The Power Pout

“Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.” Gwyneth Paltrow 

I know a lot of people think it can be scary to rock bold lips - but paired with a nude face and little eye makeup, it can make you stand out in a crowd with that classic 40’s glam look. The red pout is a favourite amongst celebs including Rihanna who pulls it off every time.

There are so many different shades of red lipstick out there; I guarantee you can find the perfect shade for your skin tone and completion. There are bright, vibrant reds that give you the wow factor, light reds to give you more of a natural look and reds that have brown undertones to give you a softer look but still make you stand out.

There is one simple rule to follow when rocking red lips, and that is: If you’re wearing red lipstick all other makeup MUST be kept to a minimum. 

That means not too much bronzer, natural coloured or no eye shadow and a slick of black mascara. Similar to the ‘Legs or Cleavage’ rule, this must be obeyed at all times.

Checklist:

- Lip Balm or Vaseline

- Lip brush

- Concealer

- Red lip liner

- Favorite red lipstick

- Your favourite Lip gloss

- Tissue

First off you need to make sure you don’t have dry lips or the lipstick won’t set properly - so make sure you exfoliate your lips beforehand (I use an old toothbrush and lightly brush it over my lips to get rid of any dry skin). Then apply quite a thick layer of Vaseline and leave it on for a while before blotting off any excess moisture with a tissue.

Then cover the lips with a light layer of foundation or concealer. This gives your lips a brilliant base and allows the lipstick to take properly. I do this because I find the colour of a lipstick sometimes doesn’t look the same if applied straight to your lips, so by covering the lips with foundation it just makes a perfect clean canvas for the colour.

Now for the lip liner – some people like to work from the inside out and apply the lipstick first but I find that if you apply the lip liner first you won’t run the risk of going outside your natural lip line. When applying the lip liner, just make sure you blend it in towards the centre of your lips, don’t just draw a blunt outline – this is because if your lipstick wears off throughout the day your lip liner is more stubborn so will leave you with a look similar to this (not the best look)!

If you don’t have a red lip liner you can always use a small lip brush to outline the lips, however this can be tricky and requires a very steady hand!

My absolute fav red lipstick at the moment is Barry M, it is such a flattering shade, no matter what your skin tone and at only £4.49 (a perfect investment) – but over the years I have collected a variety of different colours so I will show you how to adjust the colour you use to best suit you.

When applying the lipstick you need to use a firm lip brush (I find the smaller the better) this will help work the colour into your lips and a smaller brush will just make sure you don’t go out of the lines. But remember; don’t worry if it’s not perfect because you can go over any mistakes later with concealer.

Brush the lip colour on then blot with some tissue to get rid of any excess lipstick. Depending on what lipstick you use, you will get a different finish, some leave a glossy finish whilst others leave a matte finish. 
However I find that a glossy finish can sometimes look too much so once I have blotted my lipstick I dust a light layer of translucent powder over the top of my lips to give it a more natural look, it also helps the lip colour say on for longer. Max Factor does a brilliant translucent loose powder which is around £9.

This is the Barry M lipstick, however if once you have applied your lipstick you don’t think it suits you, simple take another colour and blend over the top.

This is a YSL Rouge Pur Shine lipstick which has a brilliant pearl shine to it.

And if you like the shiny finish, I have just taken a red Chanel lip gloss and blended over my Barry M lipstick.

To finish off, take your concealer and brush over any mistakes around your lip line and blend in, then hey presto...the perfect pout!