Ready for Red

Nothing says, "Jazzy Adult Woman" like a red lip. When I was younger, my mother used to keep a stick of red lipstick in her purse and whip it out when she was ready to get her groove on. And by "groove on", I mean, feather her hair, put on her finest, heavily shoulder padded frock, and go somewhere to sip a fine wine cooler. Hey, it was the 80's.

In more modern times, Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani have shown us how to properly rock a cherry pout with their trademark rouge lips. I especially love Gwen [more on that at another time!] and think she rocks red lipstick like no other, but until fairly recently, I didn't know how I felt about black women following suit. More importantly and specifically, I didn't know how I felt about red lips on my face. I have since come around.

But here's the thing... You have to be ready to wear red lipstick. I feel as though every time I think to put it on, I realize that I haven't done the proper "lip prep", and therefore it'll end up looking wack and slightly crack-head-ish. Any sort of color on the lips can highlight imperfections, like chapped, cracked areas. Doesn't sound cute, right? So let's get our lips ready to go red.

Step 1: Exfoliate

 I try to do it everyday in the shower with a tiny bit of St. Ives Apricot Facial Scrub, since that's what I have available. Just put a pea sized amount on your index finger and move it around on your lips in little circles. Don't get any in your mouth. Yuck. Some beauty lines like Philosophy have specific products just for exfoliating the delicate lip area, but if it's not in your budget to baby your lips with a special sugar scrub, even a plain old wet washcloth will do the trick.

Step 2: Hydrate

Since red lipstick is something I hardly ever wear, I didn't invest much in the tube I got. It was literally probably like a dollar. The problem with this is that sometimes the formulations aren't as creamy as more expensive brands and probably not as emollient as you may like. I solve that problem by simply applying a tiny bit of lip balm before lining my lips. It helps the pencil glide, treats your newly exfoliated skin, and provides a soft, moisturized foundation for your color.

Step 3: Line and Glide

I line my lips with a red liner in a similar shade to the lipstick I'll be applying. Some women just use a nude liner, and that's fine, but I found that on me, I liked the look of matching liner better. Some women also use the liner on their entire lip and then apply the color on top to make it last longer. I personally don't, for no reason other than the fact that I'm lazy.

Step 4: Be Fierce

That's the easy part, right?

BEFORE

AFTER