Jewel & Jewel

First of all, choosing the correct red is crucial for you! Here are some helpful tips for selecting the right shade of red for your skin tone:

• Fair skinned ladies should opt for a red with blue or cool undertones.

• Ruddy skin (with reddish undertones) looks best with pinkish reds that have tinges of violet or fuchsia.

• Olive and darker skin colors look great in warm reds with orange, golden, or brown bases.

• Dark brown skin looks stunning in brighter fuchsia reds.

No-fail selection: keep in mind that a blue-based red is flattering on most skin tones and will set off a sparkle in your eye, make your teeth appear whiter, and give your skin a luminous glow.

Now comes application, that may be as follows:

• Line lips with a lip pencil that matches your natural lip color.

• Smudge this lining with a Q-tip or your finger to soften the outline for a more natural look.

• Set down a base layer by lightly applying the lip color (lipstick or gloss) with a professional grade lip brush, spreading color from the center of your lips and moving out. Since a little red goes a long way, using a brush helps you apply just the right amount of product.

• Blot lips with tissue. Carefully apply a second coat.

• For extra dimension and the appearance of a fuller, more sensual pout, finish with a tiny dollop of pearlized gloss in the middle of the bottom lip.

• Pucker up.

Rona Berg, in her book, “The Beauty Basics,” lists a bunch of great lipstick tips and tricks, some of which I want to share with you.

Tip #1: Lipstick done? You might notice there’s still a bit of lipstick down in the tube. Scrape out the last bits with a cotton swap or orange stick and mix it with Vaseline or lip gloss in a lipstick palette. Use a lip brush to apply.

I also love this tip shared by reader Patti Campbell. She scoops out the lipstick remnants from the bottoms of her tubes and she puts them in a pill case, “the one with the days of the week individually capped.” She then nukes the pill case until the lipstick melts.

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Have you ever thought about what’s in that pretty red stuff you’re putting on your lips? Could it be collagen, beeswax, strawberries, or lead perhaps?

Reports about lipstick containing lead are flooding the media, since the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics conducted a study of 33 lipsticks from store shelves among four U.S. cities and found that over 61% contained lead. Tests revealed levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits lead levels in candy to be less than 0.1 ppm, but does not regulate the level of lead in lipstick.

So why should you care? Well, one study estimates that the average woman consumes about 4 to 6 pounds of lipstick a year, from licking her lips and eating it with food. Ever wonder why you need to re-apply after a meal?

Alarming? Perhaps, considering that there is no safe amount of lead for human consumption. Lead is a neurotoxin. Our bodies do not dispose of lead, rather, lead stays in our systems and builds up over time. So daily consumption, compounded over decades, can lead to toxic levels of lead. This can lead to brain damage, retardation, emotional and behavioral problems, lower IQ levels and learning disorders like ADD. Children and fetuses are at an even higher risk, because lead can cross the placenta and enter the developing brain of the fetus. It is also linked to infertility and miscarriage.

So how does lead get into lipstick anyway? Well, it’s not put there intentionally. There is not a conspiracy among the cosmetics companies to poison lipstick wearers. Lead is found in some colorants. Lead can also become a byproduct from raw materials such as zinc oxide, paraffin and petroleum-based ingredients.

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One of the biggest makeup challenges is choosing the right lip color. Some women vary their lipstick in accordance with their wardrobe—a big no-no, since your lipstick is supposed to complement your skin tones!

It’s not hard to choose lipstick colors once you know one simple fact. All you need to know is whether your skin tones are “warm” or “cool”. It’s not about how dark or light you are, or even about your hair or eye color, but what the undertone of your skin is—is it bluish (cool) or yellowish (warm)? Everyone is either warm or cool and it’s all about your facial coloring: blondes, brunettes and redheads can be either one.

So how can you tell if you aren’t sure? Dig through your makeup bag and find just two shades of any kind of makeup—lip color, eye shadow or blush. Find one color that is orange or rust and another that is pink or lavender. Rub one color on the apple of your cheek and the other color on the apple of the other cheek and then compare. Does one look more “right” than the other? Does one look garish or just wrong? The color that works will show you your skin tone. If the orange color looks right, you have warm tones; if the pink color looks right, you are cool.

Now that you know your skin tone, you are free to choose any lip color in that color family. But that doesn’t mean you’ll only wear one lipstick shade: you still have plenty to choose from! Take a look at this list of potential lip shades for either coloring:

Warm Colors
Coral, Peachy, Russet, Rust, Amber, Brown, Brick Red, Melon, Salmon, Orange, Sandalwood, Red with yellow undertone, Taupe

Cool Colors
Pink, Raspberry, Cherry, Mulberry, Lavender, Plum, Rose, Strawberry, Crimson, Amethyst, Lilac, Red with blue undertone, Mauve

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