By The Bel: Pucker Up

Winter is a time for vivid colours and bold fashion statements. One of the most celebrated trends is red lipstick. The only catch being the abuse our lips take over the cooler months.

Between wind burn, sun burn and being dried out from spending too much time in front of the heater, we really don’t create an ideal canvas for us to work with to get the perfect red lips. Here‘re 5 ways to help you get those ideal lips for winter, or in fact, any time of the year.

~ Stay hydrated. Have you ever seen a wrinkly fish? No, me neither. Your lips are one of the first places to show the signs of dehydration, and you’re likely to get that way if you’re constantly escaping to a heated room. If you drink lots of caffeinated drinks this can also speed up the dehydration process, so water really is best.

~ Avoid chapped lips. Sun protection is just as important in winter as it is in the summer months. Apart from wearing a shady hat, use products with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) and for wind burn, try not to lick your lips to ease the uncomfortable feeling; you’ll only make it worse. The two products that I swear by are both by Blistex. The first is a lip conditioner and the second is a lip ointment. They will save your lips no matter how bad they are.

http://www.blistex.com.au/therange.html

~ Exfoliate. One of the cheapest ways to exfoliate your lips is to gently brush them with your toothbrush, but there are many lip exfoliates on the market. The main thing to remember after you have exfoliated your lips is to apply some form of moisturizer or lip conditioner afterwards to prevent them drying out.

~ Pick your poison. There are so many products on the market for ‘the perfect red lips’ so it comes down to personal choice and the time of day. Not only do you have the joy of picking between blue-based reds and orange-based reds but you have stains, mats, glosses, and cream looks.

For a youthful day look, try a tinted lip balm or using a finger to lightly coat your lips with your preferred lipstick and add a clear gloss over it. For a longer lasting effect than just swiping your lips with lippy, use a lip brush to apply the lipstick. For the longest wear of all try a long lasting lipstick. My best pick is Revlon’s Colorstay Overtime.

Here’s a clip by maurices to demonstrate how to create a perfect red lip.

~ Remove your lipstick. Red lippy is really hard to get out of a pillowcase, so remember to take off your makeup before you go to bed. You can use a commercially made product for makeup removal or go for Vaseline left on for a few minutes to gently take it off.  Just remember to use those Blistex products afterwards to avoid dryness and chapping.

Here’s lanalovesmac to show us her reactions to a Mac makeup remover. *contains some course language*

And for a random fact about lipstick… Queen Elizabeth II has her own special lipstick which was made to match her coronation robes. It’s called The Balmoral Lipstick.

What is your ideal red lipstick?