How to ace your statement lips game this summer

Statement lips in summer, you ask? And we say, why not. After all, it is the perfect foil to that K-beauty inspired luminescent skin that has a thin smear of tinted serum, primer or a moisturizer and eyes that are either defined by a slick of mascara or a swipe of eyeliner that is barely there. Plus, it beautifully transcends from day to evening without much effort.

Here’s how you can achieve it in 3 simple steps:

1. It’s all about the prep: The heat outside and the aircon inside come together to rob the moisture from your body, resulting in dry skin and, more importantly, chapped lips. So, if lipsticks are an integral part of your makeup regimen, it is vital that you exfoliate and moisturize your lips regularly; more so if you plan on wearing matte. Smearing a lipbalm moments before applying a matte lipstick defeats the purpose of wearing matte. So experts say it is important to plan. Ideally, prep your lips the night before. If not, a few hours in advance should work too.

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2. Line your lips: A lipliner in the same shade as your lipstick is absolutely vital. It not only helps you define your lips, but ensures your lipstick does not bleed, giving you a neat, long-wear finish. You don’t want to be rushing to the ladies’ to fix your lipstick every time you eat or drink something.

3. Subtle or strong: While bright and bold colours are conventionally reserved for winter, there are no beauty rules that cannot be broken. So dig out those neon mattes and luscious glossies and wear them with aplomb even in summer. If you wish to play it safe, you cannot go wrong with coral, fuschia and poppy red. Candyfloss pink is sweet but not statement. But then, as we said earlier, beauty rules are meant to be broken…