make up artist live about your lipstick choice

As I was researching for this article I found an amazing find on Bobbi Brown.  Chat with a make up artist live, which I think is such an amazing idea.  Don’t have time right now?  Or, too nervous and don’t know where to start?  Don’t worry, click this link.

You have a choice, make up advice via the livechat, or upload a photo and get real time advice.  Give it a go, and please let me know how you get on.  I’m going to do it too.  I’ll post my comments below and if you do too, then hopefully we will encourage others who are equally perplexed or nervous.