Lipstick Staple

Speaking from a lipstick addict's point of view, you can never have too much lipstick. Each color from each brand are never exactly the same. All of them have something unique to offer you. 

Realistically speaking though, I think a woman can survive with four shades of lipstick. Signature Red, Standout Shade, MLBB, Perfect Nude. Yes, just four and you're set to go.  The key to this is finding the perfect shade for your skin tone and personality. Not one shade will ever be universally appealing to 100% of the women who tries it. 

First off is knowing your undertone. You can fall under three categories: warm, cool and neutral. Warm undertones tend to have more yellowish skin (like me) and I wanna say cool undertones lean towards bluer skin but that's just wrong. 

Two ways you can determine which category you are. One is check your veins, whether it's blue, green or both. Two is to try on silver and gold jewelry. If you have green veins and gold jewelry suits you more then you're under warm undertone. And if it's blue veins and silver jewelry you have cool undertone. If you're both then it's neutral (lucky you).

These would be my four staples if I were to be forced, coerced and threatened to choose just four lipsticks. Not necessarily my favorites but four that I can live by.  From L-R: Ruby Woo, Candy Yumyum, Gem of Roses and Peachstock. 

Keep reading...

MLBB - My Lips But Better

(Gem of Roses)

MLBB is the closest shade to your natural lip color.  Not to be confused with your nude, this is not suppose to pale out your lips. Think of it as something that will perfect your lips. You're probably thinking why should you buy a lipstick that would make it seem like you're not wearing any at all??? It's actually a very useful shade. It's something you can use for the office, interviews and breakfast dates perhaps. 

Perfect Nude

(Peachstock)

Nudes are very tricky. You can't just wing it and hope for the best. I've mentioned before that I was deathly afraid of nude lipsticks and it's for a good reason. It makes you look like a corpse (literally) if you don't find the right shade. 

Now, don't hate on this one just yet. It actually is very popular with the male population. If you have this on, they hardly notice the heavy thick eyeliner or smokey eyes you've got going on. 

My suggestion is to really try out the shades on your lips. Hand swatches are hardly accurate. Also, make sure to use a little more blush than usual, you need color on your face.

Signature RED

(Ruby Woo)

Now ask me to choose just one lipstick and I'll say Ruby Woo. Red lipstick is glamorous, sexy, classic and best of all it cancels out imperfections in your skin. Need I say more? Most woman are scared of red because it's eye-catching. Really draws the attention to your face but not in a bad way. 

Unlike nudes, red are more forgiving. Blue based ones can work even with warm undertones. The tricky part with this is how much make up you have on. Unless you're going for a pin-up look, I say keep your whole face neutral. You don't really need to put too much effort, this lipstick does it all for you. 

Standout Shade

(Candy Yumyum)

For this category, anything goes. Choose the loudest color you can handle. Doesn't have to be pink, just a shade that will make people's head swivel back at you. This is a great "pick me up-er". It's for those days that you're feeling blah and all your clothes don't feel right but you still want something to give you some "oomph"! 

If you're having trouble picking a color, ask your boyfriend to choose one that he would never ever, EVER want to see you put on and you have a jackpot! 

Now, I know I said just four. But I couldn't help it. I added two more. :)  Frost Bite Purple and Berry Vampy. These are probably not every woman's staple but a must try. 

L-R: Prince Noir, Ruby Woo, Gem of Roses, Candy Yumyum, Bust Out and Peachstock.

Frost Bite Purple

(Bust Out)

Now this color is a bit more fun than an orange or pink lips. It takes guts to wear a purple/violet shade but sort of satisfying. It's probably not for the girly-girls out there. All I'm saying is try it, you never know. 

Vampy Berry

(Prince Noir)

Don't be scared, I just had a hard time capturing the true color on the tube. Hand swatch provided. 

 I think this is also sexy in a mysterious dark way. Think of evil queens and villains and vampires. I'm so inlove with this lipstick that I want to wear a gorgeous, floor length, black gown and strut around the neighborhood. Too bad, halloween is over. 

Prince Noir swatch

So there you have it. Some sort of lipstick guide from a self-confessed lipstick whore. Lemme know how you find this sort of posts. Talk to you all tomorrow. 

Disclaimer: I'm not promoting or advertising MAC in any way. It's just a personal preference. I'm allergic to some brands kasi.