My Take on the Perfect Pout

So the amazing Charlotte Tilbury has released a new line of amazing-ness in the form of her Youth Boosting Lip System (Prep, Prime, Colour and K.I.S.S.I.N.G)...while I was gazing and admiring the collection knowing fully well I would not be purchasing it any time soon I was inspired to share my more affordable DIY "system" that I currently do; that is until I can afford to get my hands on CT's! (I want everything with her name on it)

Introducing my Scrub, Hydrate, Colour and Pout system:

I usually prep my lips from the night before so that I know my lips have soaked up enough moisture and are hydrated enough to apply my lipstick seamlessly the next morning.

I start by scrubbing my lips with my favourite Lush Santa's Lip Scrub that you can only get during Christmas so I stock up on this every year!

I love the Lush lip scrubs but this is my favourite by far; it's cola flavoured and I find the sugar crystals in this one are a lot more finer than the others.
I scrub my lips in a gentle circular motion which helps to lift any chapped bits leaving my lips smooth and soft.

Then I move on to moisturise my lips; and for that I almost always turn to this amazing lip treatment by Lanolips.

The Lanolips Lemonaid Lipaid with Lemon Oil, is a rich and creamy consistency and the lemon oil in it helps to continue to exfoliate the lips naturally leaving lips soft and moist.

I apply a generous amount of the Lanolips lip treatment on my lips before I go to bed; and when I wake up in the morning my lips are hydrated and moisturised. Once I have cleansed and moisturised my face and ready to apply my makeup I apply a very little amount of the Lanolips treatment again just so my lips stay moisturised until I am ready to apply my lipstick.

Once my face makeup is applied I remove any residue of the lip treatment by dabbing a tissue on my lips and then my lips are ready for some colour.

My current favourite lipstick to wear is the Gerard Cosmetics lipstick in 1995. It's a gorgeous dusky pink/brown; aptly named as it is the ultimate colour to reflect the 90's lip trend that is making its way back. I pair this up with Rimmel's Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses lip pencil 011 (Spice) for long lasting, precision application.

And voila...The Perfect Pout is complete.

You can use any products that you like to do this, these are just my favourites and work well for me and it doesn't have to be done the way I do it; I just find prepping the lips the night before saves me a lot of time in the morning.

What is your lip prepping routine? Let me know in the comments below.

Janki  x o x o

Disclaimer:

All products mentioned were purchased by me and I am in no way sponsored by any of the brands mentioned.

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What the Red?

Yep you guessed it, I'm about to paint this post Red with my Top 5 Red lipsticks!

Red Lipstick is THE one for me, it is just one of those colours that will look great on any one; there are a huge range of lipsticks available with undertones to compliment any skin tone so any one can rock a red lip and I guarantee it will make you feel beautiful, glamorous, sexy and sophisticated all rolled into one and as an added bonus Red lipstick will make your teeth look white (who doesn't want that)!? Red can be worn as a statement lip with minimal eye makeup or make a full on eye look pop for those daring enough.

There was a time when I just wasn't comfortable wearing a red lip; that was until a couple of years ago when I took the plunge and picked up my very first Red lipstick from Chanel! As in if I was going to get one why not get one of the best right?

Since that little splurge on Chanel I have accumulated many red lipsticks in my collection from drug store to high end; bullets, pencils and liquid lipsticks the lot! As hard as this was to choose here are my Top 5 in no particular order!

No.1 is of course my very first red lipstick:

Chanel Rouge Allure Intense Long Wear Lip Colour (104) Passion - £26.00 from Debenhams

This is the ultimate classic Red; it has a deep blue undertone which suits the majority of skin tones. This line from Chanel has a range of intense, highly pigmented lipsticks that are easy to apply and very long lasting; I have to admit that it does dry out my lips so not one for all day wear, however prep your lips and this will not budge on a night out. The packaging is just gorgeous; a very Chanel chic black and gold tube with a click-spring mechanism to open. I agree its expensive; but it is a luxury brand and given that it was my first taste of red lipsticks I am so glad I went for this as it gave me the confidence to wear red on my lips.

No.2 is a recent purchase but became a firm fave very quickly:

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick Rossetto Rouge a Levres (01) £5.49 from Boots

I have never tried any of the lipsticks from Kate Moss's range for Rimmel; so when I browsed the makeup isles in Boots a couple of weeks back I thought oh what they hey, let me try one and for £5.49 I was willing to take the risk. I can say I was pleasantly surprised at the pigmentation this lipstick gave, a creamy formula that glided on to the lips with a semi-matte finish. I wouldn't say it lasted up to 8 hours as I did have to top up and I do advise lining the lips with this one as it does tend to bleed over the course of the day but seriously other than that this was great for the price and one I would definitely recommend to first time red lipstick wearers who don't want to spend too much. Again a blue undertone red lipstick (white teeth) that will compliment so many skin tones with sleek black packaging in bullet form detailing Kate's signature across the lid.

!! UPDATE !! (See Disclaimer Page)

No.3 Oh I how love this...everything about it:

Lime Crime Velvetine in Red Velvet £13.50 from Love Makeup or from Lime Crime

I adore this liquid lipstick; it is the ultimate red lip colour. I get compliments and get asked questions about this every time I wear it.
If you have never heard of liquid lipsticks then firstly where have you been? Secondly try this one; you will not regret it. It was my very first lipstick of this kind; highly pigmented, matte, intense colour and long lasting, the perfect red to wear with Indian outfits and nights out and sometimes even very lightly applied to wear at work. When I say the perfect red; it is a deep red but not too dark nor too bright. It is applied using a doe-foot applicator and it is a blood red colour when wet and then it dries to a divine velvet red. It does last on your lips as it dries a complete matte, so it does tend to dry out the lips throughout the day, I tend to prep my lips by using a lip scrub and a hydrating lip balm before I use this. Lining your lips isn't necessary with this, but you can if you want a clean outline...oh and also good luck getting this off at the end of the day- it does not budge, but thats a good thing right? Just get it...you need it trust me! ;)

No.4 a great every day fave:

Maybelline New York Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in Light it Up £4.99 from Boots

I did a blog post on my collection of the Color Drama Lip Pencils and you can find that here; but out of the two red lip pencils in the collection Light it Up was a firm favourite. Its such a great everyday wear red and so easy to put on as it glides on your lips no liner necessary which makes it great for days on the go as I can just pop it into my handbag. The pigmentation is insane on this and although it isn't exactly long lasting it does leave a little tint on the lips but hey for £4.99 I am not complaining.

No.5 Leave the best till last as they say...she's a beaut

Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G in So-Marilyn £23.00 from Charlotte Tilbury

I don't even know where to start on this...the packaging, the colour, the application, the longevity all of it is amazing. Charlotte Tilbury can do no wrong when it comes to makeup; she's an inspiration to so many and I owe so much of what I know about makeup to her. Ok now that the Charlotte worshipping is over back to the lipstick. So-Marilyn; if the name doesn't give it away let me tell you, this is Marilyn Monroe in a lipstick; the scarlet red, sexy, statement lip worn effortlessly by her. It is a gorgeous highly pigmented ruby red that is long lasting with a glossy finish and no chapped or dried lips in sight through out the day. The packaging is a beautiful rose gold bullet with CT embossed on top of the cap; so glamorous, luxurious and chic. This one really is a must have for any one looking for staple red lipstick...So-Marilyn got get her, go on you know you want to!

So there you have it my Top 5 red lipsticks; I know there must be some of you out there thinking "What? Where is the MAC lipstick?" If I am honest, at least two of my MAC reds would be in my Top 10  but they just do not quite make the cut for Top 5 as I considered both drug store and high end and wanted a mix for people with different budgets. I struggled to whittle it down to just 5 trust me! But just FYI if this was a Top 10 Ruby Woo and Russian Red would totally be in there! :)

Do any of you own any of the above red lipsticks? Why not share your top 5 with me? Leave a comment for me below with your top 5 I would love to know your favourites!

x o x o

Disclaimer:

All products mentioned were purchased by me and I am in no way sponsored by any of the brands mentioned.

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