14 DAY TRIAL // The advent of this new makeup trend, while not too surprising, will also have two-fold functionality, in that it will both help women look and feel gorgeous, and fight off the effects the world crisis might have on them. As hard to believe as that might sound, they say there is no better indication of the economical situation as the color of the lipstick women wear.
And, for 2009, the shade of choice is as vivid as possible, anything from scarlet red to fiery orange because, stylists tell us, there is no other “heroic” way of dealing with the current crisis than by proudly wearing red lipstick. On top of this, this is also one shade that will certainly make any woman stand out from the crowd as a symbol of ultimate elegance and style.
“Lipstick is the ultimate credit crunch indicator. Economists believe that during hard times people forgo extravagant purchases, such as cars and holidays, and spend their money on small luxuries. During the Second World War, it was even considered women's patriotic duty to paint their faces.” Liz Hoggard says for the Daily Mail, urging women to dare and be bold next year.
However, she also warns us that, because red is such a strong color, there are a few rules that must be followed to avoid falling into tackiness or pure bad taste. One of them, and the most common sense one as well, says that, if we go for red on our lips, then the rest of our face must have as natural makeup as possible, so that the entire focus is on the mouth. “The more Celtic your coloring, the more orangey you can go. Lipsticks with a bluish undertone suit brunettes,” Hoggard further writes, adding that this last type of shade for lipstick also goes very well in the case of yellowish teeth.
On a final note, if we’re to take up on this trend and go red in 2009, we should also strive to avoid a most embarrassing and equally frequent mishap – that of having red stains on our teeth. Easy said and easy done: stylists advise us to apply the lipstick, and then pop our index in our mouth and pull it out. The excess of lipstick will come off on the finger, instead of the teeth, and there will be virtually nothing standing in our way of looking like sophisticated divas.
