6 Base Colors in Lip-liners for a Santa Fe-style Palette

Lip-liners are versatile, fun and necessary; they provide the finishing base to define the lips. Many may be wondering, who wears lip-liners anymore? The answer is anyone who wants a complete, polished, professional look. Additionally, anyone who has the understanding that corrective contouring happens below the color, below the surface. The idea is to create and contour the perfect lip while still looking natural. Heavy, uneven lines are unattractive and will detract from the finished look and we don't want that. Too light or too little and it is not a finished look.

Wine- deep reddish/brown mix

Cafe – a dark rust brown

Mauve

Red

Apple – an off-red with a light mauve/brownish tint

Peachy Tan – slightly darker than lip lines

Here is a starting palette of lip-liners in colors to achieve our Santa Fe-style look. Earthy, yet bold enough to let you shine. Women of color will to to select the darker shades like Wine and Cafe. Mid-range beige skin will look well from Cafe to Apple. Light/fair skin will work with Apple and a Peachy Tan.

Line the lips after the rest of your makeup is complete.  If there is too much fullness, line inside to shape the perfect lip. If lips are too thin, line slightly outside to add fullness. Line ALL THE WAY to the inner corners of the mouth and smile big when you do it. The smiling allows you to entend the color on into the corners. This is the biggest mistake that most women make, not lining all the way, then the lipstick "bleeds" outward because the line is not there to hold it in. And keep your liners sharpened to a fine point, you cannot create beauty and a perfect line with a blunt, dull fat tip.

Next, powder lightly over the lined lips with loose face powder.Brush away any excess. Now reline. This technique will hold the liner and color longer. Fill in with matching lip color or matching gloss and blot with tissue. Note if using gloss, go with a lighter liner and line lightly. 

Powder lightly one more time over all. Another tip is to add a dot of gloss at this point on the center of the bottom lip for a little extra fullness and shine.

Balance is key. Not too much, not too little.