How To. Lipstick Naughty & Spice.

Those are some bold lip colors. From thicker lips to thinner, whether you invest in Dior, MAC, Nars or save with Revlon, Rimmel, Wet 'n' Wild, there are a few steps that everyone need follow. The first? Choosing a daring color.

Wet 'n' Wild.
Favorite go-to for newer shades.
In 911D Stoplight Red & 917B Cinnamon Spice.

Lipstick How To.

1. Choosing a Bold Color. Know your skin tone. Lauren Conrad's The Beauty Department always has amazing tips for pairing classic & sexy hues with your skin. Click on this link for an idea of what looks hot with your lips. The pictures are great visuals, but as we all know, make-up never shows its true shades until on-skin. When matching a new lip shade in the store, do not simply go by the pictures you see online or on the packaging. To truly understand what works best, understand cool & warm. Still lost? TBD provides very accessible & accurate descriptions. With skin tones ranging from porcelain (me) to almond (7 shades darker), you will come to understand when to indulge in cool-red (bluer undertones) or warm-red (orange undertones).

Outfits help make colors work.
...I commissioned this for my 3rd date (with the same guy!).
Thank you Nicole Jaclyn. @nicolejaclyn

2. Prep. Definitely not as in preppy. Unless that's the look you're pushing. Prep as in exfoliate. With a naturally smoothing product like gloss, lips do not have to be perfectly smooth. In fact, this is why we buy gloss ... to smooth our lips, no? But not so with lipstick. Lipsticks require already smooth, moisturized lips. Smooth so that color glides on seamlessly. Moisturized so that Step 6 doesn't dry-out the pout. My most favorite lip exfoliant is a homemade brown sugar scrub. Edible & effective. If only everything worked that way.

3. Line. A must for bolder brights! (See why I'm a hypocrite below.) If you're skeptical or you're unsure of which shade matches perfectly with which lip color, I recommend a very inexpensive lip liner. Like Wet 'n' Wild. ...Unfortunately, I do not line my lips ... so I cannot make a solid recommendation. But if I did, I'd start here. Also, while completely un-kosher & unsanitary, if I had to & if I happened upon the right shade, I would use eyeliner instead. (Shhh. Don't tell.) ...Why don't I line? Pure laze. If I did, guaranteed a more put-together pout & a more long lasting color. 

Vamp Trend in Wet 'n' Wild 917B.
It's noticeable the difference between lining (right) & not (left)
in this side-by-side. Right taken from Google Images.

4. Fill. Make like a crayon & color. But don't scribble. More like meticulously-stay inside-of-the-lines-&-focus-super-intently-in-hopes-that-teacher-hangs-your-picture-on-the-wall-color that we all learned to ace in kindergarten. As with coloring, be it crayons, markers, or highlighters, use the lipstick shape to your advantage. The higher, more angled end is meant to edge into the pointed & rounded curves of our lips. Having a lip liner already there, helps.

Kate Spade Lipstick Crayons!
So you really can color. Great Holiday & Valentine's Day gift.
Taken from The Beauty Department.

5. Blot. Tissue. Folded in-half. Folded side inserted into mouth. Gingerly blot lips together. Remove. This evenly smooths and removes excess globs. Just one dab 'll do ya'.

6. Powder. This step is necessary. My Mama taught me so! So you know it's good. Because that woman also taught me to add egg, nutmeg, & Locatelli to ricotta filling when making baked pasta & Babsiells, let me tell you, our baked pasta is boss. You must powder. It ensures longevity & keeps stick from moving. When growing-up & unable to resist the temptation of wearing every single last one of my mom's lipsticks (...kind of like Monday night when I tried-on all of hers, only to be reaffirmed that cool-toned people cannot wear warm-toned shades & eternally grateful that no one took pics...), I used to use baby powder on a powder puff. Now? Lipstick, eyeshadow, or powder brush in any loose powder that is laying around. Once, on a pink-toned red, I even used blush! 

7. Final Coat. Clearly, once you powder-up, you need to add another coat. One or two. Follow the same lines as Step 4, but abstain from filling, or completely coloring-in. Unless you want to repeat Steps 5 & 6, one even coat will do.

Perfect Holiday Red in Wet 'n' Wild 911D.
Can't wait to pull this out for holiday parties.
...Think of it as a neutral & an accent!

8. Finish. This step is more for show. And mostly, I do it only throughout the night when I need a touch-up and a full-on fill won't do. Finish could mean dabbing a bit of gloss on the bottom lip & pressing it to the top. The reflection of gloss can make lips appear fuller & certainly the liquidity helps lips to look sumptuous. Another, more hip finish technique is to paint lips with a metallic powder, such as a shadow.

I drew this.
Obsessive compulsive,
& yet an improvement over this Friday 'Fessional.

Tomorrow, my friends are having a 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving Potluck. (Yessssss.) Classy dress necessary. I plan to wear the above outfit, which includes navy-lace tights, a black lace dress, black heels (or booties) & a fitted black blazer. In-theme with the late-night/autumn/holiday punk/vamp/vintage trend I've been feeling, along with that deliciously pomegranate/blood/juice OPI shade you see on my nails (above), I used this outfit to dictate my lipstick. Cinnamon Spice it is. Definitely dark. Absolutely nice.

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xo.