Lipstick Application 101

[KittyT]

new product alert/review!

yesterday at Sephora, I picked up the Sephora brand Perfection Lip Primer. It's a soft pencil primer. The reviews on their website vary, and a lot of folks say they go through it fast, but at least I've found that it works. Putting some all over the lips (and a bit around the lips to prevent migration) helped my lipliner go on very smoothly (I fill in the entire lip), in turn helping my lipstick go on very smoothly. It also has a bit of a tingle in it to act as a lip plumper. My first try was this morning and so far I'm happy with this $12 purchase.

I'm also trying Sephora brand "Lip Last", a clear brush-on sealer. I've tried lip sealers before and have always found them drying. This one seems to do the trick without excessive drying, and it's definitely kept my lipstick on my lips and not on my glass or my napkin. I blotted my lips after eating some rather oily pesto pasta, and while a faint bit of lipstick came off, I was still satisfied with the way my color looked. It stays very slightly tacky, but I think this helps prevent dryness. I am a chapstick addict and have not felt the need for chapstick since I applied my lipstick this morning. I have not tried it with red lipstick yet, nor have I tried the kiss test, but so far I am also satisfied with this purchase ($14).

 

[C-dot]

KittyT, do you find that the sealer makes your lips feel tight, or like gelatin? It sounds strange... But if you don't know what I'm talking about, then it mustn't.

I would love a good sealer that doesn't do this. I get the dreaded "red ring," then I'm reapplying every 10 minutes.

 

[KittyT]

KittyT, do you find that the sealer makes your lips feel tight, or like gelatin? It sounds strange... But if you don't know what I'm talking about, then it mustn't.

No, it doesn't feel tight to me.

 

[Goldfish]

Use a *neutral* shade of lipliner to line and fill in your lips. Many gals will recommend a matching red liner. Kevin Aucoin recommends a neutral shade, and I agree with him. I think the results are far superior and you will save yourself money not having to buy a matching liner for every lipstick. I use MAC Spice. Using a liner and filling in with it will help keep lipstick from bleeding and migrating.

Why is this so superior? I am new to lipstick & liners but not to makeup in general, and I am a little bit lost with all the lipliner choices you can make. At first I wanted one of those clear/transparent liners, but today I realised that it might not be a good choice because you can't alter the shape of your lips with it.

What do use to blot your lips with powder? A lip brush would add too much product ....

 

[KittyT]

Why is this so superior? I am new to lipstick & liners but not to makeup in general, and I am a little bit lost with all the lipliner choices you can make. At first I wanted one of those clear/transparent liners, but today I realised that it might not be a good choice because you can't alter the shape of your lips with it.

I think it's superior for a number of reasons. For one, you don't have to buy a separate liner for every color you own. Also, liner tends to stay on longer than lipstick. so if your lipstick wears down, you will usually still have that liner line around the outside (if you don't fill in your lips) which in my opinion makes one look trashy. Another reason is because sometimes it's hard to match a liner color to a lipstick, especially if you have a tendency to mix lipstick colors like I do.

In the end though, like many things, a lot of it just has to do with preference. I found that the neutral worked brilliantly for me and I certainly appreciated the savings.

What do use to blot your lips with powder? A lip brush would add too much product ....

You just blot lightly with a powder puff with a very slight amount of powder on it. I have a large puff I use for my face and I have a small area along one edge on the back side that i use for powdering lipstick. If you find you get too much powder, hold a single ply of toilet paper over your lips and powder through that (you'll need to use more powder on your puff this way).

 

[Goldfish]

Thank you KittyT, now I understand it!
Off to find a lipliner that matches my lip color...

 

[Emer]

I wear the same red shade every day, or close to it, so I have a matching lip liner that I love. But, I am a firm believer in using a primer for your lipstick--especially when wearing reds! I find it's the only thing that keeps the color from running or feathering. I started using MAC Prep & Prime back in 2007, and it's never failed me.

For my neutral I use Victoria's Secret Very Sexy lipliner in "Warm Honey"--it's a great color and very buildable. For my red liner, I use Sephora Brand #045. I've had this liner for over a year and love it! My lipstick is Victoria's Secret Very Sexy in "Don't Stop," applied with a lip brush (better to blend with). It's a nice creamy formula without being too glossy (<--- another thing that adds to bleeding and feathering). I'm not a blotter (I should probably start), but I do apply the old finger-in-the-mouth-trick.

On days when I want something a little more of a ruby shade ("Don't Stop" is a little more of a brick) I use "Vixen" from Masuimi Max's line I Am Trouble (http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/vixen-lip-gloss-masuimi.html). The website says it's a "super shine" but I think if you use a light hand, it's a great lip color--very pigmented! And the brush applicator is perfect for blending.

 

[Medvssa]

I wear red lipstick almost everyday, this is how I do it, and why. I love red lipstick, this will get long winded

I scrub my lips with a warm damp towel every night when I remove my makeup (with OCM, the oil possibly helps aswell), then use a lipbalm when I go to bed. This eliminated dry lips for me, despite the matte lipsticks and sealer.

I apply a little of foundation around my lips, because I do change the natural shape of my lips (quite 80s) when I paint them, into a cupid's bow. A bit of powder makes its way there too, while I powder the rest of my face.

I line the outside of my lips with a clear waxy liner (Mary Kay outliner which was discontinued, nice to know there are others available, as I read in this thread). I do this since I have fine lines around my lips, and this stops the feathering. I do this even when I use sealer, which is possibly overkill.

I mark the upper lip bow with the tube first. I do this because the round shape of the tube helps me draw on the curved shape as symmetrically as possible over my pointy lips. It's a sort of template Then I line my lips with a red liner*. I use a red one because I actually draw my lips with the liner, and I find this more handy. I also put my makeup on in the train most of the time and I already carry too many brushes, and the pencil works better with the movement of the train lol
I follow this sequence (possibly irrelevant ):
Lower lip: center, from each corner to center.
Upper lip: from each tip of curve to center, from each corner towards center, from each tip of curve to side.
This takes half a minute. Then I spend +5 minutes perfecting the shape lol lips are definitely what I spend more time with.
I fill in with the tube, staying a hair away from the edge of the pencilled line.
Then I blot lightly.

For everyday I normally use a fine coat of lipcote. This is why I do not fill in my lips with the liner anymore, it makes no difference.
You have to find a balance between staying power and comfort, and I would guess this is different for everyone and the situation [huh]
I don't want to be messing with my lipstick all day, through meals and so on. I am used to the extra dryness of this sealer, even though I hated all longlasting lipstick formulas I have tried. I still find it works better with matte lipsticks, but it also makes super greasy, unusable lipstick formulas that smear like crazy wearable. Unfortunately my favourite red is super smeary

I didn't use the lipcote before and it also works quite well, in this way:

Outliner or primer, line lips and fill them in with the liner (red). A layer of matte lipstick, blot, reapply, blot.

*I normally use MAC Cherry with almost all my red lipsticks. I don't find it changes the shade so much [huh]
I use it with MAC Russian Red, Ramblas Red & VGI, Lancôme Rouge Dèsir, Kryolan LF104 (pic above), Bésame Red Velvet.
I use MAC Brick liner with MAC VGI & Bésame Red Velvet when I want them a bit darker, MAC Dubonnet, Bésame... the darker red Merlot is it? and there is a darker one, I think for that one and MAC Diva I use MAC Mahogany. I don't use the darker tones at all often.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

Rather than read through all the replies here, I'm going base my post on the original 1st post.

I wear 40s & 30s red ALOT, long before I ever discovered vintage clothing. I've done my lipstick application the same for years. I put my face foundation on my lips. I am really happy with Mary Kay cream to powder foundation applied with a triangle makeup sponge. Then I use loose face powder over that also on my lips applied with a big powder brush.

Lip liner, a must. I use a sharpen-with-a-makeup-pencil-sharpener type of pencil lip liner, NOT those new fangled twist up lip liners. You cannot get a strong or accurate line with them! I like Estee Lauder. I start on the upper lip getting the center 'points' done first, then I draw in the rest of the upper line from edge to meet the point area, one side and then the other. Bottom lip one edge to the middle, then the other side from middle to edge. I'm left handed so I always do the left side upper lip first, then the right. Left side of bottom lip next, then the right.

I use a MATTE lipstick formula, the old fashioned kind- not a squeeze tube, not a balm, not a gloss, and not frosted. I apply it straight from the lipstick to my mouth, no brush, no fingers. Clinique has very good lipsticks.

I'm a Spring so I wear orange-red colors. My lip liner is as close to my red lipstick color as I can find- NO brown and NO nude shades!

No blotting.

Mine lasts really well, its even still there after eating. I never usually need to retouch it up even with having it on all day long. No bleed through of the lipstick past the lip liner onto my face.

Oh, I wash my lips with the same stuff I cleanse my face with, day and evening. I use my same day and night moisturizer on my lips too. That's it. If I have no makeup on that day, I don't need anything else for my lips. They don't ever get dry or chapped or whatever. After eating, I wash my mouth area with my face cleanser AND my hands too- if I use any kind of hand soap on my mouth area my skin breaks out. Not a pretty picture.

Here's my vintage 40s face with my red lipstick.

Here's my modern vintage-inspired face, exact same makeup with more blush

It ain't called 'lippy' btw- it really is called lipstick, ladies... WHO came up with the word lippy anyway??

so I'm not used to wearing red daily. I see so many ladies here with immaculate, gorgeous red lips, so I'm really looking for technique tips on applying reds neatly and how to make it last.

Here are some starting questions I have, and hopefully you ladies can add to this and tell me what works for you (brand/color suggestions welcome as well!)

1. What liner do you use (red, nude, brown?), or do you use a liner at all?
2. Do you apply directly from the tube, or use a brush?
3. Thoughts on blotting and powdering?
4. Thoughts on the long-lasting formulas?

 

[Miss 1929]

I was wondering about the "lippy" too... either a Britishism, or maybe the something the young folks came up with...rhymes with hippie so it brings up entirely the wrong image in my mind!

 

[cecil]

It's been lippie to me for as long as I can remember and I don't plan on changing that any time soon! lol

Yeah it's a British thing, which (as is often the case) is probably why it's widespread in Australia too. Funny, it's one of those words that I can't imagine being said in an American accent, in the same way that it sounds really strange when an Australian uses american slang that they've picked up from the telly or something.


I just bought that Lipcote stuff that people were mentioning..it says on the box that you can use lipbalm over it, but I thought that might make the lipstick bead/peel off. Has anyone tried this?

 

[Medvssa]

It may work, sometimes I touch up my lipstick over it, and it only peels a bit with one that has shimmer. If it is a very oily lipbalm it will remove it though, I guess you can try a few kinds.

 

[Goldfish]

What can I do if my lipstick seems to "sit" on top of my lips and won't melt into my skin. This happened to me with every brand - and shade - I have tried yet so I don't think it's one special formulation which does that.
Glosses work fine on me lips, so I think it might be the lack of humectants in the lipsticks...? What do you think?

 

[Medvssa]

I think that is because that is what they are supposed to do. They have a lot of pigment and therefore they sit on top of the lips. Might feel weird if you are not used to it.

The only other option is a lip stain, or a gloss, which have a little amount of pigment. You are not going to get the highly pigmented effect without a high amount of pigment.

 

[Goldfish]

Well maybe I didn't explain that too well, sorry.
What I mean is that the colour doesn't set - like foundation that binds with your skin. I can slide the color around and I won't get an even (but streaky!) distribution of product no matter if I apply directly from the tube or with a lip brush (stila #6). No matter what lip balm I used underneath and if I let it sink into my lips or not. :rage:

 

[Inky]

Well maybe I didn't explain that too well, sorry.
What I mean is that the colour doesn't set - like foundation that binds with your skin. I can slide the color around and I won't get an even (but streaky!) distribution of product no matter if I apply directly from the tube or with a lip brush (stila #6). No matter what lip balm I used underneath and if I let it sink into my lips or not. :rage:

Goldfish, there are several factors that could cause this. Generally lipsticks that are glossier don't set as well - they sit on your lips and can smear around. So my first question is are you using a matte lipstick or a gloss?

You might also try this technique:

1. scrub lips with a commercial lip scrub or sugar and water in a paste. I do this when I wash my face.

2. apply a lip balm, but be sure you tissue it off before applying lipstick. (i put it on after i brush my teeth and while I use a moisturizer and let that all sink in, then tissue off the balm).

3. When you apply your foundation to your face, apply some to your lips to create a base - or you can use a primer as mentioned above. I sometimes use a concealer if i'm changing the shape of my upper lip a bit.

4. apply lip liner, the lipstick. blot with tissue. I put a bit of powder over my lips at this point. Some folks apply the powder over a single layer of tissue with good success.

5. Reapply lipstick. blot gently.

I love matte lipsticks and I find they have much better staying power than any satin, luster or gloss lipstick. I find those do move around more and need re-application.

 

[Mary]

Have you tried the kiss test yet?

Do you girls know if there is a way to kiss without smearing ones lipstick on oneself and the other? It's so silly to be so good-looking but not be kissed properly!

Marie

yesterday at Sephora, I picked up the Sephora brand Perfection Lip Primer. It's a soft pencil primer. The reviews on their website vary, and a lot of folks say they go through it fast, but at least I've found that it works. Putting some all over the lips (and a bit around the lips to prevent migration) helped my lipliner go on very smoothly (I fill in the entire lip), in turn helping my lipstick go on very smoothly. It also has a bit of a tingle in it to act as a lip plumper. My first try was this morning and so far I'm happy with this $12 purchase.

I'm also trying Sephora brand "Lip Last", a clear brush-on sealer. I've tried lip sealers before and have always found them drying. This one seems to do the trick without excessive drying, and it's definitely kept my lipstick on my lips and not on my glass or my napkin. I blotted my lips after eating some rather oily pesto pasta, and while a faint bit of lipstick came off, I was still satisfied with the way my color looked. It stays very slightly tacky, but I think this helps prevent dryness. I am a chapstick addict and have not felt the need for chapstick since I applied my lipstick this morning. I have not tried it with red lipstick yet, nor have I tried the kiss test, but so far I am also satisfied with this purchase ($14).

 

[Medvssa]

Do you girls know if there is a way to kiss without smearing ones lipstick on oneself and the other? It's so silly to be so good-looking but not be kissed properly!

Marie

I think the only thing that will get you even close to this is a layer of Lipcote... doesn't taste so good though

I don't think there is anything that is going to resist a passionate kiss, though

 

[bunnyb.gal]

Lip Scrubs

I've come across a gorgeous lip scrub from Never Too Busy to B Beautiful - bubblegum flavoured, utterly delicious, and best of all vegan. There are chocolate and mint flavours, too, which I've not tried, and I feel like I can dispense with the balm afterward as it's got jojoba in there as well. Can't recommend anything more highly!

 

[Goldfish]

Thank you Inky.
I have yet to find a lipliner in my lip tone and a powder that my skin reacts well to, but I will definately follow that routine!
To my surprise some of the lipsticks I previously tried suddendly worked after I had put the one lipstick brand that actually works on my lips on them. So strange.
The one issue I don't seem to have is lack of staying power, even glosses do stay on my lips for quite some time.

I've come across a gorgeous lip scrub from Never Too Busy to B Beautiful - bubblegum flavoured, utterly delicious, and best of all vegan. There are chocolate and mint flavours, too, which I've not tried, and I feel like I can dispense with the balm afterward as it's got jojoba in there as well. Can't recommend anything more highly!

To my knowledge be never will be going out of business at the end of the year ...