Often over-looked but highly noticeable, it is very essential at this time for your lips to be in the best of condition. Soft, healthy lips are the basis to provide gloss and lushness to your make-up presentation.
Tropical weather is particularly harsh on lips, the same as the opposite which is extreme cold weather conditions. However, with the sun factor, treatment has to be handled slightly differently, in addition to overall general care. Damaged lips are not something which is easily hidden. Lipstick, rather than covering can actually enhance the problem, by caking into crevices and appearing of a colour which is not uniform and shows up in photographs.
By following a few simple rules and being consistent, your lips can be in top condition for your wedding, honeymoon and for life.
WEDDING DAY CONSIDERATIONS
The finishing touch to your bridal make-up is the application of your lip treatment, while you have been doing this all the time anyway, now it is different, as your wedding day is going to put a lot of demands on your make-up which you did not have to address before and this time it really matters.
It will need to be flattering against your outfit particularly if you are using white; it will need to be durable, standing up to eating, drinking etc, it will need to look good for photographs, video etc. All this and more packed into one day which is the most special of all. If you do not prepare and address the demands, you may be left with less than suitable lips and maybe no time to rectify the situation.
Remember that concerning your lipstick, your maid-of-honour can always touch you up as the need arises and you can help your colour to last longer by using a straw for drinks.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR LIPS
Plump and gorgeous to look at, your lips in fact have a very thin skin and no oil glands. Skin generally undergoes a performance called “Keratinisation” when the older cells are pushed to the top where they harden and form a waterproof, moisture retaining layer which is a protein called “Keratin” (“Stratum Corneum” the upper most layer of the skin) and is continually replaced as new cells are formed. The lips do not have this layer so there is continually fast moisture loss via the lips, leading to common lip problems like dryness, flakiness, vertical splits, cracking, abrasions, chapping.
EFFECTIVE GENERAL LIPCARE
All these problems can be alleviated and avoided, enabling you to enjoy the healthy smooth fullness of lips which is desired. Follow the rules for tropical and general lip care:
Hydrate with a suitable lip balm with SPF protection. Lips contain no melanin (colour Pigment) so burn very quickly
Exfoliate to keep them soft and supple, use a soft toothbrush dipped in just warm water and brush them gently as a general routine
Apply a layer of lip balm before lipstick which is very matte, for extra care
Enjoy lip gloss for the best of both worlds. These provide moisture and light colour at the same time
Refrain from licking your lips this only makes them drier by speeding up evaporation
Remove lipstick before going to bed but you can apply regular moisturising balm or Petroleum jelly, for overnight care
Refrain from biting or picking off flaking dead skin, this can cause bleeding and may tear into health living tissues
Drink plenty of water
Eat foods rich in B vitamins. Dairy products, meat products, broccoli, fruits like apricots and bananas, wholegrain cereals, brown rice, fish and nuts etc., are all rich in this vitamin which means there is something for every taste and diet but consult with your doctor before embarking on any over the counter vitamin regime.
Topping up on A vitamins can also help repair damaged skin, carrots, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes etc., which can be added to your diet but consult with your doctor before embarking on any over the counter vitamin regime
Avoid alcohol based lip products which are very drying
OTHER ISSUES
Naturally rosy, plump lips are often known as the pout of youth. Unfortunately after our teens, lips naturally tend to get thinner and drier leading to loss of volume and every bride’s dread … Vertical lines. However help is at hand. If you find that you have this problem, there are many over the counter products which are available to alleviate it effectively, moisturising and plumping at the same time, which smoothes out those lines. Using a creamy lipstick also helps create the illusion of lushness; avoid matte lip colour if your lips are thin and wrinkled.
PRODUCT USE AND APPLICATION
Oranges generally make your teeth appear yellow, so consider only if you have pearly whites.
Reds and shades with blue undertones make your teeth appear whiter.
Be aware of what you want to use the product for and your finished look direction:
LIPGLOSS - Creates a pout, produces a finishing shimmer and shine
LIPSTICK - Colours the lips, can temporarily alter the illusion of the shape
LIPLINER - Defines the lips, prevents lipstick bleed
CHOOSING PRODUCTS
When it comes to choosing colour, you can decide from two directions, whichever is preferable to you.
1. Your lipstick can follow skin and hair colour general rules:
REDHEADS: Copper tones, bronze, browns, terracotta and corals LIGHT BLONDES WITH FAIR SKIN: Pinks, lilacs, gingers DARK BLONDES WITH MEDIUM SKINS: Rose brown, soft corals, soft reds DARK HAIR WITH FAIR SKIN: Caramels, creamy tones, Browns DARK HAIR WITH DARK SKIN: Violet, magentas, reds, vibrant or deep pinks BLACK HAIR WITH MEDIUM TO DARK SKIN: Burgundy, raspberry reds, fuchsia and berry shades GREY HAIR: Rose tones, warm reds
2. Or you can keep it simple and easily go with your basic skin undertone as opposed to hue. Everyone falls into cool, warm or neutral regardless of their actual skin colour. A blue base makes it cool a yellow tone makes it warm, so you can then choose accordingly.
Cool Colours
Burgundy, Blue toned Pink, Cherry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Lavender, Purple, Mauve, Violet, Lilac, Rose, Deep Red, Blue toned Reds. Basically Cool colours contain blue, pink, purple undertones to their pigment.
Neutral Skins are a balance between cool and warm having indeterminate undertones, olive, pink, etc. These ladies can choose from just about any palette to find a suitable shade.
One thing you must not concentrate solely on is your outfit. While it is good to consider it when choosing lipstick, the colour is meant to complement and enhance you, not your clothes.
STRATEGIC TIPS
Be aware and mindful of price, some very cheap brands can be of unsuitable quality, sticky with a low shelf life, smelling very greasy after a short time. While not all cheap brands are bad, with some functioning very well, you can easily browse from the large selections available, to find a happy medium which is financially manageable. Choose which would work for you by sampling the consistency on your hand with the tester and sniffing it to see if it smells odd, oily etc.
Applying on your hand also enables you to test the durability and suitability of the lipstick for your needs, how light did it go on, did it feel greasy, slippery, dry etc. If it is too greasy it will not hold in the tropical sun. For wedding use you would need a denser lipstick with a little more staying power. Dry textured lipstick can accentuate naturally parched lips.
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Lip gloss provides a very natural look where you can have the colour you desire without being distracting however be very careful of your use of just lip gloss for bridal use, as it may not show up enough in the photos making you appear washed out. You can use lip gloss effectively on top of your lipstick, however, it will not be convenient to constantly reapply, so consider a waterproof variety as you will be having drinks with your meal.
APPLYING LIPSTICK
Outline your lips with a matching, nude or neutral lip liner. The harsh dark line looks dated and severe, not suitable for a bridal image.
You can now tone your lips with a lip balancer; you can use the same lip liner if you do not have a base product or even face powder which will also act as an adhering foundation for your lips. This will balance out uneven tones
Apply lipstick colour. Filling the lip in with a brush makes the application more durable
Blot by closing your mouth and lightly pressing against a tissue. Apply a second coat
You can apply a light coat of lip gloss if you would like extra shine
Check to see that no residue is on your teeth
PROCEDURE TIPS
Simple techniques can dramatically make a difference to the appearance of your lips but be very careful with these tricks so as not to look clownish, if in doubt, consult a professional
A small lip area can be made to look fuller by drawing your lip line slightly outside of the natural lip line. A dab of shimmer in the middle of the bottom lips will give the impression of a pout
A large lip area can be made to look smaller by drawing the lip line slightly inside of the natural lip line. Avoid very pale, shimmering colours which will draw attention and make them look larger.
You can balance uneven lips by applying a slightly lighter lipstick on the thinner lip. Combine the two above techniques by drawing inside the fuller lip and outside of the thinner lip
