Posts tagged Lips
Best Lip Balms
12 years ago
Lipsticks and lip glosses are great when it comes to giving our lips a little extra sexy bump. But sometimes when we’re outside in very cold, or very hot or dry or windy weather all we want is protection for our lips and that’s when the humble lip balm shines. Though Chapstick always has a special place in my heart because it’s been around since 1912, there are a few others that I carry around with me.
This product line has extended from the original Beeswax Lip Balm, but in all their new formulas either honey or beeswax is present, as well as vitamin E, peppermint and other ingredients. Now there a lip balm for every taste and need like the Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm with Kokum Butter – 1 application = 4 hours of moisturizing – or Rejuvenating Lip Balm with Acai Berry. Burt’s Bees is the one I always have in my gym bag.
This is the one I carry on my cosmetics bag since it’s so slim. While this lip balm is offered in a variety of flavors like vanilla, cherry, wildberry, watermelon, and others, all you get is a hint of a scent, but not the flavor so you don’t end up eating the balm. It also has SPF 20 and is long lasting.
Eos
My favorite! Eos (evolution of smooth) comes in a weird package and shape for a lip balm, looks like a little kid’s toy and people not familiar with the brand always ask what it is. This is the one on my make-up counter, so I use it at home, when I go out for quick errands and sometimes I put it on, just because it’s so cute. This lip balm contains Shea butter and vitamin E, plus it comes in several different flavors. The smell is a bit waxy but it does have a tiny hint of flavor. I tend to glide it on in a twisting motion so the round shape of the balm is still round.
MyLipCandy Couture Lip Balm
13 years ago
Recently I received lip balm samples from a new company called MyLipCandy and I was just blown away by them.
I sampled the Banana Pudding Sweet Tube and the Chocolate Mint Sassy Tin. The first thing I noticed is the absolutely yummy smell, which is something I personally miss from the children’s lip balms. But the advantage is that even though it smells great, it doesn’t have a taste so you’re not tempted to “eat” it and drying up your lips. The balm is long lasting and very moisturizing, just applying it feels so luxurious.
I wanted to know more about MyLipCandy so I interviewed the creator Tamika Hall. She’s a best-selling author of eight books, professional public speaker, she has her own radio show “Tough Talk with Tamika”, as well as a career as a model, pageant coach, actress and award winning playwright. She has several clothing lines and now creator of this awesome beauty product.
How did MyLipCandy get started?
I created MyLipCandy out of sheer desperation and out of desire! Sounds, crazy, I know, but let me explain. (smile) I have always loved lipgloss and lip balm, and I knew that I wanted to create my own line one day; I’ll be honest, I never thought I would ever be able to actually craft it myself, but this has been one incredible ride. I made my first batch of lip balm as a thank you gift for some dancers in a show I’d choreographed!! And when I made it, I knew that I wanted to use all natural products because of a painful experience i’d had with my own lips.
A few years ago, I went through a period of extremely chapped lips that lasted for about two years. My lips were so chapped and swollen that it hurt to smile or talk. A few times I even went to the doctor because I knew there just had to be something seriously wrong, only to be told that my lips were just severely chapped. I realized that I needed to use all natural products on my lips, but I didn’t want to give up my love for glossy lips. When I finally found a lipgloss that seemed to heal my lips, I was disappointed with the fact that it had a stinky smell. When I decided to pursue MyLipCandy as my dream business, I knew that the product had to smell good enough to eat!
Where did you learn how and what to mix to create MyLipCandy?
I did a lot of research on safe products to mix together, and have actually acquired some mentors along the way. It is so important to me that my products be safe, healing, and fun to use.
When did you sell your first MyLipCandy? Do you remember who bought it?
MyLipCandy is relatively young…we are just 6 weeks old! I made my first sale the day I posted that we were open for business on Facebook back in April. I screamed when I got my first sale, I called my husband and my mother screaming. I definitely remember the first person, I am so blessed that they have come back over and over again and now send their family and friends too.
What has been the reaction to MyLipCandy?
It has been INCREDIBLE! I gave out my first batch to my dancers on April 16, It was their reaction to the product that made me stop and say “hmmm…this may be your dream lip line.” From there I have been getting rave reviews about the silky texture of our products and how they have helped to heal severely chapped lips throughout the United States and Canada. We currently have 16 flavors and offer them in both a Sweet Tube or Sassy Tin, and we are getting ready to introduce our BALMalicious Lip Gloss in the next few days for those who need a little bling in their life – in a nutshell, we have something for everyone young and mature.
Where can we buy MyLipCandy?
MyLipCandy is available online at www.mylipcandy.com, and we have a growing number of retailers around the Country that are signing up everyday to offer it in their salons.
Which one is more popular, the tin or the tube?
Honestly, they run neck and neck. The Sassy Tin is just that…it’s for the sassy woman who likes to dip her finger into the lip balm. Most women tell me that they feel sexy when they use the tin. The Sweet Tube is for the woman who is still a Diva but would prefer not to use the tube.
I love the candy fragrance, how do you choose which one to produce?
I get a lot of suggestions from customers. I actually just received a list from a little girl in Delaware who wanted to ‘suggest’ approximately fifty different flavors (laughing). I love getting those letters and emails. At the end of the day, I look at suggestions, but I have to feel comfortable with the flavors I produce. I may actually work on a certain flavor for a week or more. The flavors have to resonate with me, if I wouldn’t put it on my own lips, then it isn’t something I can offer to my customers.
Is there anything more you would like to add?
Thank you so much for this opportunity to tell the world about MyLipCandy! Also, if there are women who want to try some of our lip balm or salons, spas, or stores interested in carrying our brand, they can log onto www.mylipcandy.com or email [email protected] for more information.
My Perfect Red Lipstick by Illamasqua
13 years ago
I’m not sure how it happened, but lately my party wardrobe is very 50’s style oriented. Wait! I do know how it happened, it’s all Style Bust’s fault! I read an interview with Kimo of Effie’s Heart, checked out their website and ended up buying the Dolce Vita dress (click here to see interview). After that I bought another dress in a similar style, then another and tomorrow I’ll be picking up a custom-made one. It just snowballed.
I already have the black hair going for me and in order to get those curls that look like waves I’ve been using a clipless curling iron. To complete the look I just needed the perfect red lipstick. This is one of the most difficult colors to shop for, I currently own 8 different red lipsticks I don’t use because they were just not right. Too dark, too light, too orange, too pink, too glossy, etc.
I got all dressed up, hair, makeup, the works except for the lipstick. Went to Sephora and put myself in their hands. It didn’t take too long to find a lipstick that was perfect for me, but it was fun to try several of them. Here are the ones that I liked, but didn’t make the cut.
Illamasqua – Maneater (matte classic red)
Bite – Zivoli (brick red)
NARS – Shanghai Express (semi matte warm brick red)
The ultimate winner was a lipstick by Illamasqua.
Known for their intense colors and dramatic makeup, Illamasqua is your go-to brand for nighttime makeup—whether it’s an evening out at the opera or the dance club. Conceived amidst the dark drama of Berlin in the 20s, Illamasqua was developed by professional makeup artists and launched in 2008 in the U.K. Embraced by celebs and alternative cultures alike, their colors allow you to express your most daring, boldest, and most intense sides with professional nighttime makeup that’s richly pigmented and long lasting.
It glided on very smoothly and since I was already dressed up I met some friends at an Irish Pub, where I had two beers, one glass of water and later one coffee without having to re-apply the lipstick and without feeling the lipstick dry or flaky. My red color is called Box.
Because this color has blue undertones it also brightens my face and teeth. I adore it! This is the perfect red lipstick for me. Here’s a pic of me wearing the color, didn’t do a close up of the lips, but you can still see the effect.
Don’t loose hope, your perfect red lipstick is out there waiting for you to discover it! Have fun looking!
Here’s an update to this post. A week after I bought the lipstick I did a photo shoot just for fun using my cute dresses and lipstick and wouldn’t you know it, my photographer took a close up of my lips.
All About the Lips
13 years ago
Being blessed as I am with tiny lips, I depend on products that will help me put them out there and as it is for everything that has to do with cosmetics, the choices are endless. Beginning with the choice of which product to use, a lip gloss, lipstick, lip stain or lip plumper. So let’s see what options are out there.
If you want some color on your lips without actually putting on color, then a Lip Gloss is your best bet. They keep your lips looking moist and you can find them in clear, translucent, or other shades. They can be worn alone, especially in the daytime or on top of your lipstick to give it an extra kick. The only thing about lip glosses is that you run the risk of looking like you have honey on your lips, subtlety is always best. My favorites are the ones with wands, like this one from NARS.
Or the Vitamin-Infused Lip gloss from Tarte.
This one from the Sephora Collection is one of my favorites. I bought one for my sister and her Chihuahua bit it, really hard. She thought it was a goner, but even though those little teeth really dug in, the plastic resisted, not a drop spilled out. And that little dog has destroyed quite a few things.
Lip stains are designed to stain the lips with long-lasting color which will resist wear, the difference with a lipstick is that a lip stain doesn’t contain wax. The end result can be matte and once the stain dries its very long lasting. The lip stain can be combined with lip gloss, although some of the products in the market will add a moisturizer, like this one from Laura Mercier.
Of course, we have our good ol’ Lipstick. Throughout time the use or lack of use has symbolized freedom, sluttiness, rebellion, femenism and more. Lipstick contains pigments, oils, waxes, and emollients that applies color and texture to the lips. Every cosmetic brand has a line of different color lipsticks, and to me, there’s just something sexy about lipsticks. Like Private Lipstick from DuWop.
Or Full-Finish Lipstick from Benefit.
Last, but not least, Lip Plumpers. I just love to feel pouty lips and even though the effect is temporary, its way better than doing collagen injections or anything like that. My personal favorite is Avon’s Beyond Color Plumping Lip Color.
And for plumping lip glosses nothing is better than Buxom Lips.
As I said before, so many choices and only or two can be used at a time, not fair!
Basic Makeup Brushes for your collection
14 years ago
In my previous post Makeup Brushes: Which Fiber is Best, I explained the different types of fibers in the market. You can choose from Natural, Synthetic or Taklon fibers. Now that we have that covered I want to suggest which brushes should be the essentials for your makeup collection. My goal is to give you all-in-one, so for each brush I explain why they are used, which fiber is best and how to use it. The pictures below are from mostly from Origins, which offers a collection of cruelty-free brushes. So, let’s start:
Concealer Brush
This is a small brush with broad and flat bristles. Synthetic is the best type of bristle for this brush since they don’t absorb too much product and are ideal for blending liquid and cream makeup. Dab a few spots in the areas with imperfections, for example under the eyes or directly on blemishes, and keep on dabbing until the concealer is blended on your skin.
Foundation Brush
This brush is to be used for liquid or cream foundation. Similar to the Concealer Brush, but bigger with flat and long bristles. Synthetic bristles are also better for this type of brush. To use it, dot your face with liquid foundation and use the brush to spread it in even outward and upward motions being careful to apply some foundation below your jawline to make it look more natural.
Blush Brush or Blusher
This brush is to be used to apply powder blush on your cheeks. The bristles are packed very close together and should be preferably Natural or Taklon. The rounded shape allows a better distribution of the product on your cheeks. The goal with the blush is to give a natural flushed color to the face. This can be accomplished by smiling and starting from the apple of the cheeks upwards to the hairline, apply the product with a soft motion to avoid excess.
Powder Brush
This is the big and fluffy brush used to apply the final loose powder that will set your makeup. It can also be used to apply shimmer, mineral powder or bronzer. The Powder Brush is similar to the Blusher, but bigger with fluffy Natural or Taklon bristles. The powder is to be placed directly on the brush and apply it using small circular motions all over the face for a better coverage.
For eyes and lips we have a few basic brushes. If you’re like me, all you do is apply one eyeshadow color at a time on special occasions. If you’re like my sister, then you like to blend, smudge, contour and create unique looks. I will cover those brushes in the Advanced Makeup Brushes post.
Eyeshadow Brush
Used to apply powder eyeshadow, this should be flat and wide preferably from Natural or Taklon fibers. There are too many ways to apply eyeshadows depending on your preference and comfort level. Whether its applying only on the lower lid and crease or the whole lid, the eyeshadow brush will help you get a great look.
Eyeliner Brush
Used to apply or blend cream eyeliners. This is a thin and fine brush, preferably made from synthetic fibers. There is no wrong or right way in using this brush, it all depends on how natural or dramatic you want your makeup to look. Some cream eyeliners come in a stick, in this case the brush can help you soften the lines after you apply it.
Eyebrow Brush
This is a small flat brush with a slight angle, also should be made from synthetic fibers. It gives definition and shape to the eyebrows. Apply the eyebrow pencil directly on the areas that need some color with a very soft motion in order to avoid streaks and blend it with the brush. The effect will be eyes that pop even more.
Eyelash Brush and Comb
This is the double sided tool with a stiff brush on one side and a small comb on the other. This one is used to help the application of the mascara on your eyelashes. You will first use the brush in order to clean up your eyelashes and prepare them for the mascara application. Once you applied the mascara, use the comb side to separate and lengthen before the product dries and becomes stiff.
Lip Brush
This is a fine, soft and tapered brush usually found as retractable and because it is used with cream based product, it should be synthetic. They help to blend in the lip liner with the lipstick and just give a better way to fill in the creases and outline the lips.
So there you have it. This guide will help you select the makeup brushes for your basic application needs. You will be amazed at how much better your face will look once you apply your makeup with the right tools.
“PAINT IT RED” – Lips for Fall 2010
14 years ago
Makeup is a bit of a balancing act. It requires symmetry. It also requires knowing what looks good on you. To a large degree “Fashion trends dictate the Beauty trends.” This fall season we are seeing FULL POUTS. Matte lips are “in” and the BIGGER the better so if you need to rely on that LIP infusion wand, go head — pull it out!
If you’re shopping for a new plumper, try out LIPfusion by FUSION BEAUTY; boy is this baby packed with a punch for your lips! Your lips will be perfectly plump for well over 24 hours – the company promises plump lips for up to 48 hours, but I’d rather under promise and over deliver…;-). Lipfusion comes in a clear formula as well as a variety of shades, like the ones shown below.
The texture of your LIPSTICKS & LIP STAINS also matter. For Fall 2010, MATTE is the chosen one and RED is its’ partner.
“Everyone can wear red so throw that out of your head”, the trick is…knowing what tone of red works for your complexion.
Here are my Top Six Red Lipsticks to try this fall!
- Bourjois So Rouge Lipstick in Trendy Rouge
- Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Cha Cha Cherry
- Chanel Rouge Hydrabase Lipstick in Allure Extrait de Gloss
- Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Lipstick in Stay Starlet
- Nars Lipstick in First Bite
- Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipcolor in Cool Watermelon
Let me know if you have other fall favorites for lips!
Buxom – Fun and Quality Cosmetics
14 years ago
Sometimes I like to put on Rocker Chick makeup with lots of dark and intense colors in my eyes, lips and nails. In order to achieve the look I want, I put on eyeliner inside my eyelids. The only problem is that an eyeliner that does the job is not easy to find anymore. I had an Almay pencil eyeliner, which is now discontinued, and I used it until it didn’t fit in the sharpener anymore. Since then I’ve been looking for a substitute and finally found one with Buxom cosmetics, I’m talking about Buxom Insider Eyeliner.
Now with the inside eyeliner you get the same quality, it’s very smooth and creamy and stays on for a long time without smudging. Because of my look I got the color Onyx (jet black), but they also have Emerald (evergreen), Amethyst (deep violet), Pearl (tru white) and many more.
Another very cool product is a cream eyeshadow called Buxom Stay-There Eye Shadow which just glides on your lids and the different colors are very easy to combine. The names are very cute like Chihuahua (bright silver), Pug (smoky pewter), Bull Dog (intense royal blue) and many more.
Not long ago, I wrote about Buxom’s plumpling lip polishes. They work great and you do get a little addicted to that plumping fresh and tingly feeling on your lips. As as exclusive for Sephora, Buxom is offering the Buxom Chronicles: Four of a Kind collection with Dolly (muted plum), Katie (pale pink), Trixie (shimmering golden rose) and Violetta (shimmering fuschia berry).
These are very fun and quality products!
Buxom Lips for Pout-Plumping Perfection
14 years ago
Now that we’re in the summer mood, full-on lipstick is not exactly the best thing when you are at the beach, sight seeing, shopping or just out in the sun. In times like these, a great lip gloss will do the trick to keep you looking femenine, polished and natural.
An awesome lip gloss I just discovered comes from Buxom Lips; this is a fun and flirty product line from Bare Escentuals. The great thing about this product is that it’s a lip plumper. As you put it on, you immediately feel a cool and tingling sensation on your lips; according to the company: “86% of women experienced an immediate increase in Lip Fullness.” And I’m lucky to be one of those 86%, I love how my lips feel and it stays on for a long time.
Another thing I love about the product is the packaging, it’s so cute it feels like a crime to throw it away. I also like the names of the colors, such as Amber, Bianca, Dolly, Isabella, Trixie; each one with an unique look and personality.
The one I choose for myself was Vanessa, a full-color lip polish, so my lip gloss has an extra kick of color and what I’ve noticed is that it doesn’t feel sticky or like you have honey on your lips. And even if I repeat myself, I have to say I do feel the plump…big time. As well as more feminine and flirty.
As always before purchasing I checked if the company tests on animals and they don’t. Also their product doesn’t contain parabens, sulfates or phtalates. You can find these items at Sephora for $18 each or a you can get a set for $28. You can also purchase the items at Buxom directly.
Enjoy your Glossy, Full Lips!