LIP SERVICE: (From top) Joy sports her natural look before the makeover; the red and gold combination; the nude effect and looking pretty with pink lip colour. Pictures by Pabitra Das

You might be the proud owner of a pretty pout, but to flaunt it with flair you would still need to add a dash of the right colour. Lipstick has always been the most important component of a woman’s make-up kit and the most prominent colour cosmetic to embellish her face.

But enhancing lip appeal is not as simple as it seems. To choose the right tone to suit the complexion, an occasion, or an outfit has never been an easy task. And even if you get the colour right, the final effect depends on the application and synchronisation with the rest of your make-up.

“While applying the basic colour is quite easy, to lend a nice shape to the lips needs expertise. You have to keep in mind the face structure and of course the shape of the lips,” says make-up artiste Prabir De. Lips should be lined, using a brush, with the same lipstick that your are wearing. Those who prefer to use lip-liner should cover it up with lipstick, he recommends. “The defined lip-liner look is totally out,” he stresses.

De paints model Joy’s lips with a few of the hottest colours of the moment.

Red and gold magic

Fashion trends come and go, but the classic red never falls out of favour when it comes to make-up. There’s no alternative to bright red lips if you are headed for a really dressy party at night. While you can flaunt matte or even glossy scarlet with Western outfits, you can touch it up with a golden hue if you are going ethnic. For this you have to first apply the base colour smoothly over the lips and then apply the gold shade on the middle area of both the upper and lower lips.

Since the look of the lips will be very heavy, the rest of the make-up has to be subdued. Very thin liner above and below the eyes with eye-shadow in shades like off-white, cream or silver will do. You can go for gold shadow with Indian clothes.

Pink pout

“Colour me pink” could be the motto of the moment and the riot is visible in everything from make-up to clothes and accessories. For a fresh look at all occasions, paint your lips in pink. There are various shades to choose from, make your selection depending on your skin tone. If you have a fair complexion, you can go for anything between baby pink and shocking pink while for dark tones a mauve hue is recommended. Joy has an in-between complexion, so she can carry off a shocking pink.

Smoky eyes look best with pink lips. Get a smudged look with heavy kajal and combine black and silver for the shadow. In fact, a lot of colour combinations for the eyes look good with pink lipstick and you can try combining silver with blue, green or pink. Pink blended with blue or green would also look nice. The blush-on has to complement the lips and so, apply a dark pink shade and highlight it with silver or light pink.

Nice and nude

Nude lipstick, the ones that lend a no-lipstick effect, are a rage right now. This look can be achieved quite easily, you just have to choose a shade that complements your skin colour. The options available are — nude pink, nude peach and nude brown. The lipstick has to be topped up with a gloss to match.

Since the lips will be pale, give the eyes a dramatic look. You can do smoky eyes with eye-shadow combinations like dark green and silver, yellow and gold, orange and black, black and silver etc. The blush-on has to be necessarily pink and applied to accentuate the bone-structure.