Office Make-up in 10 minutes: Red Lips

Girl with red lips - part IIImage by Wouter van Doorn via Flickr

Yea, you read the title right. Red lips for office.
Here's How to
1.      Prepare your face by cleansing and moisturizing (if needed). Exfoliate lips to remove any flakey skin. Apply lip balm generously. 

2.      Apply foundation and concealor (if needed) of your choice – loose powder, liquid, whatever suits you. I use my trust Ponds tinted moisturizer (01) mixed with a drop of Revlon Skinlights illuminating lotion in Pink light (this is optional – I use it because I am cool toned with some pink in my face. I looked washed out otherwise). Steer clear of too much foundation

3.      Apply a neutral medium brown eyeshadow only over the eyelid area. Don’t apply this right up to the browbone. Just on the eye lid.  I use Jordana’s Hot Cocoa or else the lid color from Maybelline Chai Latte palette

4.      Apply a neutral eyeliner of your choice. I generally keep my liner simple and use dark brown, like Colorbar I-glide in cocobar. Since the emphasis is on the lips, if possible avoid dark black on the eye. Keep them neutral. 

5.      Apply Mascara in black or Dark brown. I use Maybelline colossal volume. Our eyes are done now

6.      For blush use something that is very neutral, matt and light. It is should not be the focus of attention. Just s light dusting – one or two sweeps and stop. If you are unsure than skip this step. I use Jordana sandalwood blush for this. 

7.      Now for the lips. The lip balm you would have applied should have nourished your lips by now. Wipe off the excess. 

8.      Now there are 3 ways to rock this red lip look depending upon your level of comfort

a.       Totally uncomfortable with red, but wants to dip a toe: Use Nivea Lip balm in Strawberry. This is a red tinted lip balm. It will give you a very, very light wash of red color which you should be able to carry off. In case you don’t have this – just dab a dot of some red lipstick or lip pencil on your lower lip, apply clear lip balm and rub lips together to blend the two to get a light red toned color

b.      You have like some guts but won’t go all the way: Light tint Lip gloss in Red is the answer. Apply a light layer for sheer color or a little heavy for darker color. I like Colorbar Starshine Lipgloss in Sensation (014) for this. 

c.       You wanna try this look out the whole hog: Kudos! Ok, try a matt creamy lipstick like Brickola from colorbar if you want bright red, want a duller red – try Twig from Colorbar again. Want long stay – Streetwear Stay-on in Red Current is my pick. I even like my Bourjois Red lip tint at times for this look. This is a bold look. Do it only if you feel comfortable and your work culture is suitable for this. Or else stick to the earlier two options. 

9.      That’s it you are ready. Spray your favourite smell and off you go to office. Ready in 10 minutes flat.
Tips
  • Red lipstick can look right, even in office. A red mouth, with a bit of blush and a neutral eye shadow, always looks appropriate.
  • Simple, clean and natural makeup paired with a muted red lip says you're strong and can take charge. Wear red lips for an important meeting or when you want to make a good impression. People will pay attention to your mouth and what you are saying.
  • Don’t wear your red lip with an abundance of red clothing — it will look jarring.

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Comments

  1. Cool tips . I heart Nivea lip balm in strawberry !!
    btw even I have twig from colorbar .. it seems like a Coral- brownish color to me :/
    Do you think it will pass as a subsitute for RED lips ??

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Palak: LOL :-D....

    Twig appears dull red on my lips. Maybe due to a differnce in skin color or lips pigmentation...

    Not everyone wants to do full on traffic signal, blood red lips.. some want to start a little lighter and safer - in a neutral category. :-)

    If you want want like RED, RED lips - consider my option C - Brickola from Colorbar :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. i soo wanna do red lips! but i'll let it wait for the moment and save it for later. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. this is so so pretty....love the blush

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  5. Hey girlie! great post, I love wearing red lippy for the parties though I'm yet to muster the courage to wear it to my workplace but as you said red lips teamed up with neutral eye makeup can make any women look super beautiful and classy xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  6. The girl in the pic has cute lips, but bad bad hair.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tanver I'm Sarah...I'm an American married to an Indian guy....(recently).i'm trying to learn indian culture and also interested in Indian beauty blogs...came across yours and makeupwithmba both are super cool.
    Are both of you sisters...she had a giveaway .....then you also had it....and commenting on each other's blog...won't be surprised...there are a lot of sisters on cyberspace.(will be happy if u r)
    I like the red lip thingie:)
    Also i'll be asking u for a lot of advices pl bear .
    Your husband n u make a cute couple.Wish u happiness....

    ReplyDelete
  8. @Rima: I have little choice but to opt for a red or dark pink lip look.

    I have very pigmented lips. They are almost red themselves, as a result of which I can't use browns, pinks, or nudes - they all look weird on me - as my lots of unused lippies would testify.

    I think u wld look hot in red lips, but yea, do it when u r comfortable and ready. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Chibu: thks :)

    @Beautifier: Thks a lot :). This is a look that you have to be comfortable with to carry off well in office. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Jomol: LOL! :-D... I didn't even notice her hair that much. I think it is fine :-)..

    She has a passing resemblance to Kate Winslet - Who i just adore - hence the choice. Of course I also loved her matt red lips. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. @Sarah: Hey! Welcome to the blog and to the world of Indian Cosmetics & make up! I hope u enjoy both :-)

    LOL, MakeupwithMba & I are not sisters.. yes, we both are MBAs with a penchant for make-up but the timing of the giveaway is a total coincidence.

    Like I mentioned in the post I have been planning since long - for all the different milestones my blog has crossed, but somehow I kept missing it.

    U r most welcome to ask me your queries, i would be happy to solve them if i can. & thks for the compliments :)

    Looking forward to reading more of yr comments :)

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  12. Sweet and simple post, Tanveer. Like it a lot. :D You know people need need to understand that there is one red lipstick made for every single person. I had this huge chat with a makeup artist, got convinced at some points and din't get convinced at others. Just trying to hunt time to write about this. I am myself looking for MY red. Hope I find some success. I am so going for red matte one. :D


    He he Nivea lips balm. It shoulod me made mandatoory for all the women out here. :D

    Have bookmarked this post. Really liked it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. @Rati: Thks for all the appreciation :-)

    I totally agree on the "My Red" lippie with you. Most ppl try like one red lippie - which may be too blue toned or warm toned for them and because it is such a vivid color - if it doesn't suit you, it becomes very very obvious - they just give up.

    I have had some moderate success with Twig - a brown lippie that for some reason looks dull matt red on my lips. Looking out for my fire engine red though :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Believers of "One Red Lippie" Unite!!!

    LOL..

    Till some time back, I never even dared to try a red lippe Tanvi. But now I am much better :-)

    From the limited trials, I have found that a slightly brickish red suits me.

    ReplyDelete
  15. @Poornima: Hehehhehehe... :-)

    I have always been fascinated and tried red lipsticks - but with pretty disastrous effects as times.

    Same here. Even I find that a dull red lipstick looks much better on me - in matt. Not glossy.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I use the nivea balm..I also like the lip tint frm Jordana..I use my reddish pink lipstick only if I am not using anything else on my face- as in am in a hurry and just want to do 1 quick thing with high impact..Good tips!

    ReplyDelete
  17. @Simran: I love that lip tint from Jordana - the berry color is so cool. I even reviewed it here, earlier.. Thks :)

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  18. The true red lipsticks look scary on me but the Nivea lip balm gives you just a hint of the color i love it. I also like lakme aquashine lip colour in scarlet and color bar metallic lipgloss in astral

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  19. @Michelle: I too love the nivea lip balm.. I tried the lakme aqua shine range but didn't like it a lot as it is too expensive and has zero staying power - but i will chk out this astral gloss u mentioned! Sounds nice, Thks for the reccos :D

    ReplyDelete

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