seeing red. cake & valley.

today we're sharing our secret to the perfect red lip. we've been asked on a few occasions "just how you apply such a perfect lip?!?" so today you're in luck, a tutorial coming right up! we have a few easy steps to follow; nothing is too complicated. we're not solving world peace or writing how to build a rocket. follow our six easy steps & you'll be set for tomorrow with the most desirable red lips!

x&o.

cake & valley.

step 1: picking the perfect red. for us the perfect red is a lip stain made by sephora; 01 always red. it lasts all day, it's matte, and has perfect pop for our pale skin. our best advice for picking the right color is for you is to go into a store with an idea of the color family you'd like to be in {red, orange, pink, burgundy} and go with your gut. pick the first color that stands out to you! there's got to be a reason it popped off the shelf & caught your eye . . . . or should we say made your mouth drool?!?!?

step 2: since this is a matte lip stain you need to start with a dry & exfoliated lip. we always take our dry toothbrush and gently rub off any dead skin so that the lip stain won't flake off or get "gummy" too quickly.

step 3: start with top lip. use the tip of the lip stain wand to start in the middle of the lip to help give a more pronounced "lip dip." this trick is what really helps give a red lip look a more polished & clean look. if you start with the bottom lip & then just rub the two together you'll end up with just a slight curve on the top lip and it definitely won't have the same look; it will be more smudgy.

here's the completion of step 3. see how you get a pretty dramatic but still subtle "lip dip"  also be warned this is a lip stain & if you go out side the lines your skin will have a slight red tint to it. so go slowly and make your lip lines purposeful!

step 4: turn your lip stain wand upside down and start applying the stain to the bottom lip. turning the wand upside down will give you a cleaner more accurate line. this may be awkward at first but the results are way better then just slapping it on. if you use the wand as intended the line looks soft & smudged as opposed to creating a dramatic hard line from skin to lip color.

step 5: gently tap the bottom & top lip together to make sure you don't have any spots where the wand deposited too much stain or not enough. again, depending on the product you're using, do this gently & slowly. this stain will not only stay in place on your lips {which is what you want} it will also stain your skin . . .  outside the desired lip area!!!

step 6: check yourself out in the mirror and apply lip stain where needed to either even out the color or make sure your lips are symmetrical! after this step you're ready to rock your red lips! expect lots of head turns & compliments! questions? let us know.