When I decided to post about lipstick it was in realization that I might be stuck in a bit of a pink rut; light pink, glossy pink, nude pink, rose pink, are you with me in this?
Wondering who I could talk to about this beauty boredom, I asked Montana Madrigal. Her daring purple lipstick is exactly my opposite and when it comes to lipstick choices and I'm loving the way her last photo shoot turned out.
Now I know that not all you ladies are ready for purple, but why not broaden your knowledge of how to make an educated color choice?
What you need to know before choosing a lipstick.
First know your skin tone. There are essentially three: fair, medium and dark. A quick trick is to look at the underside of your wrist. If your veins appear bluish you are on the fair spectrum, if they appear greenish you are in the medium to dark spectrum.
Another simple way to identify your skin tone is to have a look at famous stars, almost each one of us can identify with an A lister's coloring.
Taylor Swift, Kristen Bell and those brown-haired, fair-skinned girls, Kristen Stewart and Anne Hathaway are in the fair skinned spectrum. They have a pink undertone which is a good shade to focus on when choosing a lipstick, but don't let this halt your exploring and trying a classic red like Taylor.
For medium skin tones we look to Eva Mendaz, Sandra Oh, Angalena Jollie. Each of these ladies have a yellowish undertone. Reds, nudes, orange, pinks are going to look great on you.
Dark skin toned stars such as, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Lupita Nyong’o also have a yellowish undertone. Plums, Berry tones and reds are wonderful choices bringing out the warmth in your skin color.
Montana's Words of color wisdom :
At times it's your hair color that can make a lip color stand out and at other times it’s your skin. It also depends on what colors you wear day to day. For instance if you wear a lot of black then just about anything goes, but if you are wearing color do your best not to clash.
For daily wear, go for a color that is a few shades darker then your lip. When going out to a party or festive event have fun and experiment, it can't be worse then that hair cut you had in the fifth grade.
Learn how to define your lip :
Draw an X on top lip and a U on the lower lip, then connect the lines.This helps give your lips better definition and provides you with a no-fail guide.
Montana’s lip color of choice? She loves a good lip stain preferably in purple. The lip stain will stay on your lips long after the first application.
How to make a photo "POP!" :
A shout of lip color is a great way to make your photos pop. Lip stain is your friend, especially if it's a shoot with your mate. A kiss on the cheek is sweet until the color is gone from your lips and on to your love's face!
Most of all feel good with your lip color!
If lipstick intimidates you, ease in to it. Start with a light shade and gradually go darker or brighter. Sometimes a bit of color is all you need to give you an effortless polished look without much other make up. hmm, I might just try red next! Or pink…dark rose pink? Sigh… baby steps...
We created a special Pinterest lipstick board to advise you along this colorful path. We have personally tried each one posted - hope it inspires you as much as it did me!
Montana Madrigal is a hair and beauty specialist living and working in Washington, IL with her daughter, Ivy. One of her specialties is color and highlights, specifically Balayage. You can expect us to be diving into this natural looking technique in the near future as it photographs oh, so nice! Check out more of her work here!