I have worked on this feature for a while because it sums up my ever changing makeup style at the moment and I had to share. Have you ever thought about what your makeup style is? Do you tend to purchase shades from the same family or do you like mixing it up and trying a whole lot of different things? This image rich post is to showcase the products I think the best picks are for total nude or very vampy lips.
NUDE
Nude lips are the beauty style statement of our time. Completely now stealing the spotlight, they used to be worn to downplay the rest of the face when smoky eyes or a bronzing look is being done. Being universally flattering, you can be blonde or dark, in both instances they look amazing. If you are scared your lips might look dry or flaky with a nude lip, try exfoliating lips gently with a lip scrub. If you are wearing a sheer nude gloss only, swipe a small amount of your liquid foundation on lips first to give the gloss something to adhere to. Using a same shade lip liner will give a plumper look and round them off perfectly. Nude does not mean skimp! Remember, nude and neutral are two different things – to be on trend, opt for nude as in skin tone almost, and you’re ready. If you think you’ll look washed out with a nude lip colour it is because you are not intense enough on the rest of the face. I like applying a thickening mascara and a bronzer with nude lips for daytime or a sultry smoke on eyes for the evening. If you are fair, try golden or peachy nudes where caramel nudes and golden bronzes will look best with darker skin tones. My personal preference is a creamy dense nude like in the Tom Ford Campaigns as seen left in the above picture. Below I’ve included my picks in nude and neutral lipsticks, lipglosses and bronzers which are all in stores now.
VAMPY
Then there is the flip side of the coin. Think Vampire Diaries (deep to bright reds) and Goth (black plum). Darker lips are one of my favorite looks and I very often rock that for a night out. Deep red, burgundy, deep berry, black reds and blackened plum is such a huge beauty hit, not to mention a very classy fashion statement. Although some women are scared of it, trust me, it speaks volumes when you wear a colour like this. It’s classy, daring, sexy and shows you are your own person. Beginners in this trend should start out light. Some of the textures available allows you to simply sweep a wash of this colour over the lips for a stained effect if you are scared of a too bright or dark lip. It is important to make sure lips are smooth and without little dry skin bits – use a gentle lip scrub to make sure the dark colour does not accumulate in small cracks. Depending on the formula, some tend to bleed into fine lines around the mouth, so try out which ones you prefer. The ones I’ve chosen for this feature does not feather, so you should be safe. If you are going to do this lip, make sure the rest of your face is understated. The red glosses because they are thinner in texture will be a brilliant red, so get ready! I only use mascara, a soft neutral shadow and sometimes go without blusher completely. Below you’ll see my picks when it comes to bright to dark reds and plum lipsticks, glosses and liquid lipsticks, as well as the eye shades I recommend to accompany them.
I never use a heavy foundation when doing the above lips, personally I like a bit of controversy. A perfectly creamy nude lip on a natural skin with a dash of bronzer looks fab and a healthy glowy skin with dark lips with a sweep of silver or ivory across the lids tend to make you look more human, less robotrash. The whole idea is that is must look effortless but it took you ages to do, if that makes sense at all! I have tried and tested every single of the above products so can vouch for their performance personally. Please let me know if you have tried any of the above and what you thought?