I like lipstick. And most days I happily wear it.
In some circles that apparently makes me a ball breaker, man-hater, woman-hater, desperate, hiding something, insecure, tight-arse, unsustainable, animal torturer and rude.
Ah well, you can’t win ‘em all.
But you know, I am just me. And if that means I like lipstick and it makes me feel good when I wear it, then sue me.
For what it’s worth, here are three random thoughts on wearing lipstick:
1. Red lipstick is bloody magnificent. Wear it with pride.
But never wear it bleeding off your lips. You’ll look like a crazy person. Wear lip liner if it helps and a teensy check in the mirror every now and again means you can fix it if you need.
And most people shouldn’t wear red lips with dark, smoky eye makeup. It’s just too much.
Check out Lisa Eldrige’s tutorial on red lipstick. She goes through the different reds and shows you some of her fave brands and colours. It is awesome. It’s a bit long at 15 minutes, but I enjoyed it!
2. A good nude lipstick will see you through many an occasion.
You may have to search around a bit but once you find the right nude, you’ll be set. I suppose ‘nude’ to me would be classified as a lovely natural pinky-brown colour that is close to your lip tone.
Here’s another Lisa Eldrige tutorial that shows how to do a full face with nude lips. The specifics of the lip colour come around 12 or 13 minutes if you want to skip to that bit.
And this is a great slideshow of some delicious nude lipsticks.
And this Pinterest board is awesome too.
3. Last but not least, unless you are a ‘youth’, novelty-coloured lipsticks are not okay.
With the exception of coral/apricot/pale pink/bright pink. Colours in that range, anyway. These can be worn, but with caution!
Any lipstick that is slightly black or purpley or has a name like “gothic doll” or “black reign” is to be avoided at all costs.
Final word…
I haven’t banged on here about the right colour to match your hair/skintone/eyes. This is because I know that you are not a dick and you can work this stuff out yourself. Try on a few colours. If you don’t think they look nice, then don’t wear them. If you are totes clueless about it, ask someone for their opinion. A friend, not a salesperson.
Don’t know what colour to wear and when? I have just the thing for you! Here’s my ‘Very super helpful lipstick wearing guide’ so you’ll never be confused again.
Are you a lipstick fan? What’s your favourite?
I wish, I WISH I could wear red lipstick! I’ve never found one that doesn’t make me look like a clown! And I love that guide! Perfect!
I bet you could Grace, I’m sure you don’t look like a clown haahahahah. Perhaps you just need to find the right tone! URGH that’s the tricky bit though isn’t it! x
What about for ‘Conference’ Mama G?
MIss Mia! Depends on the conference. And the impression you’d like to create too! If it’s a bunch of sciency types and you want to stand out, I’d go red. Red can look super professional and like you really know your stuff and are super confident!! But it can be a bit intimidating too. So if you don’t want to rock the boat and mix in with the crowd, I”d say go nude. You can always rely of nude to get you through hahahaha xxxxx MWAH
I can’t wear red lipstick… it needs to be a brown base for it to look good on me. I rarely wear lipstick these days and wear a coloured lipgloss instead.
“Hi everyone, I’m nude today because Gillian said it was the best way to mix in. Now, let’s talk canine science!”
What could possibly go wrong? 🙂
Great minds think alike – I blogged about lipstick today too!
I don’t think I’ve ever worn red lipstick. Just not me.
I go the whole hog each way usually. At home or dog walking I dress like a total schlep, when I go out I almost always dress properly and that includes a nice lippy. Being a pale and fair one, it is hard to get tones right and it took me FOREVER to find the right red lippy that did not overpower my face. “Strawberry Juice” in it’s shade and with a slight sheerness is so perfect for me, I bought TWO. #teamIBOT
I love lipstick, red especially. I’ll admit I’ve worn it to a job interview (sorry chart) but I got the job! Haha
I love your lipstick guide! So helpful, and so worth sharing 🙂 I usually go with the nudes or gloss to be on the safe side 🙂 But would totally go with red if invaded by aliens! 😉
I’m generally a nude gal if anything at all… that sounds sooo many kinds of wrong! 😉
I looooooove lipstick! The brighter, the better. I am quite partial to a hot pink or bright coral. I rarely wear red, but when I do it definitely makes an impact!
Oh where is the lipstick guide for women who want to look radiant and gorgeous but have thin mean miserable lips!!?? I am so jealous of all you women and your luscious lips that look beautiful with red and nude (nude for God’s sake!!!) lipstick. Geez how I dream of wearing red or nude lipstick. Rant rant rant (but you’ve heard all this before).
Guess I’ll just stick to the bright mid-coloured lip gloss. Gotta work with what you’ve got (or not) I guess….
mmmmmmm
I’m with you, Melly! I remember going through a ghastly phase of drawing an outline just outside my lips to try to make them look fuller because a magazine told me it would work. Hmmmm, I think I just looked like a drunk clown. I do like a light pinkish red, which doesn’t seem to make my lips look too comical, but gives the impression I’m trying to make an effort. Maybelline Color Whisper in “Who wore it red-er” is my current fave.