Do you remember the 80’s ? If you’ve been there, you will remember your 80’s lipsticks… Â 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 :
- Find a texture I love, then find the right shade in that lipstick range.
- 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. Â 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 formulaÂ
I love long-wearing lipsticks, but long-wearing often means darker and dark is not for me, well, it depends how I apply it. Â 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, Â 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
- Edward Bess Night Orchid, my “go-to”
- Mac Ruby Woo – a dark matte red I can wear
- Dior 448 – an easy everyday shade, a bright shade that applies sheerly
- Mac Fanfare – again, an easy and fun everyday shade
- Shu Uemura CR330 – a wearable bright, glossy and lasts a fair amount of time for such a glossy shade
- Sue Devitt Wooloomooloo – a flattering bright-ish pink
- Chanel Laque 77 – a flattering peachy-nude
- YSL 15 – a bright, still wearable, pink
- YSL 5 – an easy everyday shade
- Lancome Rouge in Love 106M – these 3 shades are flattering and appropriate for an everyday use
- Lancome Rouge in Love 230M
- Lancome Rouge in Love 322M
- Lancome Rouge in Love 381B – I cannot wear many purples, Lancome created one that I can actually rock !
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 !
11 comments
Hi! I LOVE the lipstick color chart! I am going to share it with our members because we frequently get questions about which lip colors are right for each skin tone. As a former corporate-type, I thoroughly appreciate the SmartArt.
Of course, I will make sure I include a link back to your blog and give you your well-deserved credit!
BTW, we are currently running a sale on a line called Bomber Betty. We are featuring their best lip colors, but they are also known for being able to match and custom formulate any discontinued or hard-to-find shade: http://www.bomberbetty.com/
Ahhhh right up my alley! I do agree with you completely that a lipstick can be the most powerful item in your makeup bag! Not that it has to be bright, dark or extraordinary in color but it can really alter a look. I too have spent $$$$ on finding the perfect shade always knowing there might be one even better out there! Right now I am in the process of stretching my comfort zone to adjust to this aging thing. I’ve gone from minimal lipstick to wearing the brightest truest reds in my twenties to deep wines in my early thirties to nudes in my early forties. Now I am seeing a little brightening up is in order. I think lipstick shopping is just fun! My rules: Needs to be close to my current comfort zone (or it won’t get worn), Needs to be of a quality formulation, Needs to fit the season/ occasion…
and lastly I think a specific brand can make you feel a certain way,( example Tom Ford = Sexy Elegance) so it needs to fit the mood of the day. (BIG run on sentence!!! 🙂
Favorites: changes all the time! Right now I am reaching a lot for Cle de Peau, TF, and Dior…..
One day I will try Cle de Peau 🙂 I can’t wait !
I love to wear Tom Ford too, and also Burberry, two posts are being prepared on these two brands. The only thing is that I love Tom Ford lipsticks but they are not the most flattering ones on my lips… but I still love them and use them sparingly, I am already gone through one Pink Dusk ! Smokey eyes & Pink Dusk = x1000 times !
Oh I always forget Burberry! Love them! I am exactly the same with TF! Getting ready to open my 2nd Pink Dusk. Not many colors of his work for me but that one i really like the color of… wish I could tweak the texture a little.
Same here 🙂 I need to work with them a little bit more to have an even “not sitting on my lips” kind of application for some of them, that’s why it’s not my favorite texture.
This year I was wearing a lot of blue red lipsticks at work but the most compliments I got was with ellis faas L104 and armani 602, obviously both in the fushia plum family and with a peggy sage one : moscow (I don’t like the formula but the color is nice : a red coral, perfect for summer). YSL gloss stain in 10 was my signature color for three months. The result is that now, when I don’t wear a bright lipstick, everybody tells me I look tired 🙂
Are you also cool toned Nikoleta ?
That’s also my problem, when I don’t wear a bright-ish lipstick you can tell something is missing 🙂
Sonia I wonder if you know of a lipstick that is a dupe for the Suqqu Creamy Glow no.10 Urumishu , which I’ve just received please ? I adore the colour 100% ; it’s my HG colour …..BUT , the texture is too shiny and glossy for my taste . I really would love this colour in matte , or perhaps you know a trick ( other than the obvious blotting on a tissue and layering , which I’ve tried but it just takes most of the lipstick off ). yours in hope 🙂 Helen
Hi Helen,
I see what you mean, they can really be glossy.
I don’t have this lippie, I have been checking swatches on the internet and it looks like my Ellis Faas L108 that I love !
Similar to that the Dior nude 418 Ingenue, or the Chanel Allure Laque 77. The Chanel is more shiny but HG for me. I think they are discontinuing this Laques so if you want to check it out maybe it’s now or never.
Is the Suqqu 10 more brown that these here ? please let me know, I will try to see if I can find a close matte shade.
Thttp://www.frontrowbeauty.com/suqqu-cream-glow-lipsticks-saebana-urumishu-review-swatches/
Thanks Sonia , the Dior looks delectable 🙂 This link has some good photos that show how corally-pink it is ( and no shimmer whatsoever which I like ). I tried the E.F108 , but I need a bit more colour unfortunately .
I thought of two more, more long-lasting, in Guerlain 101 and Lancome 106M 🙂
Nice formulas if you ever want to try them 🙂