The Makeup Box

A “Jelly Lip” Summer: Layering Lipstick over a Gloss Base

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I seldom apply gloss over lipstick because I find it makes everything thick and heavy feeling, and causes lipstick to smudge, fade, and wear away unevenly. On its own, Gloss usually has so little color that one shade looks like any other.

So I do the jelly lip.

This isn’t some amazing trick obviously. I just apply lipstick on top of a gloss base to just add some pigmentation without taking away the sheen and “jello-like” translucence. You also get the lightweight feel of a gloss with slightly better lasting power.

This is another quick way to stretch those bright lipsticks that you don’t quite dare to wear out!

Some favorite combinations are above. Try a:

• neon pink over a transparent pink gloss
• a soft blush-pink over a nude gloss
• a coral over an orange gloss
• a deep wine over a beige gloss (below)

And it’s not hard to maintain. A couple of hours in, if you need to touch up some shine, just apply more gloss. You don’t need to touch up with a slick of lipstick until after you eat or drink something.

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P.S. Lip Care

Someone sent me a message asking about lip care and how I keep my lips smooth and line-free. Well I don’t naturally have many visible grooves or deep lines in my lip so I can’t give any advise about it. But grooved lips are beautiful; look at Angelina Jolie. Don’t worry about what’s naturally yours (grooved, lined or not) and just keep them in the best state they can be. This means not flaky, cracked or chapped.

Mine do get flaky and chapped actually. Usually after I try on a new product and develop a sensitivity to it. You don’t see them cos I obviously don’t do any lip-related posts on those days when my lips are extremely sore!

Beautiful New L’oreal Colour Riche Shades for Spring/Summer!

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L’oreal’s Colour Riche range has always had a great creamy and pigmented texture, but it hasn’t really been synonymous with fashion-forward colors.

They did try a couple of years ago but didn’t quite succeed in delivering on the beautiful shades promised in photo-enhanced publicity images. Most of the shades stained the lips badly, were a lot duller and nowhere near as bright as the ads showed, and contained weird chunky glitter that did nothing but feel odd on the lips.

I was VERY happy to see the new range, but these don’t seem to be available at every counter yet and I’m hoping it’s not an Asia-exclusive because these babies are GORGEOUS.

Meet the 3 that I totally recommend:

• Wild Tango (acidic coral with a slight pink undertone)
• Touch of Amaranth (gorgeous reddened fuchsia)
• Pink Retro (true medium pastel pink)

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Coral Lipsticks: Shades, Swatches, Tips!

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Coral is that hybrid shade that is not quite orange, not quite red. Some even have a shot of pink and peach thrown in. Read down further for brands and details of the swatches listed!

It can be a hard shade to wear if you don’t take care to even out your skin tone with a good base or concealer first (it can make blotchy skin blotchier) or a little matching blush on the cheeks (it can make medium to dark skins sallow-looking).

But get your base covered and coral is its own statement and does not need much eye makeup accompanying it. (Interestingly, all the beautiful looks I found featuring coral lips had MINIMAL eye makeup.) 

P.S. Thanks to all of you for chipping in with your favorite corals! More, more! We need to know where all the good stuff is!

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Cobalt Wing: Graphic “Duochrome” Liner and Poppy-red Lips (for a funky Valentine’s)

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Say you’re doing away with the whole dinner and flowers thing, and having fun at the club or jazzing it up with the girls (or boys) this Valentine’s, and you want eyes on you.

This is a very fun way to wear a classic red-lip-and-liner retro “Bombshell” look with a cool twist. (I love it because it looks like stick-on liner in photographs!), And while I picked blue because I have brown eyes, you can EASILY adapt this to any other color. This is good for any skin tone and most eye shapes, including mature skins and hooded lids. If you have mono-lids, the liner might not show up quite as well.

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Statement Metallic Ombre Lips (Chinese Festival Colors)

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This is a fun tutorial with a twist on the “traditional” ombre lip using a metallic pigment. You can choose any colors you want as long as they sort of stand out from each other. (Test on the back of your hand to see if you like the effect.)

Just because this is the Mid-Autumn Festival period for many Asians, I went with a nice coral red (Revlon Ravish Me Red) and a bright amber-gold pigment (Coastal Scents mica in Metallic Rustic Gold).

The only other things you’ll need are a flat eye brush that isn’t too small, and Q-tips in case you need to clean up any mess.

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Step 1: Simply slick on your lipstick as neatly as possible. Matte lipsticks will allow the pigment to “float” and be more obvious. The glossier the lipstick, the more the pigments will sink into the moisture (and look dull).

You can still use a creamy lipstick. You’d just need to layer on more pigment.

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Step 2: Using your flat brush, press one side of it into the pigment and then tap the brush to remove any excess. If you don’t, all the pigment is going to end up on your chin. Not very sexy.

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Step 3: The 1st step to laying down the color is to gently pat a thin layer of pigment onto the top lip. Go from center outward one side at a time, so that most of the pigments will be concentrated in the center. The first layer you lay down may not be very vibrant and opaque, but don’t worry about that.

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Step 4: This is where you pack a 2nd layer of color down the center of both top and bottom lips. On the top lip, this should give you that nice ombre effect where the gold is most intense in the center and then slowly fades out into the red.

On the bottom lip, I wanted more dramatic contrast (like gold foil pressed onto the lips), so I only pressed the brush down around the center. No ombre, no fading outwards like we did with the top lip.

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If you need to, use a Q-tip to carefully clean up the edges if your lip, but if you didn’t pick up too much pigment earlier, you shouldn’t need to.

Now all you need is minimal makeup on the rest of your face, and you’ll have the most vavavoom lips at the party! (Just be very careful about eating and drinking.)

P.S. @mrlbakerz: It would be interesting to kiss someone though. You’d leave a little gold heart!