Planning the perfect pout for your Valentine’s Day date night? KDHamptons checks in with celebrity makeup artist Nicole Bryl of Nicole Bryl, Make-Up New York, whose work can be seen on the red carpet, in top fashion magazines, and most often on the face of our potential new First Lady, Mrs. Melania Trump.  Drawing inspiration “stemming from Renoir”, Bryl aims to turn make up into a master piece. So who better to ask about the rules of rocking red lips on the most romantic night of the year? Start with Nicole Bryl, Make-Up New York’s “FIVE STEPS TO SEXY LIPS,” seen [below] in Maria Menounos’s book “The EveryGirl’s Guide to Life”. 

1. Use a good old fashioned hot wet wash cloth to exfoliate your lips if they are dry. The rubbing motion will also help to plump up your lips and make them fuller.

2. With a powder puff, prime the upper and lower lips and outer edges of lips with a dual finish powder foundation. This ensures a clean slate for the lipstick and/or gloss to adhere to and help the chosen color stand out. (This also helps to prime the mouth so the lipstick, liner and gloss stays on longer).

3. Add your lipstick color of choice onto the center of your lips only.  Liner comes next.

4. For an ultra sexy look you will want to line your lips AFTER your lipstick has been applied. Liner helps to define the lips, makes them appear fuller and also stops lipstick from bleeding. Applying it after lipstick makes it easier to blend onto your mouth so the actual line doesn’t over power the lipstick. Blot mouth ever so slightly and NEVER SMUDGE LIPS TOGETHER AFTER LIPSTICK IS APPLIED!!!!!! This only creates unwanted lines on your lips and smears the lipstick over the edges of the mouth.

5. Finally, add a very high gloss lip gloss.
(Please note, you don’t need to use dark colors to create this ultra sexy look!)
As far as kissing goes if primed correctly a quick peck on the mouth won’t do you any harm to your well applied mouth especially if the red lip is matte. If a glossy red is what you are going for, kissing will get your lipstick splattered all over each of your faces. Suggestion: wait till the evening is over and then kiss away. It’s always humorous to see your man wearing your favorite shade of red.

KDHamptons: Which is your favorite red shade for brunettes and for blondes?
Nicole Bryl: My favorite red lip shade for brunettes: Blue-reds and plums
My favorite red lip shade for blondes: Orange/Peach-reds and pinks

KDHamptons: If we are wearing a bold lip, should we keep the rest of our makeup simple?
Nicole: My general rule of thumb is: If you wear a red lip, don’t smoke out your eyes. It creates a sexier statement and is more elegant looking to just wear the bold lip alone. Keep it simple. Just leave the emphasis on the red lip alone. Light makeup on the eyes and you’re all set.

KDHamptons: Share a tip for keeping lipstick on while eating & drinking?
Nicole: How you prime your mouth before you apply your lipstick makes all the difference in it’s staying power even when eating & drinking.

KDHamptons: If you don’t like yourself in red, what other colors are romantic?
Nicole: Clinique makes a product called ‘Chubby Stick intense moisturizing lip colour balm’ –  I like this product because it’s more of a tint than an actual lipstick and you can find any shade of red, pink, plum, brown etc. that looks great on you giving you just a hint of color which can also be romantic under the right lighting of course! It’s all about the right lighting!  For more on Nicole Bryl, Make-Up New York, read Nicole’s blogs at www.NicoleBrylmakeup.com. KDHamptons is also a fan of Nicole Bryl’s artisanal vitamin C skincare line, which you can see here: www.nicolebrylskincare.com