How to: achieve statement lips and apply lipstick in new ways

Posted by Dasha makeup on October 15, 2012 · 7 Comments 

 with the review of Ilia lipsticks

I wanted to try Ilia, the phenomena of modern organic lipsticks with safe ingredients for a long time. I’m extremely happy that the opportunity came along when I met Floris and Ingrid, the founders of the German green beauty store called Amazingy. I started to collaborate with them and so I got the opportunity to try many new fantastic green products that I will present you all soon. Today, it’s time to present you Ilia lipsticks and give you a lesson about how to wear lipstick in a modern way. Don’t be afraid of new shades of lipsticks, vivid or darker, because you can wear them in different ways. Modern times don’t command just one trend anymore, or in this case a lot of lip liner and color or just glossy lips. No, there are many and more subtle ways to use the colors and textures on your lips: for every woman her own style.
Last seasons we saw many different ways to wear lipstick: from nudes, to dark reds and even bright colors as orange and pink and these trends still last in the upcoming seasons as well. Even though I mention the trends, at the end I recommend to find your own unique way that will suit your needs and make you feel great. In the make-up and fashion the color rules aren’t so rigid as they were once. There isn’t one and unique rule anymore who can wear a color and why.

Many different ways to apply and wear your new lipstick

I have chosen to review 3 different colors from Ilia, but I will start with the darker shade and explain you how to wear and apply it. Every season you can see the different dark tonalities of wearing reds and this has already became a classic and not a trend anymore.

Left: Rochas and right: Gucci (fall -winter 2012) via Style.com

In the pictures below I’ll show you step by step how I did the dark lipstick look and how I have applied it. I’m going to use the Ilia Lipstick in Femme Fatale, definitely the shade of this fall/winter season! It is a dark burgundy red that can be worn almost by every woman. It suits a blonde with pale skin as well as a dark woman with tanned skin. Even on those with red hair it looks amazing!

What I think about ILIA?

I was really very curious about these lipsticks, especially because many times some green brands enhance virtually the colors on the pictures and in reality you don’t get what they show you. With Ilia is a different story. Apart their beautiful package with a minimalistic aesthetic and luxurious metal lipstick pot, the colors are really what you see on the catwalk. I was wondering if the dark red will be dark red and it is! But I was mostly surprised when I tried the Neon Angel a vivid pink magenta and Voila a bright, vivid orange (btw. Voila shade is all to grab because it is limited edition).

Swatches of Ilia lipsticks: from top: Neon Angel, Femme Fatale, Voila

The 2 shades of orange and pink are a little bit more suitable for summer but they will also be a must for the next year as well. These 3 shades also work great all together because they mix together very well and so you can create even more custom blended lipstick shades. Most of all, I love their matte finish with a beautiful creamy (and not drying matte) effect. The texture is smooth, creamy, long-lasting and hydrating because of natural vegetable oils like sesame, jojoba, sunflower and rose hip oil as well as cocoa butter and aloe vera juice. All Ilia colors are very modern which I really like and so Ilia is a must-have for my make-up kit. Another 2 limited edition lipstick shades + a totally new mascara all-to-try have been launched on the market recently.

How to achieve a dark red statement lip (or any other color)

How you can use and apply your new lipstick in many ways:

1.step: Take a lip brush and your Ilia lipstick in Femme Fatale (or any other preferably dark red shade of lipstick). Damp your brush in the lipstick and start applying it on your lips. Start in the center of your lips and distribute the color evenly from inside out. The brush allows you to distribute evenly and precisely the color and to build a few layers that will last longer. I suggest you to try HIRO lip brush in retractable travel version. It’s made from synthetic fibers and its shape is very precise. But I’ll come back soon with more info about this new brand that I discovered.

1.step: Hiro lip brush + Ilia lipstick “Femme fatale”

2. step: Just follow the natural shape of your lips with the brush to achieve a beautiful even red color and a nice contour.

2.step: Fill the lips well with color using a lip brush. Follow with a lip pencil and draw the line

3.step: Usually we were taught to apply first the lip pencil because of the contour but this is not the case anymore. When you eat, your lipstick will fade away and what will remain is a line which is not so nice looking. Instead, apply the lip pencil in the same shade on top of your lipstick to smooth the contour and make it very precise. This way you will fix the lipstick and it will last longer. I have used Lauren Brooke lip pencil in Vintage wine shade. Even Sante pencil in n.3 will work well. Try this new technique and you will be amazed by the result.

4.step: Blot with a paper tissue to remove the excess of color and then you can apply again another layer with a brush or just tap the color naturally with your fingers.

blot the excess of color + how to apply the lipstick with your fingers (left image via Style.com)

Other Green make-up TIPS AND TRICKS:
For those who don’t want the perfect lined lips or they want to wear it in a softer way, I suggest to apply it just with your fingers. You won’t need any lip pencil, because the effect you want to achieve is very soft and it looks like a natural enchanted lip color even if you use a dark red shade. Do you remember those beautiful old Rococo paintings where women wore just a nice shade that enhance the lips with a soft edge like these:

left: Self-portrait in a Straw Hat by Elisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun, right: Jean-Baptiste Greuze: The White Hat (images via Wikipedia)

This is a very fresh approach to wear lipstick. And you can use the same lipstick for your cheeks as well. Tone it down with a little bit of your foundation if needed and apply it on your cheeks. It will look gorgeous!

I’d love to know how do you wear your lipstick? Are you tempted to try any new shades?

Special thanks to AMAZINGY shop from Berlin that gave me the opportunity to try Ilia lipsticks for this review. You are kindly invited to shop in their amazing green store that I like very much!

Amazingy is an online organic & natural beauty boutique. Not just because being organic & natural is trendy, but because we discovered that a lot of stuff (see this movie!) we put on our skin goes straight into our body. This inspired us to carefully make a selection of the huge amount of cosmetics brands out there, to end up with what we consider to be THE top-quality, high-performing organic & natural skin care, hair care, 100% natural mineral makeup, and organic mom & baby products. All produced with the best ingredients nature has to offer. Our products will not only make you look and feel good, they even look nice on your dressing table! Everything we sell is free from parabens, SLS, artificial fragrance, petrochemicals, phthalates, pegs & otherwise bad mojo. As an earth and animal friendly company, none of the products we sell are ever tested on animals. For every order we plant a tree, and we support small charity projects all over the world.
That is why our motto is: “Look good, do good, feel Amazingy!     – Flow & Ingy – Founders of Amazingy

top photo credits; Boris Gorjan, model: Masha@Immortal models

Filed under beauty · Tagged with femme fatale, Ilia, lipsticks, neon angel, review, voila