Read My Lips

I once interviewed a woman whose company made Christmas decor and exported it to other countries. When it was time for the photographer to take pictures, the lady (who was barefaced), asked her assistant, “Do you have a red lipstick I can borrow?” The assistant did. It was a burgundy one. The woman applied it quickly, explaining that she didn’t usually wear makeup. However, she also didn’t want to look pale in her picture. The color indeed transformed her face.

More than any other makeup product, lipstick can change your look instantly. Perhaps this is why those who wear makeup regularly have at least three lip products in their bag. One is usually nude, the other a bolder shade, and the third is a balm or gloss. Well, some carry more than three lip products at any one time and that’s an even more interesting story best told for another time.

We talked to people with varying skin tones and makeup styles about their favorite lip combos and other things, including what to do when you have pigmented (or dark) lips. Read their honest answers below.

Nicole Arcano, project and partnerships manager and a former beauty editor

What is your favorite lip combo at the moment?

I pretty much always do the same type of lip look: a gradient lip composed of a rosy nude and a vibrant red in the middle, topped with a neutral gloss for some hydration and to tie all the colors together. Currently, I’ve been using the Rouge Dior Matte Lipstick in 100 Nude Look as an all-over base, then I swipe the classic Dior 999 on the center of my lips. I top it off with the Merit Beauty Shade Slick Tinted Lip Oil in Pink Beet. Usually, when I have to touch up, I just use the lip oil because the red lipstick leaves me with a nice stain already.

Do you remember the very first lipstick that you bought with your own money?

Yes! It was M.A.C Smoked Purple, and I bought it when I was still a university student. [In hindsight,] it certainly was not the timeless nude I should have blown my very small savings for, but I felt so powerful every time I wore it. I wore it to the mall, to school, everywhere! Yes, even if my mom kept telling me it made me look like Maleficent. 

Do you have any tips for Filipinas who are very conscious about having dark or pigmented lips?

Dark lips are a natural feature, and it’s so diabolical that it somehow got framed as a bad thing. There are other experts more qualified to give tips on being more confident about them, so my only advice is this: Remember that most, if not all, beauty trends today are rooted in the natural features and cultural practices of people of color like us. Remember how people used to mock those with full lips and bushy eyebrows, only for those same features to become the most coveted in the beauty industry later? Instead of being ashamed of our natural features, we should instead be criticizing the system that convinces us to be.

Cheche Moral, lifestyle editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

What is your favorite lip combo at the moment?

Because my lips tend to get very dry, I’m obsessed with tinted lip balms. I’ve been using Glossier’s Hot Cocoa Balm Dotcom, which smells so delicious and is hydrating, though it doesn’t impart a lot of color. I layer it with Glossier Ultralip in the shade Ember. I also carry around a tube of Vaseline Kissing Red for quick touch-ups. On the rare days that I wear lipstick, my favorite base is the Chanel No. 1 Red Camellia Revitalizing Lip and Cheek Balm. 

Do you remember the very first lipstick that you bought with your own money?

Wow, that was so long ago. I think it was those Mood Lips color-changing lipstick. (I’m revealing my age haha!) My bestie and I were so fascinated by those green-colored lipsticks that changed into a nice pink as the product touched our lips! I think we bought them at SM Department Store. Do they still make those?

Do you have any tips for Filipinas who are very conscious about having dark or pigmented lips?

Like many Filipinas, I grew up with insecurities. I got teased a lot, even within my own family, about having darker skin than my cousins. But I got over those and came to appreciate my skin tone. 

The beauty of being Filipina today is that we have so many solutions available to us—from makeup to more drastic and permanent solutions (hello, laser!). If your dark lips are making you self-conscious, tap into these resources available to you. Experiment and see what lip products work best for you. Nowadays, I don’t think it’s still applicable to say, “This product or that only suits women with fair skin.”

Lastly, without meaning to sound flippant, learn to appreciate who you are. You will look back to this time and realize how superficial those concerns are. You’re beautiful just the way you are.

 

Jelly Eugenio, makeup artist and content creator

What is your favorite lip combo at the moment?

I love a good lip oil for hydration, and since I have fuller lips, I can’t really wear lipstick. For my personal use, my number one lip oil is from Strokes. I also use the Sunnies Face Lip Elixir when I want a no-color look. I also like the M.A.C Squirt Plumping Gloss Stick. I love the green one but right now, I am using the orange. 

Lip oils are fairly new products. They’re perfect for a natural look. Most people wear it with a lip liner but because I have fuller lips, I wear it alone with a hint of color or a clear one.

Do you remember the very first lipstick that you bought with your own money?

The first ever lipstick that I wanted to get when I was starting out as a makeup artist was M.A.C Pink Nouveau. It was super popular at that time. I [meant to buy it] not for [myself], but for my [makeup] kit. I was maybe 15 to 18 years old back then. Pale pink was all the rage and Pink Nouveau was a pale pink.

I don’t exactly remember the shade of the first lipstick I bought with my own money but it was from M.A.C. It was a very light peach for brides, as I was working already. It was either Chatterbox or Pure Zen. 

Do you have any tips for Filipinas who are very conscious about having dark or pigmented lips?

Having dark lips even when you don’t smoke is a valid reason to be conscious. I had a lip tattoo done a few years ago, not to add color but to remove dark areas [on my lips]. They used a bit of an orange tint to lighten the dark spots. I think those with dark lips can use a lip liner and then lip oil [to get a more evened-out color]. Lip liners and lip oils are pretty popular these days.

Raffy So, content creator

What is your favorite lip combo at the moment?

What I’m wearing right now is my current go-to, which is Sunnies Face Lip Tracer in Suede and Sunnies Face Juice Tint in Tea Rose. I’m mostly into lip oils and lip tints. I’m not a lipstick kind of girl because it feels heavy on the lips. I prefer something more lightweight like glossy lip tints or lip oils.

Do you remember the very first lipstick that you bought with your own money?

When I was 17, I got my first ever M.A.C Lip Liner in the shade Whirl because of Kylie Jenner. That was my first ever lip product that I bought with my own money. 

Do you have any tips for Filipinas who are very conscious about having dark or pigmented lips?

Dark lips are completely normal. There’s a way to make them even by just using lip liner or you could just embrace it. It’s normal. 

Killakushla, entrepreneur, events host, and content creator

What is your favorite lip combo at the moment?

My favorite lip combo is the Sunnies Face Lip Tracer in Nudie and the Fluffbalm also from Sunnies Face. I stay away from matte lipsticks and instead go for colored balms and glossy tints. I like the blurred lip look. I feel that after the 2014 to 2016 era of matte lips and lipsticks that lasted 24 hours, I got tired of it already. 

Do you remember the very first lipstick that you bought with your own money?

The first lipstick I ever bought with my own money was M.A.C Velvet Teddy. 

Do you have any tips for Filipinas who are very conscious about having dark or pigmented lips?

So many people with light lips wear darker shades of lip color. People with dark lips wear lighter shades. The grass is always greener somewhere else but it doesn’t necessarily mean one look is better than the other—it’s all about about appreciating what you have. My advice is to own it and just have fun with makeup.

Martine Ho, creative director and co-founder of Sunnies Face and Sunnies Studios

What is your favorite lip combo at the moment?

At the moment, I am really loving Fluffmatte in Kitsch, a light cool pink. I mix that with our Lip Tracer in Anise, which is like a deep raisin. This combo gives you a cool-toned but very wearable ’90s lip with the contrast of darker liner and lighter lipstick. I love it because it looks so fresh. 

Do you remember the very first lipstick that you bought with your own money?

The first lip product I bought was a watermelon Lip Smacker when I was maybe 10 years old. The first lipstick I bought was from NARS. It was called Barbarella, a light peachy sheer coral that was so wearable especially since I was just getting into wearing makeup.

Do you have any tips for Filipinas who are very conscious about having dark or pigmented lips?

Your lips are beautiful the way they are but if you’re really conscious, Sunnies Face Fluffmatte has the most wonderful coverage. 

Collage by Dannah Valdezco. Ripped photo by © Canva Creative Studio. Ceramic Tiles by © Vladyslav Danili. Peach ripped paper by Andika Setiawan.  Mountain Ridge by © Владимир Кондратьев. Vintage Lipstick by © Junelle Apuya via canva.com