Novice wearer of strong coloured lipstick but want to give it a go... should I?

[JessiCake]

I'm 41 and have NEVER worn strong coloured lipstick (eg red, a strong pink etc) as buff nudes have always been what suited me and what I liked.

However things change, right?! My hair is now a shade darker and it suits me far more than my natural shade of mouse. I've started to realise that I now look better in strong colours than in my usual sludgy grey clothes.

So I'm thinking about branching out into - gasp! - a bright/strong lipstick.

I've just tried some colours in a EL palette I was given last Xmas and I'm astounded to say a couple of them really seem to suit me. One is a strong pinky-red. The other a strong mid-pink. Both are quite matte and creamy which I like.

Do I dare try one of these... out and about?! I mean, I wouldn't do it on the school run but next time I go 'out' out? People I know will be a tiny bit astounded as I've always been a very no-makeup-makeup look, for an evening out I'd usually go fairly smoky on the eye but just glowy skin and nude lip. This might frighten the horses!

But I sort of think fuck it? I've never thought I looked good in a bright lip before (admittedly last time I even tried I was about 22) but I'm quite surprised how decently it's worked.

If so, what do I do with the rest of my face? My skin is good but my eyes are small so I do like to have a tiny bit of definition. My lips, conversely, are massive, which is why I never thought bright lipstick worked, but either I've had too much wine tonight (only a glass, honest!) or something has changed.

I'm trying to embrace this whole getting older lark by shaking things up!

Advice appreciated...

Go for it.

If everyone calls you “Joker”, you may have overdone it, but I seriously doubt you’ll look anything other than fantastic.

I love my bright lippy.

A couple of weeks back I bought some liquid lipsticks as with regular lipsticks they somehow end up on my chin. So I bought a brick red from Stila - Beso and a mauve Patine and a bright pink - Fiore. Also Kat Vond D Beloved, a bright pinky coral. I've had so many compliments on all of them.

I'm v v pale so I wasn't sure if it would be too much but even I think these bright colours do me more favours than the paler ones now I've tried them.

Thanks LetsGo and user!

Ha, yes, if someone calls me 'Joker' or 'That Bloke from the Cure' I will go home, rub it off, cry and tone it down a bit for next time.

DH probably won't be a fan so that will be amusing!

I'm going to go for it next time I have a 'proper' night out. What's the worst that can happen? (apart from the above)

And user, yes, I'm v v v v v pale too. But as I was commenting on another thread this week, I've latterly come to realise that, even though my skin tone hasn't changed in the last 20 years, I suit different colours than I used to. I used to look fabulous in white (though I say so myself) and now it drains me. Grey, too. But I'm wandering around this week in bright yellow and bright green tops, colours I NEVER thought I'd want to wear, and I feel (and look, natch) great in them.

Hence my experiments with lipstick.

Might try that Stila bright red... thx!

I think pale skin and bright lippy is the ultimate combo! I'm very pale with freckles and dark hair and I wear all shades except browny ones. I love a bright lipstick and couldn't give a stuff what anyone thinks!

I only wear red or hot pink lipstick - I have about 100 reds, and a handful of pinks. All different, obviously. I tend not to bother much with eye makeup, so I use a single nude shade, a bit of eyeliner poked in between lashes, then mascara. I don’t wear a huge amount of “face makeup”, but even if the rest of my face is totally bare red lipstick perks me up and makes me look done.

Don’t No 7 counters in boots have a fancy device that reads your skin tone and tell you what lipstick to wear?

I’ve worn lipstick about three times in my life. I need to try it.

Pale skin here too - I love my bright lipsticks.

I'd personally say try it out in a perfectly ordinary day - try it when you're going shopping on your own, you'll see that people who don't have expectations of what you l look like don't bat an eyelid.

As for other makeup, I'd go for tidy brows (brushed, slightly filled in if you fancy), mascara and concealer under my eyes.

Have fun! Let us know how it goes, I like nars lip pencils - easy to use and stay put pretty well.

You can wear any bright lipstick.

Put some lip balm, let sit, blot the excess off, put some lipstick in the middle of your lips, blot with a finger all over.

I love strong lipsticks and think anyone can wear them - go for it! I'm into Huda beauty mattes at the moment but I have a tendency to get dry lips so have to exfoliate and moisturise well. I always use a lipliner to avoid any bleeding.

I too am 41 and only discovered bright lippy about 18 months ago. I’m v v pale with blonde hair and I wear a bright pinky red. I feel totally glam and invincible with it on!!!!

I think with your hair a shade darker I'm not surprised you have found that brighter lipstick suits you! There's nothing worse than wearing the same lip colour that suits your other colour. Definitely go for it! Try not to be self conscious & enjoy experimenting!

Do it. You might get a shock for the first few days when you catch sight of yourself in a mirror but you will get used to it. I wear bright lipstick everywhere - work, shopping, day and evening. No one gives a fig but I love it

Don't wait for a night out. Do a few trial runs. Wear some to the supermarket. No one will know you don't usually and it'll build your confidence.

JessiCake

Beso is a good one. I've been impressed by the fact that it genuinely (The Stila ones generally, not just that colour) stays put all through eating and drinking.

Kat Von D - excellent range of shades, better than Stila, but starts to wear away on the insides of the mouth.

Loving to see how many of us palo-s rock the bright lipsticks.

I'm much older than you and after a recent relapse of my alopecia I've shaved my head. While I do wear wigs a lot of the time, when I'm not, I've discovered that a bright bold lipstick is essential - makes me feel great, looks good and gives an assertive message to the gapers. I love it, and until recently my most exciting colour was a pinky nude. So I'd say go for it. I have found though that I'm very particular about how they smell and the lip feel - I can't stand Rimmel, Maybeline or No7. Unfortunately I've discovered I love Nars, Dior and Chanel. Plus I like the handbag bling of the posh cases. It's proving expensive!

I recently started wearing lipstick (hadn’t worn it before), not hugely bright but not nude either - a sort of berry colour. I had three compliments the first day (one on the lipstick, two about how well I looked). So give it a go!

I tried it for two weeks, then decided it was too much faff for every day, but seemed to make me look more put together at work. So now I wear it at work, and am trying to work out how to use lip pencil to make it a bit neater...

Thanks so much everyone.

Soooooo I tried out a strong bright lippie yesterday while out and about at the shops etc.

DH and DD (who saw me before I left) were NOT fans. DD said to me later, after it had all come off, 'you look so much better now mummy' so at least she was honest!

DH hates lipstick (and change) in general so I wasn't anticipating him liking it in the first place!

I, myself, thought it worked. I mean, nobody shouted at me in the street and called me names, and most importantly I felt good and didn't feel self-conscious.

I'm thinking of using a £20 Space NK gift card to go and see if someone there will give me some advice about colours and point me towards something luscious that I could try out. I'm a huge fan of Laura Mercier and Nars but wouldn't want to waste 'real' money on something that expensive in case I chickened out of wearing it, but a gift card feels like I should use it for a frivolous treat.

Hoping they might give me some advice and not look upon me in as much horror as my DH and DD did!

My DP is not a great fan of my lipsticks either, and talks about me having a 'scary lipstick day' I don't give a fig. I love them anyway

Excellent idea to go to Space NK and get some advice. Boots No7 also excellent, and they can colour match you and they
are only a tenner a go
Welcome to the wonderful world of bright lipsticks!