The newest fashion trend are red glamorous lips. A red lipstick should be sturdy enough to be long term wear (a few hours) and it should also be nourishing for the lips. Can be shiny or matte, even glittery for extra special effects. We tend to favor more conservative looks, so matte finish is recommended, however a little extra shine will be so sexy and provide this classic Hollywood diva look. Red is passionate, luring and powerful. Not anyone dares to wear red, as it is such a fashion statement.
Like always, when it is about make-up or skin care we should not use any harmful chemicals and we need to be aware that these are present in most commercial cosmetics. To see a comprehensive list of common harmful cosmetic ingredients, please click here. Now how we can get the glamorous hot red lips without the dangerous, polluting chemicals? We should choose Eco-friendly products, that are made with organic ingredients, vegan and never tested on animals. Always choose products that are without parabens, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, petrochemicals, sulfates, phtalates, GMO's, triclosan, polybutenes and they should be made only with nurturing food grade ingredients that are good to eat!
One option to get natural red lips is to use natural lips stains. One can use beet juice for this, the look will be more natural, not so glamorous, as when using lipstick, neither so long lasting, but this is the most natural and simple way possible to get red lips. Many Eco-friendly cosmetic companies will provide a variety of vegan lip stains that are longer lasting. Lip stains can be paired with natural lip gloss for shine, nourishment (and to accentuate volume) and to get more like a lipstick effect. Lip stains are especially good for summer time.
Tarte has come up with a glamorous line called True Blood, inspired from the vampire movie with the same name. The vampire, or Gothic look features a pale skin deep penetrating luring eyes and hot juicy red lips, however dark skin tones also go well with properly chosen deep red shades. This is one of the best looks of all. It is sexy and mysterious, romantic and so glamorous! and goes perfect with a red or black simple dress and fine simple jewelry.
Tarte’s Natural Lip Stain with LipSurgence™ Technology is a natural lip stain that is clinically proven to increase lips’ moisture content by 6000%. Now regarding Tarte lip stains I found this wonderful description for features of Tarte lip stains (from Tarte beauty advisor Diana BT): "The difference between the Tarte Lip Stains are the finishes. You can choose from Matte (which is a solid, classic pigment) Natural (which goes on like a cream lipstick with minimal shine), Luster (which is glittery and sparkly) and the True Blood (which is a very sheer, shiny but non glittery red). Fiery is a matte sheer red, the finish is still very smooth but does have a sheen or shine to it. Fever is in the luster grouping which is a sparkly and glittery sheer red. Lust is a basic, hydrating red shade with a slight hydrating sheen that is not glittery nor a flat matte shade either. True Blood is a very sheer, glossy red that is a perfect shade for almost all skin tones. We suggest the Lust or True Blood for a soft red that will give your skin a pop without being too intense or dramatic."
Another one of our favorite all natural red lip stains comes from Josie Maran (enriched with the brand's signature ingredient Argan oil): Magic Marker Lip & Cheek Stain. For a red lips hot look we recommend Flamenco (cherry red, yum!) and Foxtrot (berry wine) shades. Reviewers said it is a little drying and not so long lasting (but it can always be reapplied and lip balm can be added on top).
Lipsticks can vary as shades, finish and moisturizing capabilities. Always choose vegan butter based lipsticks, enriched with vitamin E and oils (like argan, castor, grape seed, evening primrose oil, shea, coconut, mango butter).
The first option to consider is a certified organic, plant based lipstick which was featured in the Allure magazine and it comes from a company named Vapor and the product is named Siren. Their reddest shade is Ravish-404. About this product: "Siren is a naturally long-wearing, moisturizing lipstick that uses an ingenious blend of safe food grade ingredients. Siren contains NO petroleum-based adhesives. Using a heat and vacuum based non-chemical process, 2 plant oils are combined to produce a glistening moisturizing shine. Siren is the most striking new advance in lipstick formulation. Siren's palette is a rich sophisticated array of colors flattering to all skin tones. This safe food grade lipstick deeply moisturizes and protects. Provides shine and sophisticated rich color Without chemicals or petroleum additives. Each shade works with all skin tones. Designed to be layered creatively. No harmful chemicals to ingest by mouth or through the skin. Nourishes and delivers benefits to the skin with Certified Organic food grade ingredients. Proprietary formula moisturizes while allowing skin to breathe". This can be purchased on-line from Organic Beauty Now (free samples offered).
From Dr.Haushka there is a red lipstick enriched with herbal nutriments and emollients, the reddest shade is named Amoroso. The featured ingredient in this product is rose hips: "Rose hip extract is high in vitamins A and C and has a toning effect on skin. Rose hip extracts are soothing and astringent and have been used calm chapped skin. The plant, Rosa Canina, is also known as Wild Rose or Dog’s Rose. Source: Rosa canina fruits (hips). Color glides on effortlessly, leaving lips velvety-smooth. Rose hip and carrot extract keep lips moist and nourished. Rose and Jojoba waxes soften and protect. Colors from nature highlight natural tones."
Korres offers an ultra-conditioning lipstick that combines sheer color with brilliant, high shine. This mango butter based formula comes as a lightweight formula with moisturizing and smoothing effects. It goes on so smooth, provides color that's not too thick with a glossy finish! It stays on nicely for a long time. The color is almost more like a stain than a lipstick. The reddest shade is Coral-45.
NVeyEco lipstick comes in wonderful red shades and comes with conditioning and protective qualities due to all natural organic ingredients. Enriched with jojoba, castor, coconut oils and rich in anti-oxidants this lipstick offers the perfect shade of red. This shade is a must-have in every makeup drawer. Its shine factor, its ever-so-perfect red hue and its all natural ingredients like Vitamin E and honeysuckle keep lips smacked and healthy. This can be purchased on-line from Organic Beauty Now (free samples offered).
Besides lipsticks and lip stains, lip balms and lip glosses are important products to get the overall look. Also the lip liner is a must. The companies we presented here already provide all these as well.
Tips: Now how do we get the best red lips look? first of all lips have to be prepared for the make-up. A natural gentle gommage (skin exfoliation) with oats and essential oils will eliminate any dullness and smoothen the skin. Also by massaging the lips, lips will plump. After massage with gommage, applying a highly hydrating and moisturizing product will make lips ready for make-up and keep them from getting dry eventually (some products, especially when long lasting may do so). This should be performed regularly and 30 min before applying make-up. Right before make-up is applied lips should be wiped dry of any moisturizer and first step is drawing the desired contour using a lip liner the same or darker shade with the lipstick, lip stain, however this must be very close as color. Contouring can be used to correct shape and make lips look bigger as well (if needed), or even smaller! using a very dark lip liner and a light lipstick will give a cheap undesirable effect. Now also have in consideration the optical illusion that color may create (darker shades will give the impression that lips are smaller, and lighter shades the opposite effect). The same goes for shiny, or matte finishes (shinny again gives the impression of bigger fuller lips). Lipstick or lip stain will be filled inside the contour either using like professional make-up artists using a brush especially designed for this, or just using the applicator side. Upon filling in, smoothen everything by massaging in with the finger being careful to blend in the lip liner for a natural look, do add a lot of color at this step (in order to get red hot lips) we need not to spear color. To define and make lips look bigger and more sculptural, use a white color liner just a little bit around the dark color lip liner (please do a very delicate thin smooth seamless application, do not use a thick white line!) After everything looks perfect, blot in with a napkin and then massage upper lip on lower a little bit. After everything is done check out your teeth to see whether or not they got stained. And in the end apply a shiny lip gloss in the same shade with lipstick or lip stain. If you desire a matte finish, lip gloss should not be applied. Now everything should look perfect. Wear a mirror to check out the state of the make-up from time to time, retouch whenever is needed and be aware than even the sturdiest make-up wears off with oils, so beware at what you eat!
Eye make-up should be complementary with the lips in the sense that if lips are highly accentuated then eyes should be highlighted in a very simple way (no fancy colors), just a dark eyeliner and mascara should be enough, or a little bit of smoky eye look will go well with very red lips, as we don't need to get a clown look. When way too much is going on, the look can easily become vulgar.
Cool trend: temporary lip tattoos! Violent lips company sells these through Sephora. Our favorites are:
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