Hi Everyone!
I am super excited I decided to make this a makeup Top Ten Thursday. These are my favorite ones!
Makeup is my ultimate obsession to discuss. Did you know that scientists have found makeup first appearing in history as far back as 7 millennia ago? Adorning the face, mainly around the eyes and lips, was not just used by our ancestors as a beauty enhancer, but as a status symbol within tribes and communities. A mark of pride being a leader, a warrior, an elder, or whatever. Both men and women painted their face. They concocted their face adornments by crushing and mixing natural resources like oils, colorful bugs and fish scales, minerals, clays, rocks and gems. Makeup has evolved over time, filtering through cultures and technologies, to become what we know it to be today. GLORIOUS! haha
OK. Enough history lesson. Let’s talk LIPSTICK!
Lipstick can truly transform a face without wearing much other makeup at all. With endless color choices and formulations, you can find the right one for you! Ok, so, there are so many lipsticks on the market where does one begin? If you have trouble with finding one this quick walk through before my Top Ten list may help guide you. If, however, you need more hands on help, there are so many people who work at makeup counters across the globe who are there to help, too. Also, while there you could get a quick makeover!
Lipstick coverage and finish– These depend on your personal preference, and/or, needs for a look. Lipstick finishes vary from satin, cream, stain, sheer, matte, pearlized, or glossy. Keep finish in mind, but there is also technology behind some of the brands to think about like moisturizing, color transfer resistance and lip plumping.
The most covering lipstick finishes will be matte and color transfer resistance. With the upside of coverage and a matte look, they tend to lack moisture, which can dry your lips out. Dry or cracked lips are not what we are aiming for here. If you have more mature skin, however, applying these types of lipsticks may stop lipstick bleeding, which is when color bleeds outside of the natural lip edge onto the skin. Satin and cream are the most popular finishes out there as they glide on smoothly, and have good staying power. Pearlized, aka frosted, are metallic glimmer pigmented lipsticks that can be found in most finishes. Sheer and glossy finishes have the least amount of coverage or staying power, and are used either alone for a natural look or over lipstick. Stain finish** is the most natural, as the product uses stains to color the lips, leaving flat pigment but no physical product.
How to choose color? Let your natural skin tone guide you. Ok, what I am about to say may sound weird, but believe me.. it works! Most makeup colors are split by neutral, cool and warm. How to know where your skin color falls lies in your wrists. YES, wrists! Take a glance down at your wrists. Do you see your veins? If you see blue and purple veins mapping up your wrist, then you probably have cool skin tone. Warm skin tones normally have greenish hued veins visible. And, olive skin, as a rule, is usually neutral; so are those that have a harder time deciphering the color of their veins.
This is the best part of choosing lip colors and finishes.. experiment! Look at your natural lip color. For an everyday color lip, start by trying on lip shades that are two shades (light or dark) from your natural lip color. For a dramatic lip, have fun trying on all the red, dark browns and funky colors on the market that has an undertone of your kin tone. For example, if you want a red and have a cool skin tone, look at a lot of reds. You will notice some have an underlying blue tone to them. These will be the right reds for you. If you have two different colored lips, like the bottom lip is lighter than the top, choose the darker color as a starting point.
To line or not to line? My rule of thumb is to always use a lip liner. Using one is not the only option, but it is the best option if you want..
⇢a well-defined lip look;
⇢a longer lasting lip color;
⇢fuller looking lips;
⇢to even out misshapen lips;
⇢to create color contrast;
⇢to stop lipstick bleeding.
Choosing a color lip liner that matches your natural lip is preferable, but it does depend on the look you want to achieve. I actually like to use a darker tone compared to my lipstick color.
☞ One more thing before I get to the Top Ten Thursday list of what products I like, let’s talk about how to apply lipstick. All concealer, foundation* and face powder should be applied beforehand. Actually, dabbing on a little extra concealer or foundation to your lips helps with keeping the product on longer.
Draw your lip liner along the rim of your lips. If you are wary or have never used lip liner before, draft light dots of color along the outline of your lips with your liner. Follow through with your liner, completing the full bottom and top lines. For fuller lips, apply color just along the outer edge.
Apply lipstick, either straight from the tube or with a lip brush, to your lips starting at the center (of either the bottom or top lip). Swipe the color towards each corner, filling in all visible lip space. If you can’t reach with the tube, use your pinky or the paper core of a Q-tip.
With a tissue, blot your lips to remove excess (or from teeth). I like to reapply a little more color.
*Before I apply foundation I use a lip balm. My favorite is Lancome’s Absolue Lip Balm because it’s not greasy under my foundation.
A little bit of information about myself before I get into the list; so you know why I like the colors I mention below.
Naturally, I am fair-skinned with light freckles, a few darker beauty marks, too. I have dark brown hair and eyes. Though people at a glance categorize me as a warm tone, my skin tone is actually cool. (my wrists say so. haha) I usually wear the lightest foundation colors available. I will try on almost any lip color. Almost being that I am personally not a fan of lipstick colors in the unconventional high fashion colors like blues, grays, greens, or, yellows.
All of these lipsticks that I like listed below were worn with a lip liner; most often Clinique’s Plummy, or Perfect Plum by Avon, or Vamp by Chanel.
Ok, let’s go!
Valeria’s Top Ten Thursday – Lipstick
- Rouge in Love, Lancome- I think this lipstick is an absolute win when it comes to color choices, finish and feel. This lipstick is so lightweight, yet lasts all day while leaving my lips feeling silky smooth (cream finish). That is not common in the longer wearing lip formulas. My favorite colors are Sweet Embrace*, Violet Coquette, Tea Rose, and Rouge Valentine. *Sweet Embrace is one of my day-to-day color choices, worn with Plummy lip liner from Clinique.
- MatteTrance, Pat McGrath Labs- Ok, so I bought this lipstick because the packaging was so cute with the lips on it, but the lipstick inside ended up being PRETTY SPECTACULAR!! This lipstick glides on like a cream but is a matte, and lasts all day. My lips never feel dry. It comes in a variety of fun shades from nudes to plums to reds to BLACK! My favorite colors are Modern Woman and Anecdote. And, I have my eye on buying Faux Pas for the Summer.
- Color Design, Lancome- This lipstick is fantastic on so many levels. Namely, CHOICE!! They offer 42 shades; which is dizzying! Also, they offer five different finishes. I tried their matte, sheen and metallic, and they all lasted most of the day. The matte finish did not dry out my lips, which is usually a problem for me. My favorite colors are Into the Rapture, Hit List, Fashion Icon and Bow and Arrow. Very diverse color options here; it’s a definite great lipstick to check out!!
- MAC Lipstick, in cremesheen finish- The finish of this lipstick is a cream without a lot of shine. I personally love this lipstick and the finish it comes in. It glides on smoothly, and even though it’s not technically a long-lasting lipstick, it lasts almost all day on me. My favorite color is Creme Cup and the newest Spring line color Boom, Boom, Bloom in Hey, Kiss Me! Gah I love this pink so much!
- Audacious, Nars- This lipstick comes in an insane amount of colors, 46 shades!! I really like how long-lasting the color is without drying my lips out, and it felt light. The texture is smooth cream, and glides on full coverage in one swipe. I tried a few different colors on but the colors I like best are Dayle, Liv, and, my favorite, Silvia!
- Rouge Coco, Chanel– This hydrating lipstick is what I consider the creme de la creme of lipsticks. The texture goes on smooth. The coverage is opaque with one swipe. The feel is lightweight. The scent (or taste) is beautiful. It’s all that a person wants in a lipstick. I mean, it’s Chanel, the name says it all. My favorite colors are Erik, Mademoiselle and Lover.
- Stay All Day, Stila, liquid lipstick- All I can say is this liquid lipstick is potent! Talk about high pigment and long-lasting! Normally, I am not a fan of liquid lipsticks. They never last and they end up looking flat. But not this one. I own the color Paradiso, which is a bold berry color. It is richly pigmented, and lasts most of the day. When it does start to fade the color is still even.
- Addict Lip Glow, Dior- This stuff is crazy good!!!!!!! Let me put one more exclamation point to get my feelings across. ! Dior has created a product that comes in three finishes – a glow, a matte glow and a holographic glow. I know this is technically a balm, I know, but with a darker shaded lip liner it just has a super sexy, lip plumping effect that you have to try! My favorite colors are Pink and Holo Purple.
- Hot Lips, Charlotte Tilbury- Everyone wants hot pouty lips, am I right? This lipstick will not disappoint. The packaging is sleek. The lipstick is lightweight, but is full coverage. This lipstick does have a scent to it, however, like a brownie, but if you like brownies you will not care! My favorite shade is KimKW with my Avon Plum lip liner.
- Butter Lipstick, NYX- This is a hydrating lipstick under $7! SEVEN BUCKS, PEOPLE! What I am saying is, that this is a major steal! And, it comes in 31 hot shades. This lipstick glides on smoothly. The coverage is great and even. My favorite shades are Daydreaming, Cherry and Hunk.
** I didn’t list any stain products in this post. So let’s call this number 11.. If you are looking for a stain, the best one I ever used was Benefit’s Benetint Cheek and Lip Stain. It is a rosy red stain that comes in a snappy glass nail polish type bottle with a brush. It smells really good and does stain the skin for hours.
My gosh, what a flashback. I used this stain for years, too. First one I had ever bought was back when Benefit Cosmetics was only found inside Henri Bendel’s. Remember when Henri Bendel’s was in Massachusetts!!?? OR OPEN!!??
Ok, enough of me makeup gabbing! BYE MY BEAUTIES!!
Valeria Out Loud 