HowTo: Play Down Your Lips
By GlindaThe beautiful KESW asks:
I really, really want to love lipstick, but I have a large mouth and full lips (as well as big eyes) so when I do lipstick I tend to look like Ronald McDonald. Thus I haven’t experimented a lot and don’t know what type of lipstick I should be looking for. Any ideas?
Do you hear that sound? That is the sound of thousands of women hurling their Lip Venom against the wall and cursing you for your luscious, lovely pout.
However, it is all about perception, isn’t it? And if you feel your lips need some toning down rather than amping up, then who am I to tell you otherwise? I’m here to help, not lecture.
First of all, you want to look for matte or cream lipstick. Shine is not your friend when you are looking to minimize, well, anything. Also, avoid any kind of lip gloss, use a balm to keep lips hydrated.
Next, you should try to stick to neutral shades that look good with your skin tone. You should be looking for nudes, peaches, and pinks.
Use a bit of a brighter blush to help draw the attention away from your mouth. You could also play up your eyes, but pick only one feature, not both, or for sure you will be going the Ronald McDonald route.
I’ve gone through and looked for some pretty neutrals that might work for you. Good luck, and whatever you choose, rock your fabulous lips, my friend!
Laura Mercier Tea Rose or Rose
And last but not least, MAKE UP FOR EVER has some lovely shades as well.
November 8th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
I’m not a huge lipstick person, but sometimes I’ll wear it, esp. when I’m wearing glasses. I’m currently using the Laura Mercier Sheer Lip Colour (in baby lips, as it happens), and I really like it. It has a nice moisturizing factor.
November 8th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Take a look at Revlon’s tiny little Mattes line as well. I have full lips too, and I find a true matte is the only way I can wear a strong red or wine shade. Otherwise, yes, Ronald McDonald pretty much perfectly describes what the photograph looks like. As I’m high-contrast in my coloring (very dark brunette, light skin), I’m desperately grateful to be able to wear a nice contrasty deep shade thanks to the existence of mattes. I avoided them for decades. Decades.
Try gloss too if you like, but only if you’re drawn to it, and definitely only in a nice neutral kind of shade that doesn’t pop on you. Lancome’s Juicy Tubes in ‘beach plum,’ sparingly applied, is about as as dark as I can go with gloss, and that mostly in summer when my skin’s darker. Revlon’s lip gloss in the long narrow square tube in ‘nude lustre’ is very understated shade-wise.
November 8th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
I’m very strongly tempted to give into a girlish squeal right now… thank you so much!!! I’ve been afraid of light lips for a long time (due to some nasty cheap stuff I had in high school that gave the impression of an unfortunate skin condition), but it seems I should try it again.
November 9th, 2010 at 9:27 am
You might also try one of the “reverse lip liner” products out there. I believe DuWop and Cargo make them, and who knows who else. It’s a lip pencil in a flesh tone, and if you run it juuuuuuust barely inside the natural lines of your lips, it can also help minimize.
November 11th, 2010 at 11:26 am
On the natural side Korres does some lovely neutrals in a variety of textures. Their nude gloss gives a mod finished look without looking like you dropped out of Klown Kollege.
I also really love Burt’s Bees lip shimmers. They aren’t matte, obviously, but they are very moistening and the Peony and Watermelon shades are a peach and pink neutral respectively. They look great on full lips.
November 11th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
What’s great about this kind of advice is that you can simply reverse it if, like me, you have teeny-weeny lips. Almost all of my lipsticks have shimmer in them AND I wear shiny or shimmery gloss on top. I try to keep it all from looking too disco, especially in the daytime, but it’s absolutely true that both of those things make your lips look bigger.
November 12th, 2010 at 12:53 am
@SarahDances- Thank you for that bit of advice!
@Fabrisse- I used to really love Burt’s Bees lip shimmers, but did they change the formula recently? Because they aren’t going on the way they used to.
@Kimberly, yes! Try a lipliner, too! Then you might be able to forgo one of the shinies on top, hopefully.