Glam Slam: Makeup Mondays — How To Wear Bright Lips

The first thing I noticed about Katie Holmes at the Power of Women event was her bright, fuchsia lips. The second thing I thought was that I could never wear a lip that bold… or could I?

“The key to pulling off a bright lip is to first make sure that you have the right shade,” says Dior Beauty Celebrity Makeup Artist, Ricky Wilson, who has worked with Camilla Belle, Aisha Tyler, Joy Bryant and Sharon Stone. “Bright colors look great on any skin tone, but sometimes the shade range is confusing. I choose lip color based on a few factors but mainly skin tone.”

Ricky shares color suggestions for all skin tones and a few tips for wearing a bright lip shade.

DO wear the shade with confidence like it was created especially for you. Never let your makeup wear you. Make sure it is a part of your look and ties into something you have on – I like to bring out the accessories with lips… hair clips, scarves, earrings etc.

DON’T wear a bright shade of lip color with lots of other makeup on. Unless you are performing, keep all other makeup to a minimum, except lashes of course. You want your pout to be the wow factor, not foundation, blush, etc.

DO use a lip pencil if your lips need reshaping or definition. Bold lips should always be close to perfect, so make sure that what you choose is a long wearing color and keep lip-gloss to a minimum as it has a tendency to make the lipstick feather after a while.

FAIR COMPLEXIONS
I like to choose something that is in the pink or the red color family. The key to this is not to grab something that is extremely neon because the contrast of the lipstick to a light complexion may be a bit harsh. So my go-to colors for fair skin tones are Rouge Dior in Favori # 752 (red) and Star # 766 (pink).

MEDIUM COMPLEXIONS
This is the range where there is a lot of room for fun with bright colors. Medium skin tones have multiple color choices. The thing that I would stay away from are colors that are too sheer. Normally, medium skin tones have beautiful pigment in their lips to begin with so if their bright option is too sheer the color can come across muffled and will lack statement. I like to use bright plums and vibrant berry colors on medium skin tones. Try Rouge Dior in Hypnotic Red #682 and Devilish Pink #678.

DEEPER COMPLEXIONS
Most women with deeper skin tones tend to shy away from brighter colors because of the difficulty in finding a shade that is bright, but yet blends with the deep skin color. The tip that I have for women with deeper skin tones is to try any bright lipstick on the market. However, blend it with a deeper brown or berry lip pencil to take the edge off. Try Dior’s Contour lip crayon in Chocolate or Sweet Plum automatic lip liner to achieve this. Just make sure that the liner is blended into the lips before the lipstick is applied to them. I tend to like berry tones or crimson on deeper skin tones. I even love purple! Try Rouge Dior in Red Zinnia #743 or Fantastic Plum #874.

For more info, head to www.dior.com.