Office Make-up in 10 minutes: Red Lips

Image 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.