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Rant & Rave: Bright Lipstick

Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Bright Lipstick!

my answer: I love how it can be the focal point of a look, because it can take a couple of minutes to apply and then you’re done with your look! It’s a nice way to look “put together” with less effort. They can sometimes be high maintenance, though.

55 Comments

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Alix Avatar

I like bright lipsticks, but you have to make sure they don’t start wearing you instead of the other way around. Sometimes bright is TOO bright.

Denise L. Avatar

Not really a rant and rave, but I think bright lipsticks look good on other people but not on me. I am exceedingly uncomfortable in anything bright and bold, and my lipsticks fall within a narrow range of MLBB shades. This may say more about my introverted personality than it does about how bright colours look on me, objectively speaking.

Frenchie Avatar

Rave- I can’t do much with my eyes during allergy season. I always pick up more bright lipsticks during this time so I don’t feel like I have a naked face!

Cindy Avatar

I love bright colors and I wear them on a regular basis. I’m very fair so now that I’m wearing red and other brights most of the time, when I put on a nude shade I feel “washed out.” I don’t find that they require high maintenance because if they are matte, once they are on they are ON and they usually don’t come off until I take them off. I use a lip primer underneath as well.

Clare Avatar

I love bright lips! So quick, easy, and gorgeous! And the perfect way to dress up a neutral or monochromatic outfit.

I hate how I sometimes get paranoid that I’ve got bleeding or messy lipgloss. But I’m wearing Revlon’s Adorned now, and it’s stayed put through lunch!

Kate Avatar

I am in law school and my eyes get tired from reading so some days I rub them a lot and that means eye makeup isn’t possible. Instead I wear a bright lip most days because all I have to do is put on some tinted moisturizer, dip brow, blush + bright lip and I am done! They can be high maintenance but bright lips always seem to wear better than MLBB type shades.

Wednesday Avatar

I love brights and can wear practically neon without it looking too over the top. I’m not sure why that is, but assume it has something to do with my colouring. I like that it seems to take less effort to make lips the central focus, but despair that it requires significantly more touch ups during the course of the day. I really hate that look of ‘mostly worn off’ bright lips so I find myself checking my lips frequently.

Lee Avatar

I love bright, defined lips! The only downside is that you need to make sure you have a mirror with you so you can check them periodically. Sometimes they’ll wear off strangely and leave you with an unattactive outline. Also, you have to be careful about not accidentally rubbing your lips because brights look horrible when they smear.

Jessica Avatar

I’m really pale so I can’t go too bright—fuchsia is about as bold as I get (Buxom Exhibitionist, to be specific.) One thing I love about it is that it leaves a stain so my lips still look pink for a long time. And that’s great for me because I’m constantly drinking, which is why lip color never lasts very long on me.

Veronica Avatar

I actually find bold lip shades can be lower maintenance than some MLBB colors if they’re properly prepped from the start – the high pigmentation means that they don’t fade as quickly or stain in such a way that the fading is less obvious. (For some reason, a lot of pink and beige pigments are often more drying on me than darker ones – mild allergy, maybe?) The only thing I have to be watch for is feathering, but Urban Decay’s Ozone has pretty much cleared up that problem for me. Otherwise, when I swipe on a bold lip, I don’t often find myself having to touch up at all during the day unless I’m eating or drinking a lot.

MissJae1908 Avatar

I love the fact that a bright lip can give you that “wow” factor and kick you everyday neutral eye up a notch, but I have to put in extra to time to make it work. (blocking out my lip color, using multiple liners, apply it with a brush, etc.) Plus maintaining it is a hassle. Either you try to re-apply the product and it doesn’t look the same as it did when you first applied it, or you have to take the entire thing off and start from scratch. UGH…It’s just tedious.

breyerchic04 Avatar

I look dead unless my lipstick is at least a little “bright” I don’t necessarily go for neons but nudes and other subtle looks are horrible for my skintone. A lot of the time I wear sheerer bright colors (mac plumful, crosswires, cockney) so that they’re less crazy seeming

kellly Avatar

I like some bright colors but usually tend to use more “MLB a lot B” colors, just to brighten up my face. True reds don’t look good with my coloring but some hot pinks look surprisingly natural and are an easy way to add some color.

Janelle Avatar

I have just started to do bright bold lips and I am loving it. So many people are complimenting on my skin and I think it is because the MLBB shades were leaving me washed out. I have been doing fuschia and and bright Barbie pinks; they are amazing!

I think I have been in a makeup rut as my current organization requires a more natural look so I had been doing neutral eyes and MLBB. I like being able to add the pop of color with my lips and so far no one has commented on the strange things that I am doing with my lips—I did bright orange today

toti Avatar

it is usually really hard for me to find a long lasting lipstick that is decent in color..and when i wear brights i want them to be long lasting.so….if the color is vibrant and the formula is long lasting thats a match made in heaven for me

_An_ Avatar

I like how bold and pigmented bright lipsticks can be, but I always feel that the rest of the face should be clear & neutral w/o redness. Since I struggle with having an even base w/o redness & blemishes, I don’t wear my bright lipsticks often.
And with bold shades, my lips need to be in good condition.

Kate Avatar

I find that lipsticks that seem bright to some people just never look that bold on me. I suppose it’s a matter of perspective, but even when I look at photos, colours seem to be more muted for me. As a result, I really gravitate towards bright shades, because I need some serious pigmentation to stand out. I’m fussy about formulas, because not all of them apply or wear evenly.

Ryou Avatar

I tend to prefer dark over brights in my bold lip color selection, because while I love brights, they tend to wash me out when worn on my lips.

Kat Avatar

I love bright lips, but you’re right, they can be high maintenance so they’re not always practical.

I’ve also noticed the brightness of my lips corresponds with my confidence. When I’m not feeling so confident, I tend to wear more nude shades. Not that that’s true all the time, but it’s a trend with me.

Natalie Avatar

My most favourite way to look bright and awake, especially when I’m not really feeling so. XD I love how I only need to complement it with a bit of eyeliner and I’ll be good to go. My favourite bright lipsticks are Maybelline Vivid Rose, OCC Electric Grandma and OCC Starling.

Poo@beautyandmakuepmatters Avatar

I like bright lipsticks becz it instantly makes my face look all done whicxh otherwise would need some generous applications of foundations, eye shadows or the rest!

For bright lips I prefer matte formulas as creamy can get really messy.. 🙂

Lisa Avatar

The right tone to a bright lip can make your teeth look whiter! Modern stains, and long wearing lipsticks make maintenance issues less cumbersome (like dryness, uneven wearing, etc) as they have been in the past when going bright or dark & vampy.

Quinctia Avatar

The good thing about bright lipsticks is that they seem to wear a lot better for me than more subdued ones.

The bad thing is there are only a handful of shades in that category that I like to wear. (For instance, I don’t often wear red lipstick at all.)

Sylirael Avatar

Bright lips make me feel happy and sexy and energised 🙂 They pick up a bad day, or some thesis writing, and turn it into something better! Could be red, fuchsia, purple, anything so long as it’s bold and saturated.

That said, you can’t usually apply them reliably without a mirror, and you kind of have to keep checking them (if you’re out and about) which is, as you and many others have agreed, a pain!

Divya Avatar

I think YSL Rouge pur couture line has a few very effortless bold lip colors, like the no. 04 Rouge Vermillion. I wore it for my wedding without any prepping or lipliner and it did not bleed or smudge and stayed till I had dinner, and even after that I had a pretty stain on. I cannot recommend it enough!

Dani Avatar

Love them, but the maintenance of it…not so much. Especially, since I have had a cold so many times this winter. Because when I am blowing my nose, I inevitably smudge my lipstick EVERYTIME! I have learned those are lip balm or my lips but better kind of days.

Crystal Avatar

In general, I like them. However, quite a lot of bright lipsticks have white pigment in them which just makes them look super neon and OTT on me, personally. Like, I can’t do the Nicki Minaj thing; I look way better in a clear, jewel-toned bright lippie. So yeah, I dig them but I have to choose them carefully.

xamyx Avatar

While there are some who can pull off a bright lip, and a few in which a bright lip is actually very flattering, I find most of the time bright lipstick can look a bit tacky. It could be because I came of age in the 80s, and now associate bright lipstick with the hideous fashion of the time, but I find it can really take away from an otherwise well-polished look… I do, however, like a bold lip, and even a sophisticated red, but I’ll leave the brights/vivids to the younger set.

Chris Avatar

I think they can give you a complete look w/o putting on a lot of make-up. I do sometimes it challenging to choose a blush. Perhaps, just a bronzer would look good with all bright shades. I mostly wear NARS Lovejoy when I do a bright lip. I am loving the expanded MAC Matte range.

Astrild Avatar

I love bright lipsticks but they make me feel a Little bit self-conscious and they are high manteinance. Over all, they are gorgeous.

Lotus Avatar

They’re all beautiful, (love), but not always worn or applied in a fashion that allows their beauty to show. (Hate) They may frighten people due to this, but a bit patted into lip balm will help scare the fear away until you feel comfortable with specific colors and how to wear them. This recycles back to Love! <3 😀

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