There is an easy and good way to apply red (or any bright) lipstick and gloss which you don’t read about it in magazines:
1. First, forget applying directly from the tube or with a brush. Yes, that might be the official line on how to do it, but as a bright lip junkie, I can tell you that there is only one tool that does the job properly – a finger tip (little or ring).
2. Start by exfoliating the lips. Nothing fancy needed. In fact, simply spend a minute post tooth brushing and run the toothbrush over your lips. Works a treat and it’s free. Otherwise, you can: use a scrub on them (gently) or rub them dry after the shower with a towel (takes care of the dry skin and flaking).
3. Then gently (I mean it) moisturise the lips and blot away. (The quickest way to get your lip colour to slip and slide all over the face or stick to the first thing it touches (a collar or coffee cup) is by layering it atop heavy lipbalm.)
4. Then open your product of choice and twist up/squeeze out some product. Take the pad of your fingertip and rub it across the top of the lipstick or load it with gloss. This process is gradual so don’t expect the color to be deposited onto the lips all at once. You’ll need to load the fingertip a few times.
5. Start in the middle of the bottom lip and pat the colour onto the lips with the finger, working out to either edge, stopping and checking that you’re not going over the lip line from time to time.
7. If you want just a faint red, only apply a touch of product to your finger tip and and work it across the lips, rubbing it in for slightly flushed lips.
8. Run a clean finger along the outer edge to clean up any foibles. The teeniest bit of a smudged line is okay.
10. Smile and then do the increasingly popular duck face (joking) or Blue Steel into the mirror. You’re ready to go. It takes minutes, looks effortlessly chic even though it’s high decibel and the only thing you need on the go is the tube of product.
Why apply with the finger? Because it softens both the product (high-pigmented products are often drier and tougher to apply) and the edge of the lip, so it doesn’t look so dated (remember Joan Collins? Dolly Parton? That’s requires serious dedication to liner and brush application).
A softer edge is great for thinner lips, generally making them look fuller, especially with a matte lipstick (like MAC Ruby Woo). And it’s on-trend (if you are into that sort of thing) to have softer edges on your lips. It gives what can be a hard look a more feminine, youthful feel.
There’s no need for lip liner and go minimal with makeup elsewhere (a flick of mascara and a touch of blush at most). It’s cheaper than a new frock and will turn far more heads. So embrace the attention and your new status as a non-wallflower.
Watch out for Jessica’s guide to her favourite red lipsticks, glosses & pencils coming up soon, and check out her astonishingly informed & brilliantly impartial blog at www.beautywoome.com
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks so much LLG, for this VERY informative Blog. I have always shyed away from using red lipstick as I thought I would just not get it right. With these tricks, I will be sure to give it a go now! Must fly, as am off to the shops to buy a fab red!
- Jules
Oh my goodness — I can’t believe something so simple and easy makes such a difference (and why I haven’t thought to try it before now!).
At 25 I thought I could finally wear red lipstick without looking a mess, I did it with lipliner etc and it looked AWFUL! I felt disheartened and it went to the bottom of my makeup bag. Just tried this and it is genius! Thank you both.
LLG I will be wearing this look when I go out in Jericho, Oxford tomorrow.
That was actually USEFUL!
Just one question: what kind of moisturizer would be good to make sure your lips don’t get flakey, but your lipstick doesn’t fall off within seconds?
Excellent tip!
I often exfoliate my lips with a toothbrush (a bad idea?), I wanna try using an electric toothbrush.
Kit
That’s exactly how I do it and it is without a doubt the best method!!
Jules, happy it was helpful! Red lipstick really is easy… it just seems terrifying. Sort of like learning to dive. Seems impossible but after you learn you hardly remember what all the fuss (and crying) at the end of the high dive was for.
Lucy, SO great to hear it renewed your red lipstick-wearing spirit. Honestly, brands try to sell you the liner and all that c**p because it means more sales for them. No need for it all. You’ll look lovely, no doubt.
Eliza, I feel like a good little citizen.. being useful and all. That’s a great compliment to the author of a how-to piece. For moisture on the lips, you can use anything. In fact, lip balm can really be too slippery. I often just rub on my face lotion and then blot it away. What you want is a surface that’s not taut and shiny because it’s dry but one that’s not glistening with product either. You want them to look and feel like bare, healthy lips. The trick to getting the lipstick to stay is blotting and layering.
Don’t think it’s a bad idea AT ALL to use a regular toothbrush. I only recently got this electric one (trialling it for Oral B) and previously would give my lips a good scrub with the old-fashion variety. It also seems to give the lips a more plumped appearance.
Silvia, you are a smart woman…
xx Beauty Woo Me
Thanks
I only discovered your blog recently and I’m really enjoying it.
x
Happy to provide some beauty fun for you, Silvia. Need to update it more often… any suggestions welcome! xx BWM
Oh I am definitely going to be giving this a go! So simple and effective!