some cool girls with cool makeup

Just a place for me to put a bunch of photos of ladies I think are badass, wearing makeup I think looks badass.

I have been hopelessly devoted to this photo of Rihanna for several months. The lipstick! The eyelashes! The plaits! The lipstick! I'm obsessed, and my brown lipstick enthusiasm has been fueled. Is Rihanna a good person? - I honestly have no idea. I know next to nothing about her, but I'm obsessed with her style. She always dresses all crazy and DGAF and I love that. Also, I read a Buzzfeed article about her meet and greets and based on that she seems like a top laugh.

My first, my last, my everything. No matter how many people she calls a bitch on Twitter, I just can't quit Azealia Banks. I still dream about one day owning the Yung Rapunxel lipstick. I love this photo because of the red lip / purple hair contrast and the big infectious smile. Flawless.

We all know that young (and, indeed, current) Nigella Lawson is a total dream, right? I can't get over the teenage-witch vibes of her wild hair and OTT eyeliner. She's reminding me of those spooky photos of the Manson girls in court but much much sexier. A cool girl who grew into a pretty cool lady.

 My fringe-spiration: Grimes. I find her a very cool and inspirational girl, too, because she is so independent and self-motivated and just worked really hard by herself for a long time. I also am v into her mix of natural and artificial vibes, she gives good contrasts which is my MO. Look at her lil baby face compared to her grumpy scowl. Look at that lipstick! I'm in.

just-been-kissing lips

In some ways a pinky-reddy lip goes against all of my beauty ideals, in that it is conventionally "pretty" and appealing. However, a focus on the "just-been-kissing" look results in a cooler way to wear pinky-red, Disney princess lips. A jbk smudge firstly implies that you have been kissing, which is fun and cool. But it also implies that you don't really care enough to fix your lipstick, and that you probably just want to go on kissing people. 

Adore Delano is such a jbk icon.

Slightly subtler in Rimmel Kate Moss 110.

First, you need to choose your weapon. The look (a pared down version of Adore Delano's) can be achieved with a balm, a lipstick or a gloss-stain, so it's versatile and requires absolutely no skill. I focus all the product in the center of my mouth, and then rub it outwards. You could call this "kissing" your fingertip, however that is too depressing to contemplate and I'm not calling it that. I think this might be what people call an "ombre" lip? The idea is to start strong in the middle and fade outwards to nothing. It's advised (by me) to go very very slightly over the edge of your lips to maximise the jbk vibes.

Top to bottom: Maybelline Pink Quartz, Rimmel Kate Moss 110, L'oreal Endless Red.

 The entry level jbk lip is any sort of pink/red tinted lipbalm, which makes your lips look like you've been kissing a lot and have swollenish, soreish lips that you've lipbalmed over. I have an inexplicable affection for the Maybelline Baby Lips. The "Pink Quartz" one gets extra points for smelling like sweets and being packed with glitter. 
 Your favourite red lipstick can easily become a jbk lip. The Rimmel Kate Moss 110 is matte and therefore pretty long-lasting, particularly when smudged and pressed in. It's a great red-pink-coral.
 The ultimate in jbk lips come in the form of the L'oreal Wet Shine Stain in "Endless Red". It's an extremely pigmented gel which looks shiny and plump, and stains the lips underneath for bloody ages - I put some on my arm and it lasted several days. It can be carefully applied to give a really cool, precise, glossy and long-lasting red lip, but applied with a finger it is smudgy, jbk perfection.

I just wanted to put this picture at the end because it's one of my favourites ever. Imagine if this was how you got your just-been-kissing look ... sigh.

wear pink lipstick like a cool chick

Wearing pink lipstick can be a one way ticket to looking basic, which is pretty much my biggest fear. Pink mouths are a fundamentally girly look, as any cartoon will tell you: boy + eyelashes + pink lip = girl. Therefore, putting one on can suggest that you are trying to look more pretty, which is not the point of make-up at all! One way to determine that you are trying to look more interesting rather than more attractive (my modus operandi) is to pick a jarring, extreme type of pink colour.

Top to bottom: Maybelline Pink Pop, Wet 'n' Wild Pinkerbell, Bourjois Pink Pong.

My top three pinks are all extreme in different ways. Pink Pop is really the ultimate Nicki Minaj bubblegummy pink, cool in tone and erring on the pastel side. Pinkerbell is much warmer, hot corally-pink. Pink Pong is a darker, purplier take on hot pink, but still extremely fluorescent. (It is an extremely pleasing coincidence that all of these names start with "pink".)

Pink Punch - more like just been punched and completely dazed am I right?

 Lisa Eldrige said that a really "modern" way to wear a bright pink lipstick is to not wear too much other makeup. I approve because 1) Lisa said so, and 2) lazy. So some sort of light base and not very much mascara will be good for you. I like the Body Shop Tea Tree BB Cream because I feel it helps keep chacne at bay, and I used a pound shop mascara because crap mascara gives natural, subtle lashes. 

Pinkerbell and an aggressive gurn.

 To prove that you aren't trying to look girly and pretty, it's important to emphasise a not-coventially-feminine feature. I chose werewolf eyebrows, and combed them upwards with the Rimmel tinted brow gel. I also think wearing a really utilitarian, boring outfit pairs well with a bright pink lip. All black, or other dark neutrals (grey, navy, etc.), and nothing too floucy or loud. Let your mouth do the talking (literally and figuratively).

Pink Pong and gurn 2: the remix

 I got my fringe out of my face using a plastic tortoiseshell hairband from the supermarket. I think fringes have a tendency to make you look like a little girl (not least because when I was a little girl I had this very haircut), so when paired with a bright pink lip, that needed to go. I like the new-girl-in-the-office-in-the-80s vibes it gives, because the seriousness contrasts nicely with an essentially stupid lipstick.
 Wearing bright pink lipstick is really fun, and one of the things which make me glad not to be a boy (ignoring the pay gap, catcalling, etc.). (Not that I think boys can't wear lipstick, in fact I'm all for it.) But to wear it in a cool way, it is important to focus on contrasting it with the rest of your "look". So, because pink lipstick suggests heavy makeup, wear light makeup instead. Because pink lipstick suggests girliness, emphasize an unfeminine feature. And because pink lipstick is lighthearted and silly, wear serious clothes and hair. Wear pink lipstick like you've never heard of pink lipstick before, and with a total lack of regard for the conventions and connotations of it. If you wear pink lipstick like the kind of girl who hates pink and hates lipstick, you will definitely look great.

corpse-y lips

I have a theory, and that theory is that I love buying lipsticks so much that there will always be a part of my brain dedicated to imagining new types of lipstick I don't yet have. For some reason, at the moment I'm really loving the dead-lips vibe, a very romantic look perfect for valentines day!!! (hoho)

These are lip colours which actively work to make you look cold, uncomfortable and sickly - cute! There are three ways to do a corpse-y lip, and I like all of them.

The prettiest version of a dead lip is a pale, extremely cool-toned nude. This one is by the brand Gosh and is called "Darling". This is a UK brand, which came to America and now I think has failed and is going away. The good news on that front is that this lipstick was reduced to $3. I really, really like it - it smells sweet and is really smooth and shiny, but still long-ish lasting. It's an almost grey-toned pink, which completely masks any natural lip pigment leaving you looking like an adorable frostbite victim.

Speaking of grey toned, this is basically a grey lipstick - the OCC Lip Tar in "Sebastian" (which they describe as a plum toned taupe). I just think this is the coolest thing ever. I understand that a lot of people will think this is stupid or gross, but I think some other people love it like me, because it's consistently sold out on Sephora. I love it on its own, but I guess it would also work well as a mixing medium, to add some corpsey vibes to any lipstick. 

 A more traditional take on the corpse lip comes in the form of this Sephora Cream Lip Stain in "Polished Purple". This is the dark purple lipstick - incredibly incredibly long lasting and bizarrely pleasurable to apply. It has a tiny metallic sheen but on the lips it doesn't show up, it just adds dimension to make your lips look fat (and also, phat). It gives a slight hint of just-been-punched-in-the-mouth vibes and also makes you look like you might practice witchcraft in your spare time.

 When wearing a corpsey lip, I like to try to make the rest of my face look very alive, bright, fresh, young etc. Bushy brows (holla) help with this. I also like the curl my eyelashes and wear lots of mascara for eyes like a dairy cow. Wearing something brightening in your waterline is a good idea, because corpse lips plus red eyes does suggest a serious illness, whereas I want to look like I'm pretending to have a serious illness, which is an important distinction. I like the Korres pencil in "Green White", among others, because green is the opposite of red (this is the optical-illusion side of makeup that I just think is so cool). It doesn't look actually green on the waterline, just pale and bright. Spraying something illuminating over your face further contrasts the dead/alive or sickly/healthy vibes. I like the Boots Botanics Rosewater because it gives instant shiny glow, is actually good for your skin, is all natural, smells like roses and isn't expensive. Now looking "dead"-cute is easy (I am hilarious and I won't hear otherwise).

brown lipstick 2: the american remix

It seems like all I want to do with my lips these days is to remove all traces of life from them. There is something about the brown lip which perfectly combines the aesthetic of a "cool girl" and that of a professional woman who will tc of b all day. (Not as easy as it sounds.) I was worried when photographing these it would quickly become clear that I had purchased three of the same lip product, but the pictures make them seem reassuringly different (at least to a lunatic like myself).

The first brown lip of the home of the brave is a subtle one with shimmery bits. I think if Rachel from the early days of Friends was around today, she would be all into this (not series one where she is so above Maybelline, but maybe after she gets the job at Central Perk and is broke but still kind of fabuluz). This is the Maybelline Babylips Crystal in Twinkling Taupe. I know Babylips are a somewhat polarizing product (as passionate as the debate on cheap tinted lipbalm can really get) but I like 'em, aside from the inherent creepiness of the name. I'm not sure a reference to a baby's lips is ever going to be a selling point.This one will tone down any totally ugly red or pink tones in your lips, add shine and make them smell and taste like cake. No complaints here.
The Nyx Soft Matte Lip Creams have a surprising array of brown offerings for a $6 lip product - I didn't even buy all of the browns, (The one I didn't buy was called London; London is boring because I have actually lived there.) What I did go for was Stockholm (second left) and Abu Dhabi (far right). Stockholm is what I would term a peachy-brown, while Abu-Dhabi is darker and more cool toned. Both are matte, and apply well but require a little bit of building up. They last ok, and I find them easy to top up on the go.
Finally, the long-lasting-matte-brown-piece-de-resistance appeared in the form of the Sephora Cream Lip Stain. This is seriously amazing stuff - long-lasting, comfortable, opaque, not a billion dollars, the perfect shade of true brown and again smells like cake. I should say that when I removed the swatches from my arm, this stuck around for a while in all its brown glory (not a pleasant phrase). 
Next on my list is the OCC lip tar in Sebastian. Not so much brown, more of a taupey-grey, I believe it will take my new found corpse look to the next level. As soon as it isn't sold out everywhere, it shall be mine.
More US beauty stuff to come. XXXX

brown lipstick love

Lilly was right, I was wrong. Brown lipstick is amazing and makes you look like a boss. In the past few month I have accumulated a comprehensive collection, for every look and every pricepoint (unless you are rich, in which case, no).

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Nudeist is a great beginners brown, mostly because it is primarily pink. It stays on for ages and ages without drying out the lips and sort of draws attention to your lips without adding any colourfulness. Hot top: mixing this with more full on browns makes a nice pinky-brown which is more longlasting.
Maybelline Superstay 14hr in Beige for Good is a nice nude-ish brown, which again pulls focus to the lips without being a "bold lip" which can sometimes look a bit try-hard. This has a bit of a funny texture and goes from slippy to very very dry quite quickly so topping up is a bit of a bummer. However if you apply and let it dry without faffing with it, it will last v well.
ELF Essentials Lipstick in Fantasy is a very basic, browny pinky, slippy and non-drying formula lipstick. Because of this it isn't the most long lasting, but because it's cheap you can just carry it with you and shove some more on.
Laval Lipstick in Mink has a great brown with a hint of purple colour. Although it looks similar, it is actually more cool-toned than the ELF lipstick. This is the cheapest of the bunch and for the price is amazing, but smells like melted plastic.
Stargazer Matte Lipstick in 208 is a really great dark chocolatey brown. It is matte and very longlasting without being drying. It has a sort of waxy texture which sounds unpleasant but I promise it isn't. I really love this to get the look of a "dark lip" but again without introducing any colour to an outfit.
But it is in Topshop Lipstick in Boardroom that I have found my best brown. It is very cool toned and purpley, and makes you look like a badass corpse. It is long-lasting, non-drying and everything I have ever wanted in my brown lipstick quest. 

Here they all are "swatched" in the same order, because I am very professional and a good blogger. However, because it is winter in England, it gets dark at about ten to three, so the lighting isn't the best, and for that I can only apologise.