What more could a woman want for Valentines Day than a catch up with her gal pal and a riffle through their lipstick collection? Na-dah. My thoughts exactly. So as a V-Day nod on VDM I’ve called on my mate Lauren – remember her? My friend with mermaid-esque locks and a penchant for CHANEL and loud pouts – to give us all a tour of her favourite bold lipsticks. She’s got ’em all from drugstore gems to some so pretty I’m surprised they’re not untouched and the she holds the key to a long-lasting lip. Screw the kiss-friendly nudes and say hello to the badass bullets of colour…
“I’m not afraid of bold lipsticks – I’m not scared. I happily wear them to work during the daytime, paired with a bit of smudged out brown eyeliner and mascara; that’s my everyday look. CHANEL Rouge Allure 99 in Pirate is my favourite. It’s the perfect red and with its glossy finish, I don’t need to wear a lipgloss over the top. It’s somewhere in-between a pillar box and royal shade and if it was discontinued I’d have to buy the CHANEL counter out of all their remaining stock. Another CHANEL one that I love is their Rouge Coco Shine in 62 Monte Carlo. It’s more of a sheer bold pink, that’s pretty similar to my natural lip shade – a good one for bold lip beginners. Monte Carlo gives more of a tint, whereas the Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Fresh Raspberry is like the opaque version of it. This is a good interchangeable shade that often takes me from day-to-night. My pick from the drugstore bolds though would have to be the Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in 14 Pretty Prune – this one is amazing. It’s so long-lasting; I could put this on in the morning, eat and only have to touch it up once. It’s a deep burgundy, really creamy and not drying. I have to say I don’t really like mattes because I don’t like the idea that my lips look dry – I go for the slightly more kissable looking bolds. One formula that’s really soft on the lips are the YSL Rouge Voluptes. I love the shade 27, but out of all the brights I own this is the only one I’m sort of scared of. This is my ‘have to be really tanned on holiday’ to wear it shade, but it’s the most beautiful colour – a fluorescent fuchsia. My other favourite bold, second only to CHANEL’s Pirate is MAC’s Lipstick in Ramblas Red. This is a classic. If Pirate is a bit out of your budget, then go for this.
If I’m feeling like I don’t want to wear lipstick then sometimes I’ll just throw on a gloss, which I often do when I’m in a rush for work and I just want a bit of colour. You can layer them up as well; one coat just gives a natural wash of colour, but a few gives a real pigmented sheen. For a just-bitten wash I use the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Lustre Luxe Long-Lasting Lip Lacquer in Unleash Me – it looks terrifying in the tube but comes out a pretty berry shade on the lips. But when I’m in the mood for a red I reach for the AERIN Lipgloss in Vibrant. This is really, really nice on its own. It’s so opaque, you don’t need lipstick beneath it.
Whenever I wear red lips, I always use a lip liner. I think you have to, not only does it help everything to stay in place it also defines the lip line and stops the colour from bleeding. MAC Lip Liner in Brick is a great one for any red lipstick and is the one that I reach for all the time (and is the one I always pair with CHANEL Pirate). The Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Kiss ’n’ Tell is also really nice. It’s creamy, but it’s got this formula that makes your lips look fatter. A good drugstore one is the MaxFactor Colour Elixir Lip Liner in Fire. Somebody once told me that it doesn’t matter where you buy a lip liner from they’re all pretty much the same as they’re so few factories that make them across the world. You don’t get a large range of shades from the MaxFactor line, but I’d say the quality is just as good as my more expensive ones.
I’ve got a whole procedure for the most long-lasting bold lip possible. Before I do any of my makeup I apply a little balm to my lips and gently roll over a cotton bud to get rid of any dryness. I move onto my base makeup, do that then move onto my lips next before I go too heavy on the eyes or cheeks. I start with my MAC Prep and Prime Lip – this is the key. It keeps your lips on, fills out lines, but you must make sure there is nothing else on your lips first before you apply this. There was a girl from work who wore red lips all the time – her makeup was amazing – and her lipstick would still be looking perfect when it was time to go home. I asked her what her secret was and she said this, so I’ve been using it ever since. Lip liner comes next. I start out the outer edges, move to the middle then colour over my whole lips to provide a base colour for the lipstick. Then I go in with my lipstick and as the final step I go over again with the lip liner, just to make sure that everything is neat – it’s all about the layering. The last thing I do is to put the YSL Touche Eclat around the edges of lips. I just stroke this on, then blend in with my fingers; it enhances, clears up the edges and it highlights good ol’ Cupid.”
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