Despite having an embarassingly massive quite extensive lipstick collection, there are times when I just can't lay my hands on the colour I want. I get dressed, do my makeup, and then one of two things happens: a) the lipstick I had in mind to go with my outfit is worn down to a pathetic stump that even a lip brush can't resurrect (no idea why didn't I bin it the last time I used it), or b) not one of the vast array of colours on my bench is exactly the right shade.
But because I simply HAVE to match, I make precisely the one I want using a lipliner, a lipstick and a gloss. Here's what I manufactured the other morning...
I wanted a pinky mauve - easy peasy (or so I thought) as I have at least 10 pinky mauves in my kit, but not one of them had enough oomph to balance the bold top I was wearing. So I started with a Nabi lipliner in a shade called Dark Fuchsia, and applied it all over my lips. These pencils are available from most of those bargain "dollar" stores for around $3. I love them because the deeper shades especially leave behind a great stain.
Next I swiped Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Lavendare over the top. This is quite a deep purply hue, absolutely gorgeous colour, but way too intense on its own (even for me!).
To tone it down, I added Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lip Gloss in Lambada. This is one of my all time favourites because it's so moisturising & shiny, and smells like a tropical fruit cocktail. Here's the final shade, the spot on hue I was after :-)
When I first started doing this lip colour concoction process, I used to swatch the various shades on the back of my hand to make sure I was on the right track. But because I do this so often, and consequently have a good idea of what does what to what (!), these days I just apply and go :-)
It may seem like a bit of a business, and of course you have to keep re-applying all three throughout the day, but I don't mind the extra effort to end up with a match that I'm 100% comfortable with.
So ladies, are you a stickler for a matching lip shade? Do you mix things up a little to make the colour you want?
Take care of you,
kats xxx
This is such a great idea Kat! I only ever apply say, a gloss over a lipstick to add some shine or shimmer but using different lip products to make your own custom shade is genius!
ReplyDeleteWell I hope it comes in handy for you T&T - the gloss can really soften or spark up the colour to something that tones better, but the lip pencil base can shift it almost to another shade family. I have quite a few lippies that I rarely used to wear because they weren't quite right, but I find now there's very few in my kit that don't get used. Thanks for stopping by sweetie :-)
DeleteGood idea Kat! I recently bought the instyle magazine to get the NP freebies. The lipgloss on its own does not suit my skintone I was devastated but now after reading your post I used it this morning to tone down a dark berry matte lipstick. It just transformed the lipstick into a lovely wearable office type colour and also love that now I can wear my matte lipstick in tow ways :) P.S I also work in th IT industry and I am so envious of you being able to wear gorgeous eyeshadows at work I am not brave enough yet as mostly my office is male orientated :)
ReplyDeleteMoonlight - thanks for making my day hon! What a delight it is for us to have a place to share all our tips, and I'm so thrilled that this information was useful to you. As for work, I reckon I get away with all sorts of riotous looks because I wear glasses - there's mainly blokes in my office too, but they don't even blink an eye when I turn up in hot pink ha ha...
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