Lipstick Tips

Here are my best lipstick applying tips

Applying lipstick is not always that straightforward!

Ask a makeup artist how to paint lips well and she or he will reel off a list of tips and tricks till the cowes come home and many of them brilliantly useful. From my own beauty therapy training I’d like to pass on my tips and tricks . . . learned some of the top makeup professionals in the business.

Slightly highlight the V of your Cupid’s bow to add definition to your lips without creating any hard line. If you do use a nude shimmer powder or a golden creamy highlighting pen.

Always make sure your lipstick follows in the inner edges of your mouth, especially when it’s a strong colour. When your mouth is open, wideish, you should see one continuous well-formed oval shape.

To make your lips look fuller, I use my fingers to tap gently on a colour, or a cotton bud to diffuse the edge of already-applied lipstick. This gives you a blurred, undefined lip line that makes your lips look fuller.

You will also get a sense of a ‘blooming’ lip that mimics the natural reddening and swelling of lips during arousal! )so they say!)

My tip for a really long-lasting, matt lip is to use just a lip liner to line and fill the lips with your colour. Their secret is the waxy texture – anything else will eventually fade until you only have an unattractive lip line left, wax-based products really last longer.

When lining the lips, and you need a steady hand for this, begin with the Cupid’s bow, then go from the corners of the mouth upwards to inwards. This gives the mouth-shape a better rounded, plumper effect and also ensure a perfectly clean lip line.

Do it like the pros and blend your own lip colour from different shades on the back of your hand, using a good quality lip brush. If it comes out too strong, you can mute it with a little beige.

For gloss in a light pale shade, I like applying it so it goes very slightly out of the top lip line as this will catch light and create the illusion of fuller lips.

If you’re working with a strong pigmented gloss, or are topping a loud lipstick with clear gloss, don’t put it near the lips’ edges as it will bleed and look terrible.

To add extra shine to your lips, choose a gloss with a quiet sparkle in it. It gives you more light reflection, making lips look brighter and glossier without having to load on the gloss.

Make lip colour stay put by adding some powder blush in a similar shade on top, then add some gloss to re-moisturise.

Lip liner must be the same as either your lip colour or your the colour of your lipstick.

A light blush in the same colour as your lipstick will prevent bright lips from totally taking over your look and making you stand out just a bit too much.