It's been too long since I have made a post. Sorry about that. I have been busy, busy! I did a great shoot recently with a talented photographer, Color Impact Photography/Jim Toreli, and a model who was so talented and sweet, Stephanie Lynn! It was so much fun! I got to do 3 looks on her. Look one was more natural, look 2 was more of a fun look, and then 3 was a smokey eye look!
Check out the pictures here on my Model Mayhem Profile: My Model Mayhem Profile
I love photo shoots! It is so fun to work with other creative people collaborating on different looks. It really makes my soul happy:)
So anyway, back to my post.
This post is brought to you by the letter F. For frustrating! You know what's frustrating? Finding that perfect shade of nude, or pink, or red lipstick! I, still to this day, have picked the wrong shade! Gasp! I know your pain! I wanted to share a few tips and tricks to finding your perfect shades, and also ways to remedy a not so perfect color you may have gotten stuck with!
First thing that will start you on your path towards lipstick enlightenment...choosing the store that you will be buying your lipstick from. If you are budget minded you may head to your nearest drugstore. TIP: find out their return policy on makeup. For example Rite Aid lets you return makeup even if you have opened the package to try it, same with Ulta. Since drugstores or other stores that sell makeup, like Target, don't allow you to try before you buy, knowing the return policy will help you, and your pocketbook, feel less sad if you end up buying the wrong color!
If you are one to want to shop at Sephora, Ulta or a fancy department store with higher end makeup, you can sample shades, or even seek the assistance of a friendly worker! Sometimes you can even get free samples! Then you can go find a similar version of the sample for cheaper! Lol see how that works? So choosing a store when buying lipstick can be a factor in getting you that much closer to the lipstick color that rocks your socks!
I could sit here and type to you how you can determine your skin tone and undertones, but let's face it. I can't see you. And it can be hard for people to tell what color category they fall in, especially if you are one of those people that are in the neutral category, that can go either warm or cool. UGH. Makes anyones head hurt trying to figure that whole, "am I cool, or warm,or neutral?" BLAH. Frustrating.
So instead of guiding you towards that, I am going to change your opinion all together. I am going to tell you to go choose a color that you LOVE. That's it. Go right now, to the aisle with all 8,513,437 different lipstick shades. And find out which color is speaking to you. Too many? Okay. Start with this. I think each lovely lady needs to have these 3 colors: Nude, Pink and Red. Basically there are a billion variations of these. But if you have at least 1 of each of these 3 color categories, you have done well.
I am giving you a homework assignment. Here it is:
Buy 3 different lipstick shades. 3 is the magic number. Buy a light nude one, that matches your lip color. Next buy a more pinky colored one. And lastly, buy a red one that you think rocks. If you are at a store where you can sample before buying, then sample the 3 shades:) You can determine your colors by process of elimination. Say you try on the nude, and it's too light-- find one that is 1 or 2 shades up from that. And vice versa if it is too dark, then find 1 or 2 shades down from that.
Say you just have no energy to go back out and rid your self of the bad lipstick choices, then to salvage these colors, pair it with a lip gloss with some color to change the look of it! No need to toss it out! Too much pink in that lip color? Tone it down with say a light pink shimmery gloss. Voila, you have turned it into another color!
Oh and another tip! Lip liners are waaaay cheaper! Buy a couple lip liners in shades you like. Apply them all over your lip. See if those work. If yes, go find a lipstick that matches. If no, back thee to the drawing board:)
In a nutshell, do NOT be afraid or discouraged in selecting the wrong shade. You did not just tattoo color to your lips, so it comes off, and if you chose the right location to buy your lipstick from, and saved your receipt, you can take that lipstick right back to the store, no feelings or pocketbooks hurt.
Makeup is FUN! And you can experiment! And it should not give you a headache. The more you try to add scientific research to it, the less fun it seems! Don't put yourself into a little color box, where you think you are warm, so you can only wear this color, etc. Those are tips for starting you in the right direction, yes, but the path can be all swervey! And twirly! And it's okay that you buy a funky color! It's all good in the hood:)
And when all else fails, and you give up, just throw some leopard print lips on lol. Or not! ;)
Have fun, and if you feel overwhelmed still--- just contact me, and I will guide you more!
Kiss, Hug and LIPSTICK, the good ones hopefully!
