Ways To Apply Lipstick (Part 1)

Makeup trends come and go, yet lipsticks never lose their power in creating dramatic beauty. It’s not by chance that one of the best beauty tricks of French women is keeping their entire face bare and using just a tint of color on their lips, which instantly adds youthfulness and freshness to their looks. Whether you love to make your lips the focus of your makeup using intense shades or give preference to natural and neutral shades, there are dozens of techniques of applying lipstick. From diffusing effects and ombre to the classic lip look, here are a few ways you can use lipstick to master the major beauty trends of the moment!

1. The Ombre Lip

1. The Ombre Lip
The main peculiarity of the ombre lip trend is using darker shades on the central portions of the lips and diffusing the color with much lighter matching tones applied on the contour of the lips. Using dark lip liners is an absolute don’t in this case. To create such an effect, you’ll need two lipstick colors – a basic tone, which should be light and needs to be applied all over your lips and a brighter and deeper shade that is used for accenting the central part of the lips. So you need to apply the light lipstick first and give a matte texture to it for better results. Than add a splash of color on the central part of the lips and start diffusing it with a matching lip liner, not touching the contours.

2. The Gradient Lip

2. The Gradient Lip
At first sight the gradient lip trend seems to be the same as the ombre one, however, there are slight differences. Actually, the gradient effect creates a deliberate contrast and can be considered as a more radical variant of the ombre look. When playing with lighter tones you tend to create a vampy look, while brighter shades can be mixed and matched for creating juicy and playful looks. For instance, you can apply a very basic neutral color on all over your lips and then start contouring them with a much intense shade, such as red. Then fill in the central part of the lips with a contrasting but matching color, such as orange and blend them together gently for a uniform look.

3. Contouring for Fuller Lips

3. The Effect of Contouring for Fuller Lips
There also exist special techniques for applying the lipstick in order to create the effect of fuller lips. A very common way of achieving such an effect is using the contouring trick. First apply a light lip pencil on all over your lips to give volume to them. Then cover the entire surface of your lips with a foundation. Start contouring your lips with a dark lip pencil, leaving the central part untouched. Lipstick feathering is the final step, when you apply a matching lipstick joining it with the contour, all finished off with a touch of lip-gloss. The important rule to stick to is to always use the same colors for the lip liner, the lipstick and the lip-gloss. Professional makeup artists usually use the same lip liner on all over the lips for a more long-lasting look, finishing all off with a touch of gloss. Using this technique it’s possible to visually enhance even the thinnest lips.

3. The Effect of Contouring for Fuller Lips