Party Mouth: Are Your Lips Ready for the Holidays?

The invitation for the party arrives and your first thought is … PARTY MOUTH! That classic, fashion accessory … red lips. If you haven’t touched a bold lip color in awhile, I think I know why.

You’re harboring memories of a fifteen-step process that required the precision of a surgeon that only delivered fifteen seconds of perfect wear. All is well as long as you don’t talk, laugh or drink anything. Not feeling quite as festive as before? Relax. A modern red lip leaves all of that old school drama behind.

Forget about that makeup artist or friend who told you that your lips were too small or too full (or too whatever) to wear it. Colorful lips can brighten your entire face. Try it.

If we’re gonna do it, let’s do it right. Tips for easy application, check.   Great, new formulas, check. Gorgeous colors, check.

Here we go

1. Hydrate

Bold lip colors demand perfectly smooth, hydrated lips. Exfoliate with a damp washcloth followed by a lip balm, like these:

_9885920
Hourglass lip oil

hopeinastickclose

Philosophy Hope in a Stick

300
Burt’s Bees Peppermint Lip Balm

2. Line

Allow the lip balm to absorb and then fill your lips in with liner that matches your lips, not the lipstick. The liner creates a barrier for the lip color and prevents feathering.  Because the liner matches your lips, you’ll avoid looking like you used a crayon to draw your mouth on when your lipstick starts to fade.

Try these:

_9318192
The Nude Liner from Smashbox
s1065739-main-hero-300
Sephora Collection Nano Lip Liner in Native Nude

 

 

300-1
Revlon Colorstay Lip Liner in Rose 655

 


PERFECTLY IMPERFECT

3. Color time

Now your lips are hydrated and lined. It’s time for color. These lipstick/gloss/stain hybrids are super pigmented so you only need a tiny bit. Excess product likes to travel. Use just enough to get an even wash of color.

HYBRIDS

300-2
L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Extraordinaire in Scarlet Concerto
_9077303
Dior Addict Fluid Stick in Pandore

_6837118
YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain #9 Rouge Laque

LIPSTICKS:

Modern lipstick application, straight from the tube: apply a base coat, blot your lips with a tissue, reapply using your finger to dab the color, making sure to concentrate on the center of your lips. Finish by running a cotton swab along your lip line. A diffused finish is what keeps things fresh.

Here are some much-loved classics and some brand new hues:

_9556661
NARS Audacious in Lana, Carmen or Rita
300-3
Maybelline ColorSensational Lip Color in Red Revival 645 
_6981436
MAC in Ruby Woo

Couple red lips with the proper attitude and you’re good to go. Now forget about your lipstick and get down to having some fun. I’ll leave you with a few words from makeup master, Francois Nars …

“Red lipstick is to beauty what the LBD is to fashion. The difference is that when you walk into a room wearing a red lip, people notice YOU.” — Francois Nars

 

Written by 

Tonya Riner started doing makeup as a teenager in her two-stoplight hometown in Kansas. From there, she declared herself a professional, and has spent the last twenty-five years on fashion shoots and shows, on both coasts, and in Europe. Tonya's work has been featured in Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. She was included in Allure Magazine’s Directory as one of the best makeup artists in the United States. Her long list of celebrity clientele includes Heidi Klum, Erin Wasson, Julie Anderson, Rachel Hunter, Chandra North, and Lauren Bush. Backstage, she has worked alongside Frederic Fekkai and Ted Gibson. She was a member of the beauty team for Beyonce’s Blow video. For Tonya, one of the most rewarding parts of her job is spending time, one-on-one, with models and clients. She finds that ordinary barriers fall away within minutes of the start of a makeup session, leaving space for instant intimacy and the shared pursuit of beauty. Connecting with extraordinary people from all walks of life fuels her passion for her work. As a consultant, Tonya works with creative teams to devise strategies for beauty brand product development, most recently for the company, Beauty for Real. She enjoys working with products from both the manufacturing and marketing ends. Moving forward, she would like to be instrumental in the development of the kinds of beauty products she, herself, would want to use.

2 thoughts on “Party Mouth: Are Your Lips Ready for the Holidays?

  1. Great post, Tanya!

    Love it, live it, celebrate the power of being a girl with a rocking red lip. Let’s Party!

    Xx Jackie

    model / celebrity makeup artist / beauty blogger / writer / moto-chick aspirations

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *