How to prevent lipstick from bleeding and make your lipstick long- lasting?

How many of us ever experience that moment, when you have bright coloured lipstick on, and it goes all messy? Well, you are not alone! In this article, I will show you some tips on how you can prevent your lipstick from bleeding and make it last throughout the day. Bleeding lipstick is what happens when the lipstick got smudged around the lips area. This is very common especially if you have fine lines around the lips. The lipstick runs into the fine lines and makes it look a bit messy.

Eating or drinking will increase the chance of your lipstick to fade. So, if you knew you were going to have lots of mouth- activities, wear a long- lasting lipstick. The downside to this though, is the drying effect. Another thing you can do to make your lipstick stays longer is to apply lip primer. However, I won’t be covering lip – primer in today’s topic because I want to show you that you can still achieve the same result without it (save some bucks ladies!)

Here are the steps to a beautiful, no-mess lips:

You want to start off with a very moist lips. Moisturise your lips with lip balm overnight. If you have dry lips, exfoliate using tooth brush to take the dead skin away. This will smoothen the area we’re going to work on.

1)  Apply lip balm before applying lipstick. Grab a sheet of tissue and dab it on your lips. Doing this will take some of the moisture from the lip balm (Too much moisture will cause the lipstick to bleed).

2)  Apply foundation around the lips area (focusing on the side of the mouth where bleeding normally occur) and on the lips. I like using long- wearing foundation but if you have dry lips, stay away from this kind of foundation as it can be very drying. The foundation will act as a barrier and will make your lipstick long lasting as it has something to hold on to.

3)  Grab your lip-liner. The colour of the lip-liner will be the closest colour to your lipstick. Line your lips and apply it all over the lips. This act as a base for your lipstick. If your lipstick happens to fade, this will give a very beautiful stain. And of course, it will make your lipstick stay on longer.  Grab a sheet of tissue and repeat the step.

4)  Apply your lipstick. Grab your tissue again and dab it on your lips. Apply your lipstick again. I would recommend repeating this step 2-3 times as you will get great colour pay-off and of course, longer lasting lipstick.

5)  Take your concealer (cream concealer will do wonders). Apply it around the lips area focusing again, on the side of the mouth. The concealer will provide a barrier around your lips, so the lipstick won't move around. It also gives a crisper looking lip line.

6) Take your powder. Load it on the sponge. And apply it outside your lips area where you apply the concealer. The powder will absorb all the moisture you may have throughout the day. This is very great to prevent lipstick from bleeding.

7) This step is optional: Once you've done everything, you can set your lips with powder. So, peel off the layers on your tissue until you get the thinnest layer. Load the powder on your brush. Place the thin layer tissue on your lips and brush the powder on top of the tissue. This will seal the lipstick. However, it can be pretty drying.

Hope this tips helps. Step by step guide in the video. Until next time :)

Which contouring brush is right for you?

Contouring is a very interesting topic. If done properly, it can enhance your face features such as your nose, cheekbones and jawline. It can even change the shape of your face to a reasonable degree. You can easily achieve either a natural cheekbones or jawline, or a very defined look.

There are 2 different types of make-up brush hair; brushes that are made from synthetic hair or brushes that are made from real hair. Contouring can be done by using cream based product (foundation or concealer) or powder based product (bronzer). If cream based product is your choice, then go with a synthetic brush as it will apply it smoothly and evenly. However, if powder based is your choice, then go with a real hair brush as it will pick up more pigments or colour and blend it perfectly.

Here are the list of some brushes that are great for contouring

Angled Brush

Gorgeous Cosmetic Brush #028

MAC 168 Large Angled Brush

Angled brush is really good for that very defined cheekbones and jawline look. It is angled therefore making it easier to achieve a sharper cheekbones or jawline. Also, it is very important to blend as it can sometimes look quite harsh. However, due to its medium size, it is not ideal for nose contouring. 

Tapered Pointy Brush

MAC 165 Limited Edition Brush

This brush is ideal to give that “my cheekbones/jawbones/nose but better” kind of look. The pointy part is great in picking up just the right amount of colour and the side is great for blending the colour into your skin.

Small Rounded Brush

MAC 109 Small Contour Brush

This brush is a multi- functional brush. The result is natural but you can always build it up to look more defined. You can use it for applying bronzer, blush, or even eye- shadows.

Large Eyeshadow Brush

Estee Lauder 9E Large Eyeshadow Brush

If you do not have any of the brushes mentioned above, don’t worry because your largest eye-shadow brush can do wonders too. Just ensure they are large and dense enough to pick up colour. It will definitely need a little bit more effort as it is a smaller compared to a normal contouring brush size. But trust me, it will do the job!

There you go, now that you know what kind of brush to use, have fun experimenting and don't forget the key in contouring: Blend Blend Blend! :) 

How to stand out from the crowd?

I was walking on the road yesterday and I noticed a women that really stands out from the crowd. It rather inspires me, hence I decided to write about this topic.

At that moment, I was asking myself, what is it that make people stand out from the crowd? Well, the answer is to look different. I know we all look different since we were born, but looking different in this context means that you are not presenting the same look/ style as the people around you.

For example, in a surrounding where women are wearing less makeup, an individual who wears bold, smokey or heavy makeup will be more noticeable than the natural- looking ones. The reason is simply because she is unlike the rest of the audience. Now I am not saying that you have to put crazy piles of makeup on to be noticeable. This can also be the other way round, where wearing less is more. Its just that you do need to look different to stand out.

Think about the beach. We all know that people who go to the beach generally wear bikinis, swimwear or any other beach wear range. Now imagine if someone turn up at the beach wearing gowns and heavy looking makeup. Wouldn't you notice her more than the rest of the women? Well, this is just a very extreme example.  But you got the idea ;)

There are ways of looking different. One way is to define your own style. Think about your personality and what looks suits you. A very important thing is to think of the current trend and try to do the opposite of what the current trend is offering. Wear bright/ bold lipstick colours if most women around you is wearing nude coloured lipstick. Defining your style will allow people to remember you in a certain way. Think of Taylor Swift who is known for her sharp bold eye-liner or even Lady Gaga that is known for her unique style.

Another way is to experiment with various styles. Change your looks every now and then. Not only will you look different, you will actually feel different too (we all know how different looks can sometimes create different  moods). Just remember the key here, what ever style your surroundings is doing, try to do the opposite.

So guys, start experimenting and enjoy the journey of finding your own unique style :)

Cheers,
Jesika