Spring Lip Tutorial

With Spring right around the corner comes the arrival of all the bright pink lip colors we've written about. This seems like a perfect time to provide you with the basics for great lip color application again.

Prepping the Lips:

Healthy and soft lips are the base for gorgeous lips. Chapped lips are the enemy of the glamorous lip look! Make sure you hydrate your body properly. Drink a lot of water and quit smoking and drinking alcohol to excess. If you get dehydrated, your lips will also get dry and cracked. Scrub them once in a while with your dry toothbrush to remove the dead skin cells. If you have a habit of licking your lips, try to break it! Use lip balm instead; it will nourish and protect your lips. Use lip balm as often as you feel like, but be sure to change to one with an SPF factor during the summer months. Once you have your lips soft, healthy and nourished, you are ready to apply your lipstick.

Priming and Lining the Lips:

Apply a foundation or primer to make your lips neutral. Then, use a lipstick pencil to line and fill in the lip area.Make this a nude pencil or a color that closely matches your lipstick. If you have a pink lipstick, for instance, you can use a darker pink lip liner all over your lips to change the color of your lipstick by a shade or two. Generally, the lip liner and lip color should be similar a similar shade.

Applying Lip Color:

Now, you are ready to apply your actual lip color. There are literally hundred of shades out there, so finding one to match your skin tone or mood will not be a problem! You will also find several formulas out there ranging from crème to long last to matte. See which formula is best for your use and lifestyle.

If you are selecting a color for daytime wear, be sure to check the shade in natural sunlight! HINT: Remember that if you choose a strong lip color, you'll want to go easy on the eye makeup. You do not want two strong elements on your face at once. Depending on where you will be wearing the makeup, you risk looking over done. HINT: A lipstick brush is a great way to control your lipstick application.

Many people like to take a tissue in between their top and bottom lip and gently press down to remove any excess lip product. We call this blotting. Also, if you want to oomph up your look a bit, you can add touch of lip gloss to the center of your lips, and this will make a fuller and pouty look instantly.

Now, go try some great Spring lip colors, and especially some of the pinks out there that are going to be so on trend this season, like neon pink, watermelon and poppy!