Drab Lips

When I'm in drab now, I have something on my lips.  I've mentioned some of this in different posts before.

It used to be a lip balm that was a bit shiny (such as Nivea "A Kiss of Shimmer").  These are just a tiny bit shiny, really.  I wonder if it will shine more over lipstick, but I haven't tried that experiment.  Does lip balm go over or under lipstick?

A few months ago, I decided I would switch to a clear lip gloss.  I tried a variety, and got a variety of levels of shine.

For the next stup, I upped the ante a bit and bought some gloss in my lip colour.  That's not hard to do; glosses are mostly translucent bordering on transparent ~ the idea is for your lipstick to shine through, after all ~ and they added shine without adding noticeable colour.  That is, until you sip out of a glass or white cup.  Then you get that familiar lipstick mark on the rim.

I'm never satisfied, I guess.  I've been using lip balm under lip gloss in my colour at work.  I get a noticeable shine, softer lips, and the enjoyment of wearing one more girl item on a regular basis.  This is now my normal work wear.  I have coffee during my drive to work.  If I finish in the car, I park and put on my balm and gloss.  If not, I go up to the men's room which is hopefully empty enough that I can put them on there.  I renew after I eat or drink during the day,  And now....

I've added lipstick.  During work, I keep the same combination as above.  But when I leave work to run errands or see after-work clients, I take off my gloss and put on a lipstick in what I think is close to my natural colour.  Even though it mostly seems not-noticeable, it smooths out the imperfections in my lips and makes them look nicer.  And all this time, I thought the only idea was to add colour.

But wait!  There's more!

Lipstick does add something to your lips, but not shine.  I now put a light layer of clear gloss over the lipstick.  I had noticed that my lipgloss is glossier when it's put over my lip balm.  I wondered if it's glossier over lipstick ~ and it definitely is.  I will emphasise "light layer."  Either be careful or blot off the excess or your lips may end up glossier than you'd like.  Depending on where I'm going, I change the amount of gloss.  Warning: this combination is noticeable ~ I've caught (invariably) women look at my lips and smile and look away.  No-one has said anything.  That doesn't mean people don't notice.  In the several years now that I've worn my charm bracelet, I've only had a handful of comments.  I'm sure people notice.

And you know what... if it bothers anyone, I don't care.  If it inspires some men to do the same, or some women to try that look on their guys, well, that I do care about.  Excelsior!

---