Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [26]
Everyone, no matter what skin color she has, should avoid bright corals or oranges, magentas, whitish pinks, and deep purplish red.
Many women routinely outline their lips with a lip pencil before applying lipstick. If you do this, make sure that the pencil line does not show after you have applied your lipstick. If it shows to the naked eye, it will show up even more in a photograph or on TV. Using a lip pencil takes skill and should not be attempted if you are not very adept in makeup application.
Using a lip-liner pencil can make the size of your lips more even. To narrow full lips, use a liner inside the lip line. To make thin lips look fuller, use the lip liner just outside the lip line. Similarly, to even up lips of different sizes, outline the thin one outside of its natural line and use lip liner inside the line of the fuller one.
In applying lipstick, many women find that applying base over their lips before applying lipstick looks good. This can help to correct a slightly uneven lip line or any small discolorations in pigment you may have on your lips. Sometimes applying a small amount of powder will also work to set the base before applying lipstick. Powdering your lips lightly before applying lipstick can also help the lipstick last longer.
Lipstick comes in regular screw-up tubes, pots, or in plastic squeeze tubes. Many women find they prefer to use the regular screw-up type directly from the tube; however, if you have always had trouble doing this, buy a stiff lipstick brush and experiment using this to apply the lipstick. If you have never tried using lipstick that comes in a little pot, you may be surprised to find that it is easier to apply than you think. This type of lipstick can be applied with a lip brush or a finger. The type of lipstick that comes in squeeze tubes is often more difficult to apply.
Lip gloss that is too shiny should be avoided, whether it is used alone or over regular lipstick or it is clear, flesh-toned, or colored. Just like a lipstick that is too red, such gloss can draw too much attention to the mouth and away from the eyes. However, there are some glosses on the market that are not high gloss at all; they simply soften the skin of the lips and provide a very low-gloss sheen.
If you are older and have very fine lines around your lips, perhaps in a fan shape around the mouth, your lipstick may bleed or seep out of your lip area onto the skin around your face. If you have this problem, use extra base and powder and avoid darker or brighter lipstick colors. Instead, try a rose pink mixed with a little brown.
Another problem that many women have is lipstick getting on their front teeth. Again, if you have this problem (which is very difficult to correct), you should use less lipstick and avoid the brighter lipstick colors.
Most women should use a bit of moisturizer on their lips at night, summer and winter. This really does help to keep your lips softer. And don’t forget to use sunscreen under your lipstick when you go outdoors. This simple habit can make a great difference in the condition of your lips.
Powder
After applying makeup, nearly every woman should apply at least some translucent finishing powder. If you have very dry skin, you may still need some powder on the tip of your nose and/or your forehead before being photographed or going on TV. If you have medium skin or combination dry and oily skin, apply powder to the “T” zone of your face, where most of the oil production takes place—across the entire forehead and the nose area—plus on the chin. If you have very oily skin, you can fluff lots of powder all over your face.
After you have applied makeup in the morning, try using loose powder, applied with a large, soft puff, brush, or cotton ball. If you use a puff or a brush, keep it very, very clean. Loose powder sets the makeup better than compact powder and can be applied more liberally, with the excess dusted off. Choose a translucent color when buying loose powder; even darker skins can use a loose powder formulated for black skin tones