If Red Lips Could Talk: "Hey Sexy!"
This past weekend I enjoyed a lovely brunch with my dear friend A. We hit it off famously in highschool with our quirky sense of humours, love of books, indulgence in vintage baubles and anything deemed ‘French Vogue or Kate Moss.’ We have been kismet friends ever since. One remarkable trait about A is that her Parisian chic style may be ecclectic and her hair colour and style may change with the seasons, but her distinctive red lips remain the same. Ever faithful. Ever always. Ahem, I would like to take credit for taking my friend A to her first M.A.C. counter at 15. Oh delicious youth.
Have you ever seen such red perfection?
The Red Lip is synonymous with seduction and flirtation. Much like a rosy cheek, the red lip simulates the look of sexual arousal. You love it. The tradition of using a red stain can be traced back to Ancient Egypt where Cleopatra used crushed beetles and ingenious, early makeup artists would combine beeswax with red plant stains. Red lips continue to attract a large fanbase. Can you imagine Madonna or Gwen Stefani without their trademark crimson lips?
As a daring teenager, I was able to perfect a rouge pout by absorbing all the advice from magazines and the master Kevyn Aucoin. My favourite red was the original MAC Viva Glam which was a bluish, saturated red. I would work this look with a very precise cat eye drawn with liquid eyeliner. Another very potent look was a deeper, more purple red called Veruschka, named after the 1960’s Supermodel. I would ease up on the eyeshadow as this red was borderline vampire (cue music: ’Bela Lugosi’s dead, undead, undead, undead’).
Veruschka. See, this is why a lipstick was named after her. Fierce!
Since the perfect red pout is not as easy to apply as taking a wand of lipgloss to your lips, the key to making it work is to practicex3. Typically, women use bronzers, shimmers and lipgloss in the Summer. Red lips are great for Fall Transition as it’s a striking day and evening look.
Here are some tricks of the trade that will help you to perfect your luscious red lip:
- Find the right shade to suit your skintone – You are a unique and delicate flower and one red is not the red of all people. It is essential to test the various hues against your skin tone to see what is the most flattering. Ask the makeup professional and they will guide you through the lipstick jungle.
- Match your lipliner to your lipstick - So vital to the grand master plan! The darker lipline is not cute. And stay inside the lines. This is not an episode of Sesame Street.
- Kiss-proof – Not that I recommend KB-ing with red lipstick on (mantrap!), a trick to keeping your lipstick on your lips is to line the entire mouth using a red pencil and using a tiny lip brush to layer your lipstick on top.
- Self-preservation – Blot using a tissue and put your index finger in your mouth slowing removing to take away excess which could smudge on teeth. Repeat a second layer of lipstick and repeat blot.
- Touch up – Drink coffee with a straw and touch up after snacking. You will keep onlookers wondering how your lips stay so smashing, so perfect, so ‘Je ne sais quoi’.
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