Best Way to Achieve Perfectly Made-Up Lips Naturally

If you don’t let nonorganic food pass your lips, it makes sense to wear only organic products on them. These article show how to achieve perfectly made-up lips – naturally

Lipstick has an instant feel-good factor. It is also the fastest way to update your image.

A truly natural lipstick and lip pencil should be high on your priority list because, according to Aveda founder Horst Rechelbacher, lipstick wearers consume between one-and-a-half and four tubes of lipstick in a lifetime.

Color to die for

In the U.S., the FDA considers many pigments potentially unsafe: only around 80 are allowed, compared with almost 200 in Europe. The natural lipsticks mentioned here use no coal tar dyes, relying on mineral pigments such as iron oxides. Some also contain a crimson food coloring called carmine, which is not suitable for vegetarians; it comes from the dried wings of a Mexican and Central American species of beetle (however the red color only exists if the beetles die a natural death, once they’ve mated. They’re then vacuumed off the cacti they feed on and sent for extraction.)

The natural look

Today, there is an increasingly wide range of 100-percent natural lipsticks on the market. Jurlique has a small collection of colors, mostly pinkish browns. Dr. Hauschka lipsticks and those from Logona (who make thick lipstick pencils) are also worth seeking out, but don’t expect dramatic scarlets and deep purples, because natural pigments can’t deliver that depth of color. Aveda’s lipsticks, which are petrochemical-free, are tinted with organically grown uruku, a plant­derived pigment from the Bixa orellana plant (which grows in the Brazilian rain forest) and contain breath-freshening plant extracts, too.

Like Aveda, Origins pledges not to use petrochemical ingredients, and their line includes a lovely, glossy thick pencil lipstick, called Sheer Stick, which delivers a slick of natural-looking, shiny color.

The companies mentioned here also make lip pencils, and Logona makes a double-ended pencil sharpener out of ecologically friendly polypropylene. It has a dual blade to sharpen both thick and thin pencils.

These natural brands avoid the use of petrochemical ingredients, which are very cheap, by using natural waxes such as carnauba wax, beeswax, jojoba oil, and shea butter.

You can also make you/ own tinted lip gloss.

Lip tips

• A dab of lip balm in the center of the bottom lip creates the illusion of fuller, bee-stung lips, by catching the light.

• As an alternative to lipstick, outline the lips with a lipliner or lip pencil and literally “fill in” the outline. Apply homemade lip balm over the top for a sensuous pout. (To avoid a madeup look, blur the outline by pressing on the lip skin very lightly with your fingertip – but don’t rub, or you’ll smudge the outline.)
• Pencil-style lipsticks need regular sharpening with a special lip pencil sharpener or the wooden stub scratches the lips, but for a natural effect, blunt the end by drawing lightly on the back of your hand.