Flattering lipsticks and amazing formulas

Do you remember the 80′s ? If you’ve been there, you will remember your 80′s lipsticks…  That’s wasn’t pretty for me, I remember 2 of my lipsticks, an iridescent-frosty purple lavender and a frosty pink, the most unflattering lipsticks ever created.

They looked terrible but when you are young you can pull anything off.  I wish I could find a picture but I probably made sure they would not reappear by accident so I have no idea where they are … what I do remember is that at 13, I looked 35 ! I used to go to the disco and had no problems at all going through security… My big brother was there to watch me anyway!
Today I want the total opposite effect : a flattering lipstick that makes me look younger, but not 13

Most of the time when people compliment me and tell me that I look great, or younger, it’s often thanks to the lipstick I am wearing, if my colleagues tell me I look tired it’s often because I am not wearing the right lipstick ! I can manage to hide fatigue and stress with the right products, wearing the wrong lipstick can make me look drained even if I am in perfect shape.

What I love is a neutral eye look and daring lips, but dark or bright lip colors don’t suit me. I also love a dark smoky eye look but nude lip colors wash me out, there is only a certain degree of  dark, bright or nude I can wear, and the only thing that helped me to find it is time and money !

I have tried to follow every single guideline on the internet to find the shades that better suit my skintone, but there are too many rules and it all gets too complicated, even if I follow them, I am not entirely satisfied, so I just follow mine :

1. Find a texture I love, then find the right shade in that lipstick range.
2. Never wear a blah shade but still keep it in my comfort zone, move beyond only when and if appropriate.

When I am choosing a lipstick, first of all I pick the shades that draw my attention, mostly corals, warm pinks or orange reds. I try them on, when I wear a flattering shade my hair looks healthy and the hair color somehow enhanced.  I also make sure the shade brightens my complexion and that it does not make me look tired or overdone and most important, I don’t want to wear a lipstick that ages me.
In the past few years I was always picking “safe” colors but now I know I need to go a little bit brighter and a little bit closer to the limit of my comfort zone,  when I wear the neutral shades that I used to wear back then I can see that although being safe and universal, they are not flattering at all.

The formula 

I love long-wearing lipsticks, but long-wearing often means darker and dark is not for me, well, it depends how I apply it.  Patted with the fingertips as a stain, or lightly with a lip brush, a dark lipstick can still be amazingly flattering. Applied this way, I can rock Mac Ruby Woo, a dark Tom Ford and even purples ! If the formula and the quality of the lipstick is great I can easily move beyond my comfort zone and still look good, providing that the skin looks flawless.

My favorite textures are :

• Armani – Rouge d’Armani
• Suqqu – Creamy Glow
• Chanel – Rouge Allure Laque
• Lancome – Rouge in Love
• Sue Devitt – Balanced Matte

If I want to go a bit wild, I will select a Rouge d’Armani, there’s something about them that makes even the brightest shades wearable and appropriate ! Same for Lancome Rouge in Love, there are very bright and dark shades in this range but still wearable and flattering.

The shades to wear

The blue color of my veins suggest I am more cool than warm.  I don’t really pay attention to that, I try it, if I like it, I buy it.

I have summarized the guidelines I found on the web, I haven’t invented anything I have just placed them in a clear drawing so that they are more easy to read  – can you see my IT blood origins in that drawing ?

That is one nice theory….but there are bright pinks that can be perfectly wearable and elegant on fair skin, so I don’t pay much attention to the rules but I follow my instinct and taste and adapt the application accordingly.

My favorite shades

My favorite and most flattering combination is the Chanel lipliner Rose des Bois with Edward Bess Night Orchid lipstick and By Terry gloss in Golddigger. That’s a winning combo for me, bright but not too much, perfect for a daily use, easy maintenance since it’s very long-lasting.

I always adapt the lipstick to the look but also to the daily activities, for example :

When…

… I am going to work :

- Edward Bess Night Orchid
- Mac Fanfare
- Shu CR330
- Dior 448
- Sue Devitt Wooloomooloo
- Any Suqqu Creamy glow

… I am going out :

- Mac Ruby Woo with a subtle lipgloss
- Rouge d’Armani 401 or any other stunning shade
- A bright Lancome Rouge in Love

… it’s a more casual “going out” :

- Chanel Chintz
- YSL Vernis à lèvres 15, or any other shade
- Rouge d’Armani, a bright one !

… I have a serious meeting at work :

- Rouge d’Armani 512 or any other neutral flattering shade

… I don’t have time to think :

- Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in 77
- Armani Rouge d’Armani 103
- Ellis Faas L108
- Suqqu Creamy Glow

… I am wearing a dramatic smoky eye :

- Suqqu Creamy Glow in EX-04, that’s the nude I can wear !
- Armani Rouge d’Armani, a beige shade
- Ellis Faas L108
- Chanel Laque 77

I already have posts on the Rouge d’Armani, the Lancome Rouge in Love and the Sue Devitt,  I will now add some other swatches to this post to have a slightly better idea of the above mentioned shades.

Suqqu Creamy Glow

The EX-01 is a gorgeous coral shade but it doesn’t show up on the swatch ! The EX-04 is a nude that I can wear, close to Mac Creme d’Nude but I cannot wear the Mac one…

Lipsticks mentioned in this post

1. Edward Bess Night Orchid, my “go-to”
2. Mac Ruby Woo – a dark matte red I can wear
3. Dior 448 – an easy everyday shade, a bright shade that applies sheerly
4. Mac Fanfare – again, an easy and fun everyday shade
5. Shu Uemura CR330 – a wearable bright, glossy and lasts a fair amount of time for such a glossy shade
6. Sue Devitt Wooloomooloo – a flattering bright-ish pink
7. Chanel Laque 77 – a flattering peachy-nude
8. YSL 15 – a bright, still wearable, pink
9. YSL 5 – an easy everyday shade
10. Lancome Rouge in Love 106M – these 3 shades are flattering and appropriate for an everyday use
11. Lancome Rouge in Love 230M
12. Lancome Rouge in Love 322M
13. Lancome Rouge in Love 381B – I cannot wear many purples, Lancome created one that I can actually rock !

First row

Second row

Third row

It’s important that you feel comfortable with both the shade AND the formula.
I always make sure I wear a base (Chantecaille Lip Contour), a lipliner and I also love to highlight the cupid’s bow with a long-lasting cream pencil like the Kose Addiction in Sugar Blond, sounds like a heavy routine but it’s not.

Never underestimate the power of a lipstick, in my opinion it’s the most powerful item in your makeup bag !

I would LOVE to know what your lipstick rules are, your favorite lipsticks and how do you select them !