TIPS: HOW TO FIND THE MOST FLATERRING LIPSTICK COLOR?

Did you know that the right lipstick color can make a huge difference to your look? Lipstick does not have to always be colorful and hard to pull off. Choosing the right natural- looking lipstick can be quite tricky, but here I am going to show you some easy tips on how to find the perfect lipstick color for you.

                              

Lipstick is very crucial in brightening our complexion and it is very useful to understand that certain color works better on some, than on others. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that we have an understanding on which lipstick colors are the most flaterring. The most flaterring lipstick color is one that compliments our skin tone, works harmoniously with our skin color and thus makes us looks fresher and awake. To be able to do this, you will first need to find your skin tone.

So, what are these 3 skin tones? They are cool, warm, and neutral skin tone. Cool skin tone is normally represented by pink or blue undertones (think about the pink cheeks when you blush naturally during winter). Warm skin tone has yellow undertone (think about autumn season), and neutral skin tone is a bit of both. There are few ways on how you can find your skin tone, but my favourite 2, are the wrist and accessories method.

First, let's have a look at your wrist. Do you see more of a bluish or greenish veins? If you see bluish veins, that means you have a cool skin tone. If you see greenish veins, then you have a warm skin tone. If you can't decide if they are blue or green, or if you have a bit of both, then you have a neutral skin tone. The second method is the accessories method. What color of accessories do you normally wear? Do you look better in silver, gold, bronze, black, white, off- white or cream color accessories? If you look best in silver, black and white accessories, then you have a cool skin tone. If you look best wearing gold, off- white or cream accessories, you have warm skin tone. And if you look best in bronze, gold or silver, then you have neutral skin tone.

Once you found your skin tone, it would be easier to find the lipstick color that compliments your skin coloring.

The above chart shows the difference in hues between warm and cool shades of lipstick color. Warm shades are yellow based, making it looks warmer to the eye. And cool shades are blue based, therefore does not look warm to the eye. Do you notice the difference?

Cool shades lipstick suits most skin tones. If you have cool, warm or neutral skin tone, you can wear this lip color easily. However, if you have a cool skin tone, you might not suit warm shades lipstick. Therefore, it is recommended to stick to the cool lip color shade.

Everyone has different pigmentation on the lips. The above chart shows how you can improve the lip color, without having to change it dramatically. The key here is to choose a lipstick color, 2 shades darker than your normal lip colors. If you are going for a nude look, go 1-2 shades lighter than your normal lip color. 

2 shades darker than normal lip color

Do you notice the difference between the left and the right side of the lips? The right side of the lips have lip liner and lipstick on. The left side has nothing on. The difference is very subtle, yet it makes a huge difference in enhancing your complexion. The right lipstick color should have a "This is my lips, but better" kind of attitude. 

For more tips and recommendations, please watch the video above. 

Otherwise, have fun experimenting! And don't forget to post a comment if you have found your holy grail lipstick :)

REVIEW: Long Wearing Foundations

There are many types of foundations to choose from and choosing the right foundation for your skin type can be quite confusing. Today’s topic is about medium to full coverage foundation. Let’s face it, not everyone has perfect skin and there are times when we needed that extra coverage to cover scars, blemishes or spots. Not all medium to full coverage foundations feel heavy. In fact, if need be, you can always mix your foundation with moisturiser to thin the formula a bit. In this article, I will be covering 3 foundations; Estee Lauder Double Wear, Revlon Colorstay, and MAC Studio FixFluid.

 

Revlon Colorstay
This foundation is available for normal/dry skin (with SPF 20) and combination/ oily skin (with SPF 15). The normal/ dry skin formulation provides hydration for the skin, and the combination/ oily formulation helps in absorbing oil and controls shine. The coverage is medium to full. It gives a semi- matte finish. You can also mix a little bit of moisturiser to this foundation to give it a dewy finish. The staying power of this is really good, around 10- 12 hours wear. This foundation has a tendency to feel heavy; therefore, you need to make sure that you do not use it more than you need to.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Makeup (SPF 10)
This foundation is very good for combination/ oily skin. If you have dry skin type, this can accentuate your dry skin even more. However, you can still make it work by adding a little bit of moisturiser to this foundation. This foundation also has a thicker consistency than the Revlon Colorstay, thus providing slightly more coverage. It gives a matte finish. It does not feel as heavy on the skin, which provides more comfort while wearing it. The staying power of this is very good, around 12- 14 hours of active wear (this is not waterproof makeup. However, this foundation holds better during hot/ humid weather where you tend to sweat).

MAC Studio Fix Fluid (SPF 15)
Many people said the Revlon Colorstay is a dupe to this foundation. I would have to disagree on that. In terms of coverage, this foundation cannot be compared to Revlon or Estee Lauder. It gives a medium coverage, which is buildable, but definitely not long lasting. This foundation gives more of a dewy finish. If you have dry skin, this foundation will work beautifully on you. However, if you have oily skin, this foundation will slides and fades really easily.

I hope this review helps. Please watch the video for full review. For now, I would really love to know if you have favourite foundations. If you do, please share in the comment box below :)

Note: This review is solely based on my personal opinion.

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