Wear Lipstick Like It's 1992

When you are in your 20s and are supposed to look fabulous all the time, it's kinda rough when you know you're not looking that way most of the time. If you don't look fabulous all the time, people remind you that you're not getting any younger and that you might as well live it up now. I'm not sure if this means you should wear more lipstick or not, but I decided that it does.

Some lipstick can be aging, but I love it. After testing one too many eye liners and shadows, blushes, and even a few face powders/foundations here and there, I decided that the only thing that really makes a difference on my face is lipstick. It never makes me look worse, requires little maintenance, and is so inexpensive. I also have one of those faces where color anywhere other than my lips makes me look like a drag queen. I guess it is a good thing that I don't need too much else to look fabulous (or at least better).

My latest finds include classics from both Clinique and Revlon. Yes, I believe I have traveled back in time to 1992 - hello, Toast of New York and Blackberry. Oh, how times have changed since then for lips. People prefer them colorless and ultra shiny. Even I fell for this in college - I was a black liquid eyeliner and neutral lip gloss girl. Nowadays, that look seems dated, and I think lipstick is sort of "back." My great friend San has always belonged to the Strong, Bold Lipstick Cult and I decided it might be time for me to consider joining.

The 2 strongest lipsticks in my rather lame collection are NARS Tamango (discontinued) and Sephora Matte Lipstick #18-Oh! Oh! When I borrowed San's Tamango and she loved the matte red/maroon shade on me, I made my first Ebay purchase for the discontinued shade. That encouraged me to move on to Sephora's Oh! Oh!, which is the prettiest dark pink out there, and which everyone comments on when I wear it (in a good way).

So I moved past some boring neutrals - Clinique Different Lipstick in Tenderheart, Clinique Buttershine Lipstick in Rum Kiss, Maybelline Moisturize Extreme Lipsticks in Rum Raisin and Plum Sable (most of which I hardly wear anyway). I wanted more Oh! Oh! and more oomph!

Clinique Buttershine Lipstick in Cranberry Cream and Different Lipstick in Cider Berry are pure oomph! Cranberry Cream is a bright, shiny and creamy red with pink/cranberry undertones. It's far more pigmented than any of the other Buttershine shades. Cider Berry is a more traditional, matte red - almost 1992, but more me-in-2010. Both will make your lips feel like shiny cherries or apples. So much prettier than shiny corpse lips! The Buttershine in Pink Toffee is also a brighter alternative to the usual day-neutrals.

Then it was back to drugstore basics with more natural oomph from Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Deep Nude. Deep Nude is a very soft coral/red with a slight pearl sheen (not frost!) that is neither too bold nor too aging. It might seem a little "Boca" at first glance, but hey, it looks good. On me, the shade matches the name almost exactly - a very deep nude that is truer to the natural pinks/reds/coral in my lips than those strange beiges/browns that make everyone look like a corpse because it has just the right amount of brown. This is a fresh shade for any season or occasion that can work well with and without stronger eye makeup. I also have Rum Raisin, a peachy pink which will replace my beloved Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipsticks because it is a cream formula that lasts longer.

What I absolutely would not wear with a lot of eye makeup is Raisin Rage. I have a picture of myself at one of my sister's wedding events 10 years ago wearing this shade. I know it's Raisin Rage because I distinctly remember not wearing any lipstick that night. My sister insisted that I needed it (why do sisters and moms always think you need lipstick?) and pulled out this funkster (which matched my outfit perfectly). Voila! I was the next-in-line sister poised to be checked out by future mothers-in-law. A deep, dramatic berry, this is definitely far more 1992 (or 2001) than any of the Clinique reds I mentioned. Instead of wearing this straight from the tube, I'll probably dab it on and top with a little gloss - far more long-lasting than sheerer lipsticks or glosses in a similar shade (think Clinique's Black Honey).

It feels good to only have to bother with 1 or 2 swipes of a good lipstick rather than construct your face properly with makeup to make it look like you're not wearing any. More lipstick talk on its way.