back to basics: lips

I'm taking a little study break to post a blog for y'all- and I admit, to procrastinate a bit as well! Today I'm going to demonstrate how I prepare my lips for lipstick, liner, gloss, etc. I think sometimes people have a hard time with lips because they don't know what shades to wear or how to apply products. I'll talk about some of my tips- keep in mind though, there is no right or wrong way to wear makeup! Wear it how you feel the best! :D

First, is the "prep" work. I like to make sure my lips have been exfoliated either the evening before or in the morning. A product that I have been using is the Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub. I use this at night before I go to bed, followed by Vaseline Lip Therapy. After using a scrub, it's really important to moisturize your lips, or else they may get dry and possibly crack (ouch)!

Once you have done the prep work, it's time for some lip makeup! Generally the order of my makeup is face, eyes, brows, lips. So while I'm doing my eye makeup I put on a lip balm to moisturize my lips even more. Once I'm ready to start putting on lip products, I blot off the extra lip balm. Now, it's time to move on to lip liner!

I think a lot of people are intimidated by lip liner because they are unsure where to place it- this is something I have struggled with as well. My guideline is to use the natural curve that your lip line has. You can clearly see there the skin starts and the lip ends. This will give you the most natural lip liner look. 

So by following the shape of my lip and using a color that will match my lipstick, it won't look like a hooker. (My sister says I look like one when I use too dark of a liner because I have large-ish lips.) You can see that I didn't over or under draw, just literally followed the line of my mouth.

If you want to create an illusion of bigger lips, draw at the most outer edge of your lips, just BARELY (key word) going onto the skin. To create smaller looking lips, use a concealer at the edges and stay below the natural lip line.

Once you have your lip liner on, you can add a lipstick or gloss. Like I mentioned before, you want this be somewhat close to your liner color. The products I used here are the p2 Perfect Look! Lip Liner in Nude, L'Oreal Colour Riche in Merino Mauve (I love this- especially for summer!) and Wet n' Wild MegaLast Lip Color in 901B Think Pink. The picture does not do the pinkness of this lip justice. It is much more of a Barbie color.

I think finding the perfect lip combination is all about experimenting and seeing what looks best on you. Don't be afraid to use darker or more nude colors- you will look great in what you feel the most confident wearing! In the end, that's what makeup is really all about!

Always stay happy and healthy! :)

Tschüss, Katharina