Looking beautiful

What is it about the celebrity photos we see in magazines that make these women so attractive? Yes, natural beauty and photo retouching has plenty to do with it, but you may also notice that most of them have a great smile highlighted by gorgeous lips. So what can you do to make your own lips lovely and kissable?

Beautiful lips are easier to achieve than you may think. A lot of your look will depend on the type of lip products you are using.

Keep them supple: One of the first steps to creating luscious lips is to keep them soft and smooth. That may be easy for those of you blessed with naturally moist skin, but most women need to turn to thick, soothing lip balms to help avoid cracking or roughness, particularly in very sunny, dry, windy or cold climates. The weather and environment can both wreak havoc on your lips, so look to products like Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm or Lifeguard’s Choice, which contains ultra emollient lanolin and almond oil to protect and restore lips. The Lifeguard’s Choice balm from Burt’s Bees isn’t restricted to your lips either; it can be used on ears, nose and other areas prone to dryness and chapping, so it’s a great product to having on hand. There are all kinds of great lip balms (sometimes also called lip conditioners) available. Many come in delicious flavors and colors, as well as it different formats – pots, tubes and sticks – so shop around until you find one that works well for your lips and that you enjoy using.

Definition: You’ve probably heard of lip liner but may be wondering if it’s really necessary. The answer? It depends. If your habit is to slick on a light gloss, which needs to be reapplied fairly often, you probably don’t want or need lip liner. If you wear lipstick, however, particularly in a bold shade, lip liner will give you a crisp, defined look with no smears or feathering. Plus, the liner will help your lipstick stay in place longer. Some women use lip liner to draw an outline at the very rim of their lips and then fill with lipstick while others draw the outline and then fill in the rest of their lips with the same color before adding lipstick for a more durable application. Lip liners come in traditional ‘pencils’ (you’ll need a small sharpener, too) and also in highly pigmented cream pens. M.A.C. Cosmetics offers a superb collection of both pencil and cream lip liners in a terrific range of long-lasting colors. Check out your local M.A.C. cosmetics counter or go to their website for more information.