pin up red lips

I can't even count how many girls have asked me about red lipstick and wanted advice on application. Almost everyone that's asked about it has said they just feel weird wearing it and feel like it doesn't look good on them and want to know how I pull it off. After years of answering people's questions about lipstick, I finally have my first blog and a chance to put my Esthetician and makeup training to work.

Understanding skin tones is really the key to understanding why some people pull off certain trends in makeup and why other just can't. Red lipstick scares a lot of women because they feel they don't have the right skin tone. Anyone call pull off red if it's in the right tone for them. I personally have very cool tone skin. I find it common with people who are more fair and have naturally light colored hair, but it's not always the case. So I go for cool tone reds, which will have a slight hint of pink. Now, I'm not saying wear pink lipstick, but if you compare a warmer shade of red to a cooler shade of red, you will notice the pink more in the cool and the orange in the warm. It's hard to tell unless you compare the two.

Both of these two lipsticks are Nars velvet matte lip pencil, the cool tone on the right is 'cruella' and warmer tone on the left is 'sierra.' On their own they look red, but when compared side by side you can see the difference in tone.

Once you have a shade you like, here are the steps that I follow for application. Not everyone does it this way, but it's the steps I prefer. Tools used are red lipstick, lipstick brush, lip pencil and lip stain. I've been a fan of the Nars line of lipstick pencils for a long time, but after a while I wanted something different that I didn't have to sharpen after a few uses. They are lovely colors and do feel like velvet, but my new recommendation is ruby woo by MAC. I'm not a fan of MAC and almost never recommend their products, especially anything that goes on your face (power, blush, foundation) but I can say I'm a ruby woo addict now.

For a lip brush, any lip brush will work fine. I like Sephora's retractable brush so I can carry it in my purse for touch ups without a mess.

For a lipstain, I have two colors from the Balm that I use. They have an orange stain and a dark ruby stain. I switch back and forth between the two. I only notice a slight difference in the finishing result between the two. There are also some other fabulous stains out there so I recommend trying a few. The stain is really important because it works like a primer to keep your lipstick on. 

And finally, chose a lip pencil you like. Go with something cheap and easy. I've tried all the expensive ones and I swear they are all the same. In fact, I like some of the cheap brands from the drug store over some of the brands from Sephora. Be sure to pick out a flesh or lip colored pencil, NOT RED. Everybody makes this mistake. I found a pencil in a shade a but darker than my own lip color and it works great for me.

At this point, I'm sure my steps are pretty obvious. For an extra bonus I've provided pictures for those who are more visual learners.

Fresh lips, with just a little foundation smeared from the face. Not a big deal!

Lips stain - this is using the orange colored lip stain from the Balm. I don't worry about making it look too perfect since this is under the lipstick.

Pencil - I prefer to apply the lip pencil after the stain, but these steps can be reversed. If the lip stain is still wet the wax from the pencil won't go on correctly.

 Lip stick - I apply the lipstick without worrying too much about the edges. It is impossible to get much detail out of a stick or a pencil, so leave that job for the lip brush.

Finishing - Use the lip brush to finish in the edges. Wipe the brush over the lipstick and get a good amount on the brush before you use it. If it's too dry and doesn't have enough on there, it will brush off the lipstick you already have on. 

I've used these techniques on all the makeup I've done for other photo shoots, and of course when I do my own make up for shoots. Here is MUA I did for a shoot in Seattle with Cliff W. Estes and Mackenzie Lang