Beauty> Just for your lips

Text by: Tanya Munshi
The lively, melodious voice of Connie Francis immortalized the song "Lipstick on your collar." An image of a peach-pink lip shade making its presence on a pristine white shirt flashes across our mind. But what could be an ideal shade for our skin tone? After kohl or kajal, lipsticks are probably one of the most favourite cosmetics of every woman. Take the extra effort and choose the right shade of lip colour to match your complexion.

Colour & Skin tones
Lip colour should complement our skin tone; and not make it look garish. Select a shade that blends with your skin tone or enhances it. Hues of light pink, tinges of orange, shades of brown and copper look beautiful on dusky skin tones, while on fairer skin tones, glossy pink, peach, lighter shades of brown and copper look just as stunning. While dark maroon, pink and red tend to look garish, shades such as wine, plum and toned down maroons look classy. To match the era of glamour, pick up shades with gloss and light shimmer.

Day and night
"Lipsticks should be such that compliment your skin tone, clothes, occasion and weather," says Rashi Barwal a fashion designer. "Best is to wear mattes in the shades of light pinks and browns. You could add a tinge of gloss for an evening wear," adds Rashi.
During the daytime, keep the shade of your lip colour muted. For evening wear, a light shimmer eye shadow, eyeliner and kajal, a glossy lip colour can make you look glamorous. It is advisable to keep a neutral gloss, glittery peach or bubblegum pink lip gloss, as these compliment any skin tone at any time of the day and attire.

If you don't have a glossy lip colour, apply a matte shade and brush it on with a lip-gloss! You could also mix two shades of lip colours to make a unique colour to match your outfit.
While buying lipstick shades wherever possible, try and check the shade in natural light. Due to the heavy white lights in a mall or a fashion store the colour of the lipstick may look different than at home.

Most of the times checking the lip colour in natural light may not be possible, but wherever you can, give it a shot. While buying a lipstick, smell it. It should smell fresh, with the scent coming through clearly. If it smells stale or the perfume smells old, you know it's old stock.
Also, a new lipstick should have lustre, if it looks pale and dry without its usual shine, that's another sign of an old lipstick. Usually a good lipstick lasts for about a year, so that's a pretty good shelf life for you to use your favourite lipstick to the fullest.

While applying lipstick
Before applying lipstick, apply some Vaseline or a cream to moisten your lips. After you apply this moisturizer, complete your makeup and finally apply the lip shade. This way, the lip colour will spread evenly across your lips, without your lips looking stretched or cracked.
Choose a lip liner matching your skin tone or a shade lighter than your lipstick. A lip liner is meant to enhance the Cupid's bow and make your lips look fuller. If you use a darker shade of a lip pencil your lip make up will look artificial, and this is something you wouldn't want. So what are you waiting for? Pick that colour and dazzle away with that smile!

Published in The Hindu, Bangalore, Kochi & Trivandrum editions
Link: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/02/20/stories/2007022000580100.htm (Bangalore, February 20, 2007)