Guest Post with Lori from A Little Slice of Special

Hi there! I'm Lori and I blog over at A Little Slice of Special. 

 When Amanda asked me to do a guest post of course I said yes. I am forever geeking out over Amanda's craft and sewing skills and on top of that she's pretty much just downright awesome. So, thanks Amanda for letting me share some beauty related freakout-age. She asked if I could do a retro inspired tutorial and fingers crossed you guys (and Amanda) like it!

If you've read my blog you know that a majority of my daily blog posts focus on what I'm wearing, Makeup Monday is my blog-day to celebrate my love of makeup. For the longest time I did the same makeup every day-basically swapping out neutral colors of eye shadow and gasp-I had never used eye liner. Then I went to college where one of my floor mates introduced me to eye liner and I've (rarely) ever gone back to not wearing it, but with that being said, I also didn't really start experimenting with bolder and more challenging makeup looks until the last 5 years or so. Then I started blogging and now I have (almost) no fear on tackling bold makeup . Two of my fave discoveries? A red lip and winged liner.

 

 They've kind of become my go to for when I want to have a touch of retro in my day makeup routine. I mean, I think every girl feels at least a little classier and more fabulous with a bold red lip. So here are some of my Red Lip Tips!!!

1. Over the years and through trial and error I've personally decided that the best way to apply red lipstick is with a lip brush. It's much more precise and thus you don't end up with any unwanted messes. My favorite lip brush is made by E.L.F. and it's a retractable lip brush. The retractability (is that even a word) is awesome for tossing in my bag and not having to worry about having brush cleaner with me! Plus for only $3 you really can't go wrong!
2. The second thing I've learned is the importance of having a good clear lip liner. It prevents your bold lip from bleeding outside of your lip line and also helps you to create a more defined line. My favorite for a long time has been Revlon's clear colorstay lip liner. It's reasonably priced and I've kinda had it for a really long time...it goes on nicely and does it's job. The only downside, Revlon's products are not cruelty free. 
3. Another thing I've picked up through experience is that it's best to build a red lip. It sometimes takes a little longer but with a lot of highly pigmented reds (I'm using MAC Brave Red here), the color can be overwhelming.
4. The Fourth nifty trick I've learned is for setting your lipstick. You simply place tissue paper over your mouth and on top of that, brush a translucent loose powder. I also tend to mist a little makeup setting spray over that (I use Urban Decay's Dew Me setting spray). I am still using some Revlon Photo Ready translucent setting powder that I got a few years ago, again, it's revlon, so I feel like it's important to note that I personally, wouldn't buy it again.... So, to recap, I start by applying clear liner around my entire mouth, creating the lip shape I want. Then, I start to apply color, I usually do one lip at a time, applying the lipstick with a lip brush. I start by lining my lip then gradually building color until it's even and the color I want. The last step is to set the lip color. I use translucent powder, applied over a piece of tissue paper and finish with a setting spray. And boom, retro red lip.

 Thanks so much for letting me guest post on Blue Betty Amanda, I hope to see lots of red lips around the blog-land this week now! Xo Lori