Studio 5 Beauty and Style Contributor Holly Stone reveals her favorite options.
Don’t forget your lips! To achieve a polished look, addressing the lips is the finishing touch, and should never be neglected. This season the trend is to “gloss up”. Replacing lipstick with a lighter version to create the perfect pout is all the rage. Here are some tips to making gloss work for you:
Preparing the lips
1. Make sure lips are exfoliated. Dry skin can make lip gloss look goopy.
Try Mary Kay Satin Lips lip mask ($9.50 www.marykay.com)
Philosophy Kiss me Lip Scrub ($15.00 www.sephora.com)
Or make your own:
Homemade Lip Scrub
½ cup of sugar (natural exfoliant)
2 Tbls. yogurt (hydrating milk protein)
Mix together, rub in small circles all over lips. You can lick if off if you want or rinse it.
You can also use your toothbrush on your lips after you brush your teeth. This will buff off the dead skin.
2. Make gloss pop and last longer by lightening lips with concealer or foundation before adding colored lip gloss.
Selecting the Right Gloss For You
From tubes to pots, wands to fingers, moisturizing to high shine, finding the right gloss can be a challenge. Not all lip glosses are created equally. Some can be too heavily perfumed, while others are too sticky or too dull in color. A high price tag doesn’t always indicate fantastic results. Having tried over 50 brands, here are some of the best glosses in their respective categories:
Tubes:
These glosses are more sticky and generally produce a high shine. Depending on the formula, they need to be re-applied more frequently. My favorite tube lip glosses are:
Cover Girl Wetslicks, $5.99 (Target, Wal-Mart)
L’Oreal Color Juice, $6.99 (Walmart, Walgreens )
*Identical to Lancome Juicy Tubes, $19.00
Wands:
If they have a sponge wand, they will be more moisturizing and more muted. If they have a brush wand, they will be a higher shine and slightly more glossy. My favorite wand lip glosses are:
Sponge: Wet N Wild Moisture Shine Gloss, $2.99 (Target, Wal-Mart)
Brush: MAC Lustreglass, $14.00 ( Nordstrom)
Pots:
These glosses are the most moisturizing and require a brush or your finger for application. My favorite pot lip glosses are:
L’Oreal Jelly Balm, $7.99 (Walgreens, Wal-Mart)
Neutrogena Lip Nutrition, $8.99 (Walgreens, Target)
Lacquer glosses are the most sticky of all. These are the best for a high shine result but are the most inconvenient for running and the goop factor.
Choose the applicator that is easiest for you to use. Whether it is rounded or slanted, wand or brush, personal preference will help you decide. Most flavors are listed on the packaging. Find a flavor that you like as well. There is nothing worse than wearing a gloss you can’t stand to taste.
Selecting a shade
The most flattering lip tones will be one or two shades darker than your natural lip color. To test shades, apply gloss to one lip. If that color is just a shade or two deeper than your bare lip, then you’ve found your shade.
Women with fair skin, look great in shades such as nudes in a slightly apricot shade, pinks and light corals. Stay away from browns, which will wash out your skin tone.
Those with a medium skin tone can go a bit darker. You’ll look great in roses, mauves and berries. Skip the bright reds and consider a deep burgundy instead.
Deep plum, chocolate or red is fabulous with dark or black skin. Women with dark skin can go in one of two directions: toward brown or purple. Think caramel or walnut for day, and plum or wine for evening.
Hot colors of the season: coral, nude, pinks.
Application
1. Apply lip liner. Choose a liner 1-2 shades darker than your gloss and be sure to fill in the entire lip (Don’t just line. Once the lip gloss fades, the line will remain looking unbalanced) This also acts as an additional base to create more staying power for your lip gloss
2. Instead of putting gloss on like you would lipstick (from left to right, top to bottom with a smack!) apply gloss to the middle of your bottom lip only. Rub lips together. This will keep gloss from going on too thick & goopy.
3. Apply gloss instead of lipstick. I love the look of just a bit of gloss over a neutral lip. Again, dab just a bit in the center of lips and smooth out from there.
4. Too goopy? Smack lips onto a piece of paper, (not tissue as you will pick up tissue fuzzies)
Problems?
If your lip gloss causes your lips to peel and get clumpy:
The lip gloss may have expired. The formula of glosses made of petroleum jelly and pigment separates over time, making the jelly incapable of holding moisture in your lips. Throw out your lip gloss after about six months.
Alcohol based lip glosses cause drying and consequently peeling of lips. Read labels carefully and avoid these glosses. Use water or oil based glosses that trap the moisture on the lips.
If you have to apply your lip gloss constantly, but want to get color that lasts:
Layer, layer, layer. Put foundation and powder on your lips. Follow with filling in the lips with lip liner. You can even put a lip stain (try Benefit Benetint Sephora.com $20-28) on your lips to give additional color. Finish with the gloss. Keep in mind that gloss is not of a consistency to last a long time. Keep your expectations in check that gloss will need to be re-applied.
Holly Stone is a regular contributor on Studio 5 and also the owner of the local style and image company “Your Image, Your Way. With 19 years experience in the industry, Holly founded this company on the philosophy that refining your image can give you the confidence you need to live life to its fullest. Your Image, Your Way is a full-service image management company that can enhance your style while remaining true to your personality. Services include:
Closet organization: Instruction on how to make the most out of your closet space. We will teach you how to maximize your time in selecting outfits to wear. We will evaluate what items can be re-designed, or should be discarded or donated.
Figure Profile: Learn the styles of clothing that flatter your specific figure type
Wardrobe Styling: We will style new outfits from your existing wardrobe. A picture portfolio of the newly created styles will be presented for easy reference.
Personal Shopping: Save time and let us do your clothing shopping for you. We know the best fabrics, fits and styles to suit you. Our extensive knowledge of shopping outlets allows us to shop within your budget.
Make up lessons: Have your make-up bag evaluated to see what is working/not working for you and why. Learn about skin care, brushes, the difference between drug store and department store products, the best colors for you and how to apply them based on your unique facial characteristics and lifestyle.
Corporate image: Let us help you put your best foot forward. Training for employees and executives on image etiquette and its power.
To book an appointment please call 801-362-8934 or visit www.yourimageyourway.com.
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