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From Twitter 03-31-2010
Apr. 1st, 2010 03:04 amTweets copied by twittinesis.com
Apr. 1st, 2010
I'm eco-nurse...also my dryer is broken.
Apr. 1st, 2010 06:29 amThey may be blue scrubs, but they're green. :D
Hey there, Makeup Newbie: On your LIPS!
Apr. 1st, 2010 10:19 amI work tonight, so I decided today I would do the Lips portion of Hey There, Makeup Newbie. It's shorter than the eye one.
Lip Things
Scrub
You know there are scrubs for your face. There are also scrubs for your lips. These are usually less harsh, and many of them use sugar. Scrubs exfoliate your lips, so if you're one of those people who have very peely lips, this might be for you. The thing about exfoliating scrubs is that you want them to be moisturizing as well, because otherwise you're going to dry your lips out and they'll be even more peely. Gross. I've used Laura Mercier lip sugar with great effect, and I also use LUSH's Ocean Salt scrub (but I moisturize the HECK out of them after that). In my previous post, a commenter mentioned baking soda in Cetaphil as a scrub, and I can actually see baking soda in lotion as a very good, gentle lip scrub. CHEEEEEEP.
Moisturizing
There are 40 billion lip moisturizers out there, and I think I've figured something out: you just have to find which one works for you. Different folks like the feel of different types of moisturizers. For example, anything that feels oily is gonna drive me nuts, so I use Nivea Q10 moisturizer from Target. This goes on my lips each time I moisturize my face. Some people swear by pricier things, some people use Vasoline (which I've done in the past when they've been ULTRA dry). Just like dry skin, this is another reason to drink water. On nights when I'm at the hospital & I drink hardly any water during my shift, my lips are much worse in the morning. So. DRINK WATER. (Do as I say, not as I do, obviously.)
Primer
There is such a thing as lip primer as well. Lip primers smooth out your lips and allow the color to go on more evenly. Again, this is optional. Some people don't really need it. I use it because of my whole "dry lips" issue. I use a Nivea product here: A Kiss of Moisture. It's available at Target or Wal-mart or wherever. Urban Decay makes a lip primer, but I don't have any experience with it.
TIME FOR COLOR!
Stains
Stains are just what they sound like. A stain is a very thin liquid or gel that's rubbed on the lips to give them the appearance of a different NATURAL color. For example, if I put a pink stain on my lips, it just makes them look like pinker lips. Stains don't change the texture or "finish" of your lips--only the color. It's the sheerest color coverage you can get. Stila makes some of these called "Lip Crushes", and I own them in pomegranate & mango. I love both; even the pomegranate, which is a dark pink & you'd think would look awful on someone of my complexion, looks pretty great. It just gives my lips a flush of color. There are actually brands available at department/discount/drug stores: CoverGirl has an Outlast lip stain, and then there's the Pixi line available at Target. It's pricey but it's available.
I didn't mention it yesterday, but there are cheek stains as well. They're like blush for those who don't wear foundation (I don't recommend putting a cheek stain on even over the sheerest tinted moisturizer). Blend them on with your fingers wherever you'd put powder blush.
MOVING ON!
Glosses/Glasses
Glosses are a viscous liquid, usually applied with a wand or your finger. They usually give a sheer wash of color, though there are glosses with high color payoff. All glosses have one thing in common: a very high shine finish. They will make your lips look glassy, and they do not really "dry", though some of them stay stickier than others. Some of them are labeled as "plumping", and these usually have some sort of irritant in them that makes your lips tingle (& they really do make them plumper). I used to abhor glosses, but![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
asqmh converted me (in much the same way she converted me to Apple, Livejournal, and about a billion other things I'm currently obsessed with), and now I own lots. Some of my favorites:
MAC's Lip Glass: I have this in sheer black with gold glitter. That is nowhere near as gaudy as it sounds; I wear it at work a lot & get tons of compliments.
Sexy Motherpucker (Soap & Glory, at Target): Available in clear, but very subtle color if you get the plum or nude or whatever. I have the nude & I love it, even if it smells slightly like Tootsie Rolls. Ick. EXTREMELY moisturizing & pleasantly tingly.
Buxom Diamonds: At Sephora, Bare Escentuals brand. Highest sparkle payoff of ANY gloss I've ever seen. Most of them are pretty colorless, but the color "Clare" is a dark sheer mauve that I think would look good on any skin color from Q's to the darkest chocolate.
I also hear awesome things about the Hard Candy gloss line. Hard Candy is a good option if you're curious about MAC or Urban Decay type makeup, but you're on a Wal-Mart budget. HC is only available at Wal-Mart. Wow. Typing that I realized for the first time that I share initials with the Hard Candy makeup line. Whee!
Lipstick
Lipstick is the stuff that you already know. Maybe you're baffled. I can see why. There are a million different types of lipstick.
Matte: no shine. Flat color & texture. Usually full coverage.
Satin: no glitter/shimmer, but it is shiny. Sheer to full.
Shimmer or Frost: These are hard for me to tell apart, personally. They do have a hint of metallic-ness in them. Not big enough to be glitter, but still there. Sheer to full.
Glitter: O, hey, you kissed a 3rd grade art project. LOOKS GREAT! Sheer to full.
There are also different coverages, just like foundation. Sheer is minimal coverage, just a bit of color & smoothing texture. Then there's medium, and then there's full. Full coverage covers up any trace of your lip color or texture, overlaying it with that of the lipstick. I have one called Hipster by MAC: it's an ultra dark black-red. THAT is a full coverage lipstick.
I wear almost exclusively MAC lipsticks, with some Sephora ones thrown in. My reason for this is the ability to try them on. Lipsticks are a type of makeup that will change pretty significantly on each different person who puts them on. For example, you should see what happens when Q & I try on some of the same lipsticks. Some of the spicy colors that she pulls off easily look garish & out of place on me, and some of the cooler colors I wear make her look cyanotic. And you can see from this icon how close in color we look. This is why I never buy lipsticks in Target or Wal-Mart--I can't try them on first!
Different "looks" are going to call for different lipsticks. If you're going for a fresh, natural look, you'll want to avoid full coverages and go for sheer. If you're doing super-bright colorful eyes, you might want neutral lips or you might not. How long you want it to wear matters, too: a stain theoretically lasts much longer than the others. More examples: when I'm wearing something like blue+yellow eyeshadow with a distinct black liner, I want neutral lips. I tend to wear MAC Viva Glam II on those days, or perhaps a sheer gloss. When I want to wear Hipster, I do an extremely neutral eye with a darkened crease and very heavy black liner. If I'm doing a sheer wash of a single color on my eyes, I like to wear MAC's Meltdown, a medium-coverage, bright orange shimmer on my lips. It makes my whole face bright. So there are totally different uses for every lip product.
All I can really tell you about lipwear is that you have to experiment. This is where places like Sephora come in handy. You need to be able to try things on, and possibly even speak to a makeup artist or someone very experienced (come shopping with me & Q!). They can help you pick which samples you should try.
Lip Things
Scrub
You know there are scrubs for your face. There are also scrubs for your lips. These are usually less harsh, and many of them use sugar. Scrubs exfoliate your lips, so if you're one of those people who have very peely lips, this might be for you. The thing about exfoliating scrubs is that you want them to be moisturizing as well, because otherwise you're going to dry your lips out and they'll be even more peely. Gross. I've used Laura Mercier lip sugar with great effect, and I also use LUSH's Ocean Salt scrub (but I moisturize the HECK out of them after that). In my previous post, a commenter mentioned baking soda in Cetaphil as a scrub, and I can actually see baking soda in lotion as a very good, gentle lip scrub. CHEEEEEEP.
Moisturizing
There are 40 billion lip moisturizers out there, and I think I've figured something out: you just have to find which one works for you. Different folks like the feel of different types of moisturizers. For example, anything that feels oily is gonna drive me nuts, so I use Nivea Q10 moisturizer from Target. This goes on my lips each time I moisturize my face. Some people swear by pricier things, some people use Vasoline (which I've done in the past when they've been ULTRA dry). Just like dry skin, this is another reason to drink water. On nights when I'm at the hospital & I drink hardly any water during my shift, my lips are much worse in the morning. So. DRINK WATER. (Do as I say, not as I do, obviously.)
Primer
There is such a thing as lip primer as well. Lip primers smooth out your lips and allow the color to go on more evenly. Again, this is optional. Some people don't really need it. I use it because of my whole "dry lips" issue. I use a Nivea product here: A Kiss of Moisture. It's available at Target or Wal-mart or wherever. Urban Decay makes a lip primer, but I don't have any experience with it.
TIME FOR COLOR!
Stains
Stains are just what they sound like. A stain is a very thin liquid or gel that's rubbed on the lips to give them the appearance of a different NATURAL color. For example, if I put a pink stain on my lips, it just makes them look like pinker lips. Stains don't change the texture or "finish" of your lips--only the color. It's the sheerest color coverage you can get. Stila makes some of these called "Lip Crushes", and I own them in pomegranate & mango. I love both; even the pomegranate, which is a dark pink & you'd think would look awful on someone of my complexion, looks pretty great. It just gives my lips a flush of color. There are actually brands available at department/discount/drug stores: CoverGirl has an Outlast lip stain, and then there's the Pixi line available at Target. It's pricey but it's available.
I didn't mention it yesterday, but there are cheek stains as well. They're like blush for those who don't wear foundation (I don't recommend putting a cheek stain on even over the sheerest tinted moisturizer). Blend them on with your fingers wherever you'd put powder blush.
MOVING ON!
Glosses/Glasses
Glosses are a viscous liquid, usually applied with a wand or your finger. They usually give a sheer wash of color, though there are glosses with high color payoff. All glosses have one thing in common: a very high shine finish. They will make your lips look glassy, and they do not really "dry", though some of them stay stickier than others. Some of them are labeled as "plumping", and these usually have some sort of irritant in them that makes your lips tingle (& they really do make them plumper). I used to abhor glosses, but
asqmh converted me (in much the same way she converted me to Apple, Livejournal, and about a billion other things I'm currently obsessed with), and now I own lots. Some of my favorites:MAC's Lip Glass: I have this in sheer black with gold glitter. That is nowhere near as gaudy as it sounds; I wear it at work a lot & get tons of compliments.
Sexy Motherpucker (Soap & Glory, at Target): Available in clear, but very subtle color if you get the plum or nude or whatever. I have the nude & I love it, even if it smells slightly like Tootsie Rolls. Ick. EXTREMELY moisturizing & pleasantly tingly.
Buxom Diamonds: At Sephora, Bare Escentuals brand. Highest sparkle payoff of ANY gloss I've ever seen. Most of them are pretty colorless, but the color "Clare" is a dark sheer mauve that I think would look good on any skin color from Q's to the darkest chocolate.
I also hear awesome things about the Hard Candy gloss line. Hard Candy is a good option if you're curious about MAC or Urban Decay type makeup, but you're on a Wal-Mart budget. HC is only available at Wal-Mart. Wow. Typing that I realized for the first time that I share initials with the Hard Candy makeup line. Whee!
Lipstick
Lipstick is the stuff that you already know. Maybe you're baffled. I can see why. There are a million different types of lipstick.
Matte: no shine. Flat color & texture. Usually full coverage.
Satin: no glitter/shimmer, but it is shiny. Sheer to full.
Shimmer or Frost: These are hard for me to tell apart, personally. They do have a hint of metallic-ness in them. Not big enough to be glitter, but still there. Sheer to full.
Glitter: O, hey, you kissed a 3rd grade art project. LOOKS GREAT! Sheer to full.
There are also different coverages, just like foundation. Sheer is minimal coverage, just a bit of color & smoothing texture. Then there's medium, and then there's full. Full coverage covers up any trace of your lip color or texture, overlaying it with that of the lipstick. I have one called Hipster by MAC: it's an ultra dark black-red. THAT is a full coverage lipstick.
I wear almost exclusively MAC lipsticks, with some Sephora ones thrown in. My reason for this is the ability to try them on. Lipsticks are a type of makeup that will change pretty significantly on each different person who puts them on. For example, you should see what happens when Q & I try on some of the same lipsticks. Some of the spicy colors that she pulls off easily look garish & out of place on me, and some of the cooler colors I wear make her look cyanotic. And you can see from this icon how close in color we look. This is why I never buy lipsticks in Target or Wal-Mart--I can't try them on first!
Different "looks" are going to call for different lipsticks. If you're going for a fresh, natural look, you'll want to avoid full coverages and go for sheer. If you're doing super-bright colorful eyes, you might want neutral lips or you might not. How long you want it to wear matters, too: a stain theoretically lasts much longer than the others. More examples: when I'm wearing something like blue+yellow eyeshadow with a distinct black liner, I want neutral lips. I tend to wear MAC Viva Glam II on those days, or perhaps a sheer gloss. When I want to wear Hipster, I do an extremely neutral eye with a darkened crease and very heavy black liner. If I'm doing a sheer wash of a single color on my eyes, I like to wear MAC's Meltdown, a medium-coverage, bright orange shimmer on my lips. It makes my whole face bright. So there are totally different uses for every lip product.
All I can really tell you about lipwear is that you have to experiment. This is where places like Sephora come in handy. You need to be able to try things on, and possibly even speak to a makeup artist or someone very experienced (come shopping with me & Q!). They can help you pick which samples you should try.
