Wednesday, July 4, 2012

The Summer Lip Conundrum


I've been trying out the "bronzed summer look" recently and since contouring is one of my favorite things to do, you can imagine how much I'm enjoying it. That said, I'd get my brows, eyes, cheeks done but can never figure out what lip to pair the look with. I have a bronze goddess image in my mind that lacks a pair of lips. Eep.

So today I took it as a personal challenge to find a lip that works! I tried on a couple lipsticks I've been eyeing for a long time but never really had a chance to use, and some well-loved glosses for good measure. (Only while writing this post I noticed I forgot to include a peach selection. Sigh.)

Cle de Peau 206 Sweet Watermelon

I've been trying to make Cle de Peau Enriched Lip Luminizer 206 Sweet Watermelon work on me for the longest time. For some reason this coral pink clashes with everything I wear–in fact, even when I'm not wearing any eye makeup! This looks okay in pictures but in real life I felt it was too warm for the overall look, or specifically my skintone.

Burberry Feather Pink Lip Mist

Burberry Feather Pink Lip Mist No. 209 was my first ever Burberry acquisition. It was a welcome gift at one of my first internships and I cherish it to this day. While swatched similarly to Cle de Peau 206, on the lips it's lighter, cooler, and much pinker. While pretty, it somehow also doesn't fit the whole look.


Chanel Calypso

I thought Chanel Calypso Glossimer would do the trick. After all, isn't coral the quintessential summer color?

Eh.

LMdB Indian Summer (Copper Leaf layered over Ginger Snap)

Finally I thought, since I was going for this bronze-y feel copper might be a good direction to head toward, and I do think it does the trick...

Bare lips... okay no, a slick of Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment

But I found that a bare lip works best in the end. I suppose since summer is all about paring down, less really should be more!

(Also, just so there is no confusion. All the products featured in this post wears fantastically and are some of the most comfortable lip stuff I own. I was just particularly hard on them in terms of how well they work with the look I was going for.)

For reference, here are swatches of all the lip products used in this post:

L-R: LMdB Indian Summer layered, Copper Leaf, Ginger Snap, Chanel Calypso, Burberry Feather Pink, Cle de Peau 206

Cle de Peau Enriched Lip Luminizer 206 retails for $60 (the refill is $35 and holder $25. Yikes!), Burberry Feather Pink Lip Mist is $30, Chanel Calypso Glossimer is $29.50, and the Le Métier de Beauté Indian Summer duo is $65.

What is your go-to summer lip product? I would love to get some ideas!

Oh, and Happy 4th of July, everyone!

15 comments:

  1. I love the Cle de Peau Sweet Watermelon on you

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  2. Your cheek bones are awesome :D
    I love calypso on your lips, looking juicy and sexy.

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  3. The best lipstick I ever used for summer is Dolce & Gabbana Venere; absolutely gorgeous and incredibly sexy. I paired it with DG's Sol blush, a bright orange that looked shockingly bright but was lovely on.

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  4. Calypso is my favorite here and it looks amazing on you! No surprise that I had to have that shade too after seeing it. My favorite summer lip would have to be Tom Ford True Coral or MAC Vegas Volt, and most recently Dior Saint Tropez. :)

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  5. I've totally run into this problem, too, and agree--sheer-to-bare lips is often best with this kind of a look. My take is that texture is as much of an issue as color/tint, and with this kind of a look, you don't want to add excessive texture or color on the lips. I also like those lip marker stains, like Revlon's in Dawn, but others have not had such good luck with them.

    All that being said, I would kind of love to see you try a crazy metallic gold opaque lipstick!

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  6. I've been tending toward Revlon Colorburst Peach Lipstick lately. It's been a surprising go-to for me.

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  7. I like them all on you you bronzed sculpted cheeked goddess!
    I'm loving Dior Extreme Addict Riviera this summer! I still need to try an LMDB lip gloss.

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  8. I think you're right - sheer/bare lips usually works with this sort of look. Or something a little more brown/gold (like Revlon Gold Dust - that sort of color?). Either way, you're too pretty, Wandz!

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  9. Sweet Watermelon! I love it and it loves you! :)

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  10. Hi Xiao, I loved this entry. I've been going through a similar cononundrum now that it's summer. I came to a similar conclusion--- no lipstick and maybe a tinted lip balm seems to work really well!

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  11. CHEEKS. BRONZE CHEEKS. I love the conclusion of this post :) It's true, bronze-y looks seem to demand 'healthy' lips, bare with just a bit of a sheen.

    That said, I think Chanel Calypso looks gorgeous on you.

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  12. Burberry Lip Cover in golden peach!!! perfection!!

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  13. I do love all the lips you featured, but you're right, the bare lip works best :)

    (also, as a side note, the Burberry is mislabeled in the picture - you have it as Primrose Hill Pink, and I know that's wrong because, well, I bought it from you *g*)

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  14. Out of the stuff you posted, I like Indian Summer best.

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