That IT Girl’s Guide: How to Apply Lipstick

The use of pigment to color or stain the lips dates all the way back to 3300BC.  It is rumored that Cleopatra used lipstick made of crushed carmine beetles which gave a deep red color.

Lipstick is an IT Girl’s best friend, and, I feel, a daily essential.  What’s not to love about it.  It draws attention to your lips, one of the most sensuous parts of a woman’s body, and it offers mild protection from the elements.

These 6 simple steps will very quickly turn you into a lipstick wearing expert.  If you have any questions about this tutorial, or tell me about your love for lipstick, please leave your comment below, or contact me.

You will need:

• Lip balm
• White granulated sugar or Toothbrush
• Lip primer (optional)
• Lipliner
• Lipstick
• Lip gloss (optional)
• Lint free tissue
• Flesh colored concealer (optional)

1.  Exfoliate Lips: Starting with a smooth and soft lip is the most important step to wearing lipstick.  There is nothing more unsightly then lipstick applied to a dry, flakey lips.  There are two very simple and cost effective ways that you can keep your lips flake free…

-  Grab your favorite lip balm, and white granulated sugar.  Apply the lip balm generously, and place a pinch of sugar on top of lips.  Use your finger to gently rub the sugar granules into your lips. Rinse with warm water.

-  In the morning immediately after brushing your teeth and rinsing, while your lips and toothbrush are still wet, gently brush your lips in a circular motion. Rinse with warm water.

2.  Moisturize Lips: Apply your favorite lip balm to your lips and wait about 60 seconds before moving on to the next step.  This gives time for the moisturizer to absorb.  Use your lint-free tissue to wipe away any excess.  If your lips are significantly darker or lighter then the rest of your face, now is the perfect time to apply a thin layer of your preferred flesh colored concealer to keep your natural lip color from interfering with the lipstick color.

3.  Apply Lip Liner: Start at the middle of the top lip and draw a faint outline of your lip and remember…STAY AWAY FROM BLACK OR DARK BROWN LIPLINER!

4. Apply Lip Color: For more control over color placement, you may use a lip brush.

5.  Blot Lips: Using your lint-free tissue, gently pat excess lip color away from lips.

6.  Apply Gloss (Optional): This is my favorite step.  I absolutely LOVE lip gloss.  There is something so sexy and feminine about a perfectly glossed lip.  The array of lip colors are endless so I suggest that you take your time in selecting your preffered shades.

Viola’!  Leave your questions and opinions below…