makeup

LIP SERVICE

photos: gorunway.com + ohmyhello.tumblr.com/post designed by eunice chun

I love a matte lip becasue it’s an ultra modern look and it adds instant sophistication. There are three main ways to create it: with a lip pencil, shadow paste or simply with a matte lipstick.

**PREP: the key to pulling off a matte lip is to exfoliate first because your lips MUST be in top condition. You can use a lip scrub or make sure that every time you brush your teeth, you brush your lips. Further, apply a moisturizing lip treatment often and keep one by your bed for nightly application.

LIP PENCIL

Benefit: You can cheat and draw a slightly-fuller lip. Cost: Pencils can be a little drying.

How to: Find a matte lip pencil that is long-wearing (there are amazing ones from almost every brand now!) and fill in your entire top and bottom lip. The easiest way is to channel your childhood and play connect the dots. On your top lip, draw a dot at the tops and bottom of your cupid’s bow and at the corners, then draw lines to connect them. But instead of drawing lines in one swoop, do many quick short lines as you incrementally move across from dot to dot. (Photo tutorial coming soon!) On your bottom lip, draw dots at each corner and two in the perimeter’s center, then connect those incrementally as well. Finish by filling in the entire lip

SHADOW PASTE

Benefit: You can create custom shades. Cost: Not portable.

How to: Take a mineral eye shadow or blush (loose is preferred by pressed is doable) and mix it with water (Watch Step 2 of our Purple Reign video that demonstrates making a shadow paste.). With a lip brush, fill in your entire lip. Eye shadows are perfectly safe to wear on the lips except for blue and green which are toxic if ingested in very large quantities. Luckily, most of us don’t wear those shades on our lips very often! For more dimension, you can also line the lip a SLIGHTLY darker shade before applying the shadow paste but make sure to really blend it.

LIPSTICK

Benefit: There are very moisturizing formulas out there that are really healthy and conditioning for your lips. Cost: Less precision.

How to: This is the easiest of the three methods.  Find your favorite matte shade and apply it over your entire lip. For perfection, go back over the perimeter with a pointed cotton swab to clean up any product that has gone over the edges.

XO, Amy Nadine