Charlene's Ramblings: How to: Plum Lips

I absolutely love the look of a dark pink shade or a burgundy shade on the lips because it adds a certain depth and mystery to your makeup look. However whenever I do decide to do a dark lip, I tend to go light on the eyes with mascara and maybe a sweep of light shadow over the lids. Below I will give you tips and tricks of how to pull of a dark look.

If you have just started exploring makeup, I would suggest a tinted lip balm or a gloss. It adds sheer pigment to the lips and introduces you to the colour without making you feel uncomfortable.
Below are a few choices:

A few sheer options

MAC's 'Plumful' is an amazing colour! It is pretty sheer, but still adds a hint of colour to the lips.

This is my go-to shade, I love the glossy finish and it almost makes my lips look plumper.

L'Oreal Paris Lip Gloss in shade 101 - Mystic Mauve

Stila Lip Glaze in Shade 27 - Black Cherry

TIP 1 – Save the darker shades for the evenings or a night event. Wearing a dark lip in the morning isn’t the best thing, looks a little odd in my opinion. I have looked odd on several occasions and wouldn’t suggest that.

TIP 2 – Use a precision lip brush. Even though I have fairly fuller lips (I ain’t complaining) I always manage to mess up the edges of my lips. I first swipe the lipstick directly from the bullet onto my lips and then use a lip brush to clean up the edges.

Work your up to the darker shades. Below are a few choices of a mid-tone plum shade. I also ADORE the Revlon ‘Just Bitten Kissable’ Balm stain! They add a tint of colour to your lips and lasts for a very long time, even through meals. CRAZY! I know.

Mid range plums

MACs 'Amorous' - Satin Finish

Revlon Balm Stain in Shade 005 - Crush Beguin

TIP 3 – Add a lip liner. This isn’t a must and I often skip this step when I am in a rush. However, I would recommend adding a plum lip liner because the colour of your lipstick will stay on for a lot longer. And also because if you have already lined your lips, you wouldn’t have to go in with a lip brush. That’s one less brush to wash.

Once you gather the guts and feel confident of pulling of of darker lips, make sure to pick a shade that compliments your complexion. Since I am pretty tan hence darker shades works with my complexion. Choosing a blue undertone shade works best aswell because it makes your teeth look whiter.