The Makeup Box

Spring Pink: Find the Light Pink Lip that’s right for you!

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We find outselves drawn to that soft, candy-like pink lip on other people, but it can often go terribly wrong when we apply it on ourselves. Here are 10 options and the women they’d look good on.

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Romantic Lavender (For anyone desperate for one more last-minute Valentine’s idea!)

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Lavender is a universally-flattering color for most eye and skin colors, and I always consider it one of those shades that functions like a neutral because it goes with everything and everyone. A pearlescent lavender eye like this one can look sultry and dreamy at the same time (as seen on Jessica Rabbit) if you don’t go overboard with the contouring, AND you’ll see you can transform the entire look just by switching out your lip color.

Some tips:

• What you want to be careful of, if you have uneven skin tone or a lot of red/pink in your skin, is to pick purples that lean more silver or blue. 
• If you have mature lids, go with slightly less metallic/shimmery shadows than I used because a high-sheen can emphasize lines.
• If you have very dark skin, pick a purple that is richer and stronger as a soft pastel can look chalky
• If you are layering it over a grey/silver base like I did here (See below), remember that you need to go with a slightly more pink-toned shade than you want because the blue undertones in the grey base will make a purple look blue. You can skip the base, but you lose some of that soft, hazy effect.

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Pale/Baby Pink Lipsticks

(L-to-R: Lime Crime Great Pink Planet, MAC Saint Germain, NYX Jupiter, NYX Strawberry Milk, Barry M 100 Baby Pink)

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Anonymous:

What are some good pale pink lipsticks?

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More people love pale-pink than dare to wear it as a full-on lipstick. Sure it’s a bit of a Snooki-esque disaster if you wear it wrong but the right shade can be sweet on the pale, oh-so-cute on the medium-toned, super-sexy on the tanned, and edgy on the darker-skinned.

I didn’t get into pale/pastel pink lipsticks until quite recently (2010 to be exact). I never thought I’d ever pull off a pale pink without looking ridiculous, and I’m sure many of you feel that way too.

Well, arm yourself with a good lip primer or concealer, and give it a shot.

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Shades I own:

Lime Crime Great Pink Planet: The lipstick that converted me to the world of opaque pastel pinks, and arguably my favorite of the lot. This is one of those lipsticks that is opaque enough to give you that “stick-on” lips effect when you really layer it on. If worn sheer, it will look deeper as it stains your lips pink.

Finish: Opaque Satin

Opacity: High

Price: mid-range

Shade: Bright pastel true-pink

Note: Often listed as a dupe of Saint Germain but it’s actually not as blue-based.

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MAC Saint Germain: This legendary Amplified pale-pink creme has driven many makeup collectors crazy as it was previously only available in Europe and via limited edition collections. It’s STILL not available outside of the US/EU at the moment. (I got mine shipped to a friend’s hotel on her recent trip to the States.) 

Finish: Opaque creme

Opacity: High

Price: mid-range

Shade: Bright pastel blue-pink

Note: This can look quite shocking on deeper or yellower complexions because it is VERY blue-based. Not for the faint of heart. If you’re not sure, Great Pink Planet is a better one to start off with as it’s plenty-bright, but warmer and not so stark against the skin. If you want a really eye-catching pale pink though, this is it. 

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NYX Jupiter: This is what I call the “Beginner’s Pale Pink”, because you get a pale, pastel-pink frost rather than an opaque layer of pastel-pink. I don’t like frost lipsticks but this actually looks nice, wears evenly, and will work with many skin tones.

Finish: Sheer frost

Opacity: Medium-low, buildable

Price: Low

Shade: Warm shell-pink with strong pale-pink frost

Note: Avoid pairing with frosted cheeks AND frosted lids if you don’t want to look like an 80’s throwback. Looks FANTASTIC on those with a tan.

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NYX Strawberry Milk: Least-favored of the bunch. Seems everyone who owns it either loves it or hates it. I’m actually probably going to throw it out some day soon. It’s a pale nude almost-pink that looks like it would look so fabulous, but the slippery texture killed it for me. I have a hard time applying it evenly, which drives me nuts because I’m so a**l about getting lip color even.

Finish: Almost-opaque creme

Opacity: Medium

Price: Low

Shade: Pale, pale pink with beige tones

Note: I actually have an extra NEW tube sitting in storage if anyone wants to give it a go. I’ll send it to you free if you’ll pay for the shipping. Just message me if you’re interested and let me know your country. I’ll check on the shipping rate and  you can decide if it’s worth it first!

[Update] You guys are fast! I’ve got a few queries already and am taking this “off the market” before I disappoint too many people. I’ll update again if the deal falls through and the lipstick is available again!]

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 Barry M 100 Baby Pink Lip Paint: UBER-pale pink that is almost white against the skin. I’m NC25 and even on my medium-light skin, it looks very dramatic. Not the easiest shade to wear, but works with the right makeup.

Finish: Satin-pearl (the pearl is almost invisible on the lips)

Opacity: Medium-high, buildable

Price: Low

Shade: Pale white-pink

Note: If nothing but the most deliciously-shocking pale pink will do, THIS is the lipstick for you. Just note that you will need to mute out your lips with a little concealer, especially around the edges, as the lipstick is paler than your skin and will bring out any ruddy tones around the mouth

Makeup for Girls with Glasses: Strong Pastels (Lime Crime Chinadoll Palette)

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Most times, girls with glasses think they should just skip eye makeup altogether. Well actually, you can get away with a heck of a lot more eye makeup in the daytime than girls without glasses.

I’m doing a demo with the “worst” type of glasses. Big, black, plastic frames that mask a lot of your face. And just for fun, I’m choosing strong colors that most people do not choose to wear in the day. Note that this is not the only way to do your eyes for glasses; it’s just ONE of the ways.

Before you begin, there are a few things you need to note when doing your eyes for glasses:

1. Emphasize your lash line. The optical distortion from your lenses and the shadow your frames cast can really obscure your eyes, so make sure you darken your lash line if you want your eye makeup to be visible.
2. You should go easy on your lashes. Don’t confuse this with emphasizing your lash line (above). There is limited space between your glass lens and your eye, and for some people, glomming on a lot of mascara is just going to end up feeling uncomfortable when your lash tips keep pushing against your glasses when you blink.  Use a mascara that builds volme and thickness, but not too much length. And FORGET false lashes. There’s no point.

Step 1: Pack a strong matte aquamarine green (Jade-o-Lade) on the outer half of the lids, and a pastel sky blue (Parasol) on the inner half.  You may need to gently blend where the colors meet, as these shadows go on intense, and you want them to fade into each other.

[If you have Mono-lids, make sure the shadows go up above the fold, until they reach the hollows of your eye socket. Otherwise, you won’t see any color.]

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Step 2: Apply black pencil along the upper lash line and waterline, and then use a flat angled brush to push a matte black shadow (Lotus Noir) over the black. This will make the line much more intense, and also set the liner and keep it in place for longer.

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Step 3: Just for a bit more color, I ran the pastel blue and teal along the lower lash line, UNDER the black.

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Step 4: Finish with black mascara. Wiggle in well at the base of the lashes, and then pull straight out instead of wiggling all the way to the top. This gives you more volume, without building up too much length, which is useful when you are wearing glasses.

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Step 5: On the cheeks, I applied a soft pastel pink blush (MAC Sunday Afternoon Pearlmatte Powder - this is limited edition so if you can’t get it, Well Dressed is real pretty too), and then applied a very clean, blue-based pastel pink on the lips (Lime Crime Great Pink Planet or MAC Saint Germain).

For darker skin tones, try MAC Pink Nouveau.

For those a little less brave with colors, use softer nude-pinks/peaches such as MAC’s Please Me (shown here) or Kinda Sexy Matte Lipstick.

Classic Pin-Up Look in Rose Tones (MAC Rose Light pigment with Rebel Lipstick)

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Step 1: Apply a soft bronze/brown along the outer half of the socket line (along the hollows), and along the outer half of the lower lashes. I used a medium brown from The Body Shop, but this is such a generic shade you can use one from anywhere.

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Step 2: Apply a soft sparkly pink on the lids. I used MAC Rose Light from the Strawberry Patch Crushed Metallic Pigment stack (Vera Collection). You can use MAC Swish or Da Bling for a similar shade in a less sparkly finish.

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Step 3: Use a black gel liner and draw in the outer flick parallel to the curve/angle of  your lower lash line.

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Step 4: Pull the liner from outside in diagonally, in an almost straight line until you hit the center of your lids. Then continue along the curve of your lash line to the inner corners.

Then apply a beige, yellow or white liner along the water line. This is a useful trick when wearing pink/peach/red tones on the lids, as it will minimize the “red-eye” effect and make your eyes look brighter. I used NARS Rue Bonaparte pencil.

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Step 5: I applied a very soft pink blush to the cheeks (MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder in Sunday Afternoon; use Well Dressed or any other soft pink if you don’t have access to this. I just happen to love it.)

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Step 6: Apply a deep purple/magenta liner (I used NYX Purple Rain pencil) very light to lips and fill in to get a sheer purplish base. Then fill in with a deep burgundy-rose lipstick like MAC Rebel.