It’s fun for makeup artists and beauty editors to talk about orange lips being important for summer, or how pairing a strong eye with a strong lip is on trend for fall. But sometimes it’s hard to figure out how on earth to translate the trends into your real life and make them part of your makeup routine.
The trick is to dial down the trend until it fits into your lifestyle and environment, letting it serve as a springboard for ideas and trying new things. Don’t think you need to go on a shopping spree at Sephora or have to throw away all of your existing makeup and start anew.
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Let’s tackle one of the major trends for this summer: bright, matte lips.
Neon bright colors are everywhere on the runways and in magazines, especially on eyes and lips. Although women’s pouts are painted with these vibrant hues, the texture is decidedly matte. Dusty even. No shine or shimmer.
Matte lips can be a challenge for women as we’ve become very comfortable with our glosses and tinted lip balms. But a bold lip makes a statement and can actually make the wearer feel more daring and powerful.
There are lots of new, wearable formulas these days, and one of my favorite new textures is a hybrid of creamy and matte. The color lasts for hours and the formula doesn’t bleed into your lip line or have to be reapplied every 15 minutes. One of my favorite lines, By Terry, has some wonderful, vibrant colors in this new matte formula, as does Hourglass and Lancome (the ColorDesign formula). They have a modern take on matte, one that is more comfortable to wear and won’t dry out your lips like a traditional matte.
I’m loving the new takes on coral, electric pink and orange-y reds. There’s a delicious color out there for every skintone, so just poke around the makeup counters until you find one that makes you excited to take it out for a test drive.
The key to wearing strong lipstick in the real world is to play down the makeup on the rest of your face. Although you don’t want to cake on full coverage foundation, you do want flawless-looking skin since nothing highlights a blotchy complexion like a bright lip. Even out your skintone by using a tinted moisturizer and dotting on concealer where needed. Lightly define your eyes with a muted brown or a pretty bronze shadow around the lash line, add a healthy heaping of mascara, sweep on a touch of bronzer or a soft peachy blush and you (and your gorgeously bold lips) are ready to light up the town.
