Thread: I need help from some of you lipstick junkies!

Hi All, I'm getting ready to participate in my first stage performance, and I feel pretty good about most of my makeup, except the lipstick part. I don't normally wear dark lipsticks because I tend to go heavier on the eyes. Mac Sweetie is about as dark as I've ever attempted and it's fairly sheer. I do love it, though.

I'm going to need something on the red side and on the pink/fuchsia side. I have dark blonde hair, hazel eyes, and am quite pale, although I do have freckles and am honestly a bit blotchy. I look great in pinks, purples, and rosy reds. If things get too orange, my makeup ends up looking dirty somehow.

I asked the online MAC MUA, and she suggested Hot Tahiti and Lustering. They are still in the more-sheer category, but they are darker. Although, is Lustering really a lot darker than Sweetie? I will, of course, try them on before buying, but if I go to MAC without an idea of what I'm looking for, I tend to get rather overwhelmed.

Looking at the swatches, do you think Lustering and Hot Tahiti would show up well on stage, and that Lustering would be better than Sweetie? Or what would you recommend instead? This will be a nighttime, outdoor stage performance where the audience is fairly far away. Thanks for your help!

We have the same hair/eye/complexion & I'd use Lustering. IMO, red is hard to pull off if you're not uber confident about it and the Tahiti one is more in the red category. They are all very pretty choices though. I know you'll pick a good one!

I dunno, I love a strong red onstage and think most people can pull off a stronger shade than they think (especially if it's sheer & blotted well). But the Hot Tahiti looks -- on my monitor -- like it might have an orangish-brownish cast and be too warm for you?

I'm not sure if Lustering looks much darker than Sweetie. The two shades next to Sweetie on the model's arm, though, looked like nice rosy mauves to me.

I know what you mean about getting overwhelmed! But you do know what you're looking for: a cool, rosy red in a sheer formula in a color family similar to Sweetie. That should help narrow it down for you I think.

Same colour combo as me (well, before I dyed my hair). Honestly, from stage and a fair distance away, you'll need the red. I'm not sure how true the colours are on my monitor, but the Tahitian red is coming up as a blue-base (cool red) to me, which works with my colouring. Can I suggest going to the Mac counter and asking for their cool reds? Not sure how Mac works, but when I purchased my red I did so from a range that had been pre-matched to blondes with fair skin (can't even remember which brand it was!!)

I don't like the look of dark red lipstick on me. I think it makes my complexion look sallow. However, when I'm required to wear it (I've had troupe directors who insisted on it), I find I can improve the look by putting a dab of a lighter colour in the centre--especially of the bottom lip. It seems to make all the difference, and it brightens my whole face then, instead of making it look dull.

So, if you do end up with a colour you feel is too dark for your complexion, give that a try. There's no rule that says you have to wear just one shade of lipstick at a time. *g*

Get some Wet n Wild lipsticks, mush in a palette and play away. With a mix of pale pink, coral, brown, pink, red, plum and mauve, you can create whatever shade you want/need, plus Wet n Wild lipstick is bullet proof and cheap.

^This. I almost always mix at least two shades of lipstick to come up with the exact shade I want.

I agree with everyone else that you'll probably want the darker red, so if the Tahiti is cool enough for you, go with that. From far away, you don't want something that will look like your natural lip color or only slightly darker; you want to look like you're actually wearing lipstick.

I've used MAC Lustres before and while I think they are pretty lipsticks for everyday use (and as glossy as I can stand, I hate glosses but Lustres are OK) I think they're too sheer for theatrical use. For me, a really good strong red is a go-to for theatrical performance and it looks good on everyone. Have you looked at some of the less sheer MAC reds? I live in Russian Red, which is ... hmm, a true red on me with the tiniest tiniest hint of brick (very cool blues go purple on me, and they look nice but they look purple or wine, not red). MAC Red is almost exactly the same, just a tiny little bit lighter, brighter and sheerer - you might like it. Ruby Woo is often recommended too. These lipsticks will be much heavier than you're used to, but will look strong under theatrical lights or in a darkened setting.

None of those look like ones I'd want to run on a stage- it depends on the stage you are on- is it super lit? or just a raised and back from the audience? If it is super well lit I'd go with a matte- I would do the glossy on the less lit stage.

And I'd definitely go darker than you think.

I am loving my new plums- I have plum rum 410 From NYC- cheapie but a goodie

I also have another one from Revlon- its a plum or rum raisen- I don't have it on me right now

Also have from Sephoria "The Red" which is like pin up style red- also a WINNNNN.

but you want to roll with a shade that is about 2 shades darker than your regular colour.

Thanks everyone, this has all been very helpful!

Yes, I've been suspecting the Lustres were going to be too sheer. I think she only recommended them because that's what I normally wear.

This will be at night, and the lights will be quite bright. I think the major contrast is going to be important. Zumarrad, I will definitely be looking at those MAC reds you recommended, so thanks.

The only thing I worry about is that they will all look so ridiculous to my eye up close as I try them on, I won't know how to tell which one looks best! Maybe it won't really matter that much on stage?

Oh and another question: For this show, I've decided I definitely want the classic red look, but what if I were wearing, say, a fuchsia costume? Would the red still work, or do you need to change to match the costume? I know you can change to match the costume, and people with a large collection of lip colors probably do, but is red sort of like your "neutral" color for the stage?

Red is my neutral color for the stage. Your makeup doesn't need to match your costume- it just needs to look pretty on you!

When it comes to lip color, you want high quality & high pigment. I recommend ben nye fashion lip color palette, the colors are rich and you can custom blend the shade you want. Have a look-see:

Lip Colour Palettes Ben Nye


I also have to plug the ben nye pot lip glosses as well, super shiny, sheer color & not sticky, looks great layered over the pallet colors for high shine.

Originally Posted by JoLynn

When it comes to lip color, you want high quality & high pigment. I recommend ben nye fashion lip color palette, the colors are rich and you can custom blend the shade you want. Have a look-see:

Lip Colour Palettes Ben Nye


I also have to plug the ben nye pot lip glosses as well, super shiny, sheer color & not sticky, looks great layered over the pallet colors for high shine.

I've been looking at the Ben Nye stuff, JoLynn, thanks for giving me another push in that direction! I wondered about their lip glosses, too. Actually, I've been wondering about all their stuff (foundation, blush wheel, fireworks wheel, glitter, eyeshadow, eyebrow pencil, etc). It's so economical and generally well-loved. I use the BN concealer wheel every day and love it, but that's the only BN product I've tried so far.

I have been using the ben nye wet/dry powder foundations, lip palette and gloss as part of my regular performance make up, and it holds up beautifully. I've always disliked lip gloss, couldn't stand that sticky feeling on my lips, but I just loved the color of their cherry baby gloss so I decided to give it a try and it's amazing! It's not sticky at all, is nice and shiny and looks good alone or over lipstick. I've liked everything I've tried from BN so far, I might give their eye shadows a whirl next!

Originally Posted by kemintiri

Get some Wet n Wild lipsticks, mush in a palette and play away. With a mix of pale pink, coral, brown, pink, red, plum and mauve, you can create whatever shade you want/need, plus Wet n Wild lipstick is bullet proof and cheap.

I love these things; even though they are dirt cheap, they're fine if you can find or mix colors that work for you. I'm currently using the heck out of one I paid $1 for that is a frosty metallic rose (not WnW brand though), but I'm applying lightly during the day because full-on is too much metal and too dark for daytime. Do you have a favorite palette you use for this kind of mad scientist mixing?

Is there a way to make non-long-wearing lipsticks be more long-wearing? And I need to matte them down, because I do a lot of hair flinging so creams and glosses are a no-go. I would love to make that metallic rose more matte, because the color is great on me and it's dark enough. I don't mind losing some of the light-reflecting quality of the metallic finish to get this to work.