We love seeing rows of lip products at cosmetics counters. But do you know how to choose your best lip colour? Should you go for lip gloss, lipstick or lip stain? Is lip liner required? Let us share with you some tips to navigate you through the rows of colourful makeup shelves at cosmetic counters.
#1: Understand what types of lips you have.
Look into the mirror.
What is the shape of your lips?
Do you have chapped lips or smooth moisturised lips?
Do you have dark or light coloured lips?
#2: Decide which type of lip colour you want to get and which type is suitable for your lips.
Lipstick
Lipstick is the most common lip product you can find in the market. Now the question is – should you go for matte, glossy or creamy lipstick?
What about Liquid Lipstick, Lip Stains, Lip Crayon? In terms of lip colour for your skin tone, you could view the video from Vogue Australia as seen below for reference.
It all depends on the effect that you want on your lips. There are so many choices for a traditional lipstick from matte, glossy, creamy, sheer and shimmer.
Lip Stains are great if you want a kiss-able and natural kind of look – that is, without looking like you are wearing lipstick. Lip crayon is easy to apply and very portable but most do not have staying power.
For ladies with normal lips – matte, glossy and creamy lipsticks work great on you.
For ladies with chapped or dry lips, you may want to avoid matte lipsticks as it will accentuate the lines on your lips and may cause your lips to be dry. A moisturising lipstick is more suitable.
You can also consider applying some lip serum before applying the lip colour.
Lip gloss
Lip gloss does wonders to plump up your lips. This is definitely perfect for ladies with slightly thinner lips. Lip gloss also typically come in slightly sheer colors which makes it good for matching various outfits.
For ladies with oily skin, we recommend for you not to opt for lip gloss as it can give you too much shine. If you really love lip gloss, use it sparingly by tapping it on the center of your upper and lower lips.
Could try HAUS Matt Creamy Lip Gloss; it does not dry up the lips, yet it comes with matt effects. HAUS Matt Creamy Lip Gloss has peptide which is scientifically proven to eliminate wrinkles on the lips, and fade dark on the lips with its anti-oxidant properties. Also coupled with Vitamin C and Vitamin E which work effectively to lighten dark lips and maintain lip moisture. HAUS Matt Creamy Lip Gloss is priced at S$9.90 per pc. Worthwhile to try. Note that HAUS is also halal product.
HAUS MATT CREAMY LIP GLOSS - REAL RED. IMAGE CREDITS: HAUS
Lip liner
Lip liner not only defines the shape of your lips but also helps the staying power of any lip products. Using lip liner prevents ‘bleeding’ when you use strong colours such as red. Lip liner can also double up as your lipstick. After lining your entire lips with lip liner, apply a thin layer of lip balm and you are good to go (no lipstick required for this technique)!
#3: Finding your perfect shade
The same lip colour will look different on each person because our original lip colour and skin tone are different. Alternatively, you could view the video from Vogue Australia as seen below for reference.
Video: How to pick lipstick shades for skin tone. Credits: Vogue Australia
Ladies with fair skin colour, you are lucky! Most colours will work well on you. You do need to avoid nude colours because you may look pale. If you still love nude lip colours, choose those with pink or plum undertones.
If you have pink undertones, select shades with blue or purple tones in them.
If you have tanned skin, you will look natural and polished with the brown or plum red series of lipsticks. For a glam look, go for a strong red lip color.
For ladies with dark lips, if you want to apply a lip colour that is lighter than your natural lip colour, lightly pat foundation over your lips before you apply the lip colour. This will make the colour pop!
One last tip!
As part of your daily skin care routine, we recommend for you to apply lip balm before you start your makeup. This will allow your lips to be moisturised and minimises lines. It also allows your lip colour to last longer. For ladies with chapped lips, it will be good to use a lip scrub on a weekly basis. Could try Body Shop's lip exfoliator which has Marula oil to specially condition dry lips.
Happy shopping and experimenting! We are happy to take any questions you may have. Please comments below. We would love to hear if you have tried any of the products mentioned and how you feel about them. We do have more tips to share on topics about lips and other makeup issues – so do subscribe to our blog.