Post #35- In The Mean Time

Hello my lip-wear loves! It’s been a while and I just thought it would do well to say hello. Post #34 was published quite some time ago and although I’ve been quieter than usual, I haven’t forgotten us and our love journey of all things lip wear. In fact, I’ve been quite busy with non-lipstick related things.

I’ve recently entered into a new season that I am hoping will be a beautiful, long, and prosperous endeavour. I am now a Worship Pastor at a church here in Toronto and by the grace of God I get to lead others in worship and all that comes with that responsibility. What lipstick am I wearing for this role? Well I’m so glad you asked! Since we’re coming out of a pandemic, we’re still mostly stuck in masks, but the challenge to find something that will last under a mask in the heat of the July Sun is proving difficult. So meetings on Zoom and quick outdoor gatherings are the only occasion for lip wear at all. That being said my purse is currently holds a few options should such an occasion present itself.

The Purse selection ranges from lip care and gloss to matte and liquid lipsticks. For the past two weeks I have revolved around the E.L.F. strawberry ride or die lip balm, FentyBeauty‘s Mauve Wive$ from the Creme lipgloss collection, Self Starter by Maybelline from the Superstay Matte Ink collection, Haute Mess by The LipBar, and Anastasia‘s liquid lipstick in Dusty Mauve, and of course a coloured lip balm by PAT McGRATH called Flesh 3.

Of course the afore mentioned are back ups in case I couldn’t apply something that morning, but I must say I have gotten a chance to grab something that I feel is what my lips should wear for my noon time walk around the neighbourhood. Because it is Summer and so hot, the dresses and fun outfits call for fun and bold lip choices. Naturally, I went for bold as often as I could. 😉So here are a few of the looks from the last couple of weeks on the new job!

ColouredRaine, The LipBar, Pat McGrath are the brands worn in these photos.

I am in that place of enjoying where God has brought me from and where He’s taking me while enjoying right where He has me. Forgive me if the posting schedule seems a little stunted in the next little bit. I am adjusting and learning and growing and I am happy. I sometimes have moments of unnecessary guilt for the good things that are pulling my attention from other things I also like doing, but then I remember that God gave me music, my lips, and he has my future in his hands. I’ll always be a lip loving, lip-wear-lover with a taste for colour, however right now in this ‘mean time’ space, I will need to focus and this is OK. I’ll be back here…especially because there is still so much lipstick to talk about! 😍

I also want to encourage you to take the Interim time, the Mean Time and focus or recalibrate if you need to. The things you’re good at may lead to one place or one space or a single group of people, but if you’re anything like me, they may lead you to many different paths. God made you uniquely YOU and gave you talents and abilities you can turn into skills and use to excel and show his creativity the respect it deserves. We’ve gotten a chance to slow down and re-think a lot over the last 15 months, but 15 months doesn’t have to be your only mean time nor should it add pressure to your life to keep doing something because it is familiar. Take the break or don’t. If you need it, then let me be the first to tell you (as if you needed my permission) that you are allowed to breathe and dream and pray and try again. And don’t forget to enjoy the Mean Time and the time after that. Just like we wear it like we mean it when we speak of lip wear, let’s regroup and adjust like we mean it too.

FYI:

National Lipstick day is this Thursday July 28, 2021! Get ready and tag me your lips choices. I can’t wait to see your adorned lippies! Don’t forget to #wearitlikeyoumeanit 💋

#34- My Latest Lippie Haul! 😍

I know, I know! I love lipsticks and lip wear. Hopefully if you’ve been reading along for any time, you also know about my lip wear love and hopefully I’ve inspired you to give it a go as well. I’m still discovering brands and deals and techniques all the time. Now that the world is trying to open up and people are or are not getting their vaccinations, a lot of brands are trying to get rid of a lot of inventory and I👏🏽 AM 👏🏽HERE👏🏽FOR👏🏽 MAKEUP 👏🏽ON👏🏽SALE👏🏽! So this being said, I bought a lot of discounted, still relevant lip wear that I am so excited to show you. Here is what has come in the mail so far.

The first goodie I found recently was from the beautiful Pat McGrath Labs! I nearly freaked out when I did a lippies in the mail instagram story and Pat McGrath herself (or her PR, social media team, I’m going to go with the former) replied to my story 🤯🤩😩. I quickly texted one of my besties Cherith (of Cherith B. Designs, check her out) so someone could freak out with me and she totally did. I have the best best friends! See photo below for screenshot of the amazingness! Then see this amazing Blitztrance Lipstick in the colour Blood Rush. This lippie has a layer of gold sheen or metallic gold goodness applied to it so that the red shines without being gold but the gold shines without being red… They compliment each other in the best way possible. The Mothership does it again and I am ready to try out whatever She is making for my face!

One of the deals I found was on the YSL site where I was able to pick a beautiful lipstick that glided on like gloss and felt like a balm, but radiated with sparkle and shine represented by the metallic star pressed into the stick itself. And let’s not forget about the packaging, Honey, she’s fire! Mama loved this one and it smells great too. I think this one is perfect for the light feeling of Summer days if you don’t want to do too much. This is the colour Rock N Shine 62SN0H. see below!

Now don’t judge me, but I just got tuned into ColourPop lipsticks. I knew about their eyeliners, but their lipsticks deserve just as much attention. I chose SOLO from their Velvety Blur collection and the colour does just that. This blue undertone Red is cool and matte in the most velvet way possible. It goes on easy and tints your lips enough to make the colour last well into the day or night. I also ate dinner with this one and was surprised when it did not come off. ColourPop is also super affordable with a lot of colours that actually pop on any skin tone. Win win!

Have you heard of Aboni Cosmetics? According to their website (https://www.abonicosmetics.com/pages/about-us) they have been mentioned in Allure and Buzzfeed but they were new to me. They appeared on my Instagram feed one day. Their eye catching colours and $2 lippies had me wonderin: Is this a good idea? . I decided that at that price it wouldn’t hurt to try a few of them even if shipping did take forever in these pandemic days🙄. I bought 5 colours and will show you a couple of them here. I was scared that they would be the kind of cheap lip wear that smells like paint when you open the bottle, but that was not the case. They smell like regular cosmetics and they are all from the long-lasting liquid lipstick collection they have. How could I not try them out? I was pleasantly surprised. See Frenchie, a light canary yellow perfect for my sun kissed melanin. And Forget me Not which is a toned down camel mustard yellow that surprisingly, did not scare my Dad. I think I broke him. 😂

To finish off this last haul, I had to try two more of FentyBeauty’s Mattemoiselle lipsticks in the colours Candy Venom, a hot matte pink and One Of the Boyz, a potent lilac. I love the feel of this collection and Sephora had a huge markdown on these that I think is still happening, so honey get yours! They glide on and last a while. They will move a bit if you’re eating or need to wear a mask, but they are so pigmented that complete removal will have to be intentional. When it comes to lip wear, I have no complaints for FentyBeauty because it’s been a hit every single time.

Have you found any deals yet? What treasures have you found that have been gentle to your pocket while doing so? After the things we’ve all been through, it’s fun to celebrate living and the second chances many of us have gotten especially as we assume “regular” life-like things. So here’s to you and I celebrating the small wins, we’re still here and we’re making it all work. God is good still! #Wearitlikeyoumeanit babe! You deserve to. xoxo 💋

Post #33- Lippie Fun in the Sun

We are currently experiencing a bit of a heatwave here in Toronto. I’m enjoying it because it makes me feel like I’m faking a tropical vacation while stuck in the country as I visit a few beaches in my bathing suit. Although I love heat, I have to admit that most make up does not. In fact, a good way to remove make up is by using a steamer to blast it away. And some warm water is tough even on waterproof mascara, so why wouldn’t we look at lipstick and consider what is best for our pouts at this time of year?

Before we move on, I’d like to thank my dear friend Emily for the idea of fleshing this idea out. Her struggle this past week has made for an excellent idea. So read on! Thanks, Em! 😘

I usually do a few maintenance hacks in the summer, like braided hair, because it’s too humid for my processed hair to handle actual styles; I get eyelash extensions because my eye makeup will crease in my oily lids and look like a science project by the end of the day, 🙄but eyelashes are enough glam to forgo that step. I also try to get a lighter matte finish foundation or tinted moisturizer that will get the job done without the weight of the regular stuff I use the rest of the year. When it comes to lipsticks, I haven’t figured all of it out, but I do know of a few colours that not only look great in the Summer or Warmer months, but also have SPF in them so your lippies not only stay beautifully moisturized, they stay protected all day. (or until you eat that hotdog at the beach and have to reapply, lol).

The first colour is Diva by PabaCosmetics, a local, Black owned company with four locations in Toronto, Montreal, and Ghana. PabaCosmetics makes makeup for all skin tones and climates. They’ve considered the harsh Canadian winters and the heat of Ghana and Toronto Summers and added SPF to their lipsticks. Diva is a plum satin finish lipstick that I’ve gushed about in a few posts before, but perhaps you should check out other lipsticks from this company. They ship worldwide. See their link here. https://pabacosmetics.com/collections/lips/products/lipsticks

I also have Sika from PabaCosmetics, a gold lipstick in a metallic finish that reads as a light nude on me.

A new found favourite of mine comes from the brand LipCandy called PartyGirl. It is a deep pink with a mauve-red undertone and it goes on so smoothly. The creator of this brand worked really hard to make sure that all of the products are filled with good things just in case you ingest your lipstick at anytime. And let’s face it, a few too many licks, too many bites off of a fork, one kiss too many and that lippie may have entered your system somehow, so why not use natural ingredients that I can eat if I so choose?! That’s exactly what LipCandy does and then they pack their lipsticks with SPF so you can look hot without the burn. (Did you know that we ingest 30% of the lip wear on our lips? 😳)

I do want to point out as a cautionary side note that when you are travelling in extreme heat with a small representation of your vast and growing lipstick collection that you should perhaps consider walking with a small cooler or lunch bag to keep your lippies from melting, especially the ones with more natural ingredients. 😩

To avoid lipsticks melting in the sun and to have your pout looking amazing all day, I recommend something with a long-lasting matte finish, the kind you might find in a liquid lipstick. Although a lot of them do not say whether they have any SPF in them, they do provide great coverage and if you’ve applied a balm to your lips before wearing your lipstick, you’re doubly covered.

Any bright colour from the Superstay Matte Ink collection by Maybelline will do. As we know by now, I love this line. As a drug store brand, this company is killing it with their range of shades and the formula that allows this lipstick to stay on throughout your meal but more importantly, your hot date on a hot day. Come On, Somebody!

ColouredRaine is another beautiful brand that doesn’t disappoint when it comes to long-lasting liquid lipsticks. Their provision of bold colours is always a great way to celebrate newly tanned skin and their finish makes them pop. I still don’t know how they got a liquid lipstick to be both matte and metallic. That’s crazy good!

If you’re going for more of a natural look, gloss is always a good idea in the summer months. Gloss has come a long way and isn’t just that clear transparent stuff we wore in 8th grade. It’s pigmented and sometimes rich with texture or it’s light and moisturizing. Whichever kind of gloss you use, know that it will move and may provide “moisture” to other areas of the face especially if you’re eating 😂, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying the whole look or applying it over a rich pigmented lipstick for a little more depth and shine. My favourite lipglosses right now are the FentyBeauty Cream Glosses. Cookie Jar, Mauve Wive$, and FU$$Y are some of my grab-and-go colours.

As mentioned previously, I always like to prepare my lips with lip care before lip-wear. It’s important to treat the skin of your lips well so that they are still happy and moisturized under your choice of lip wear. My go-to lipbalm is Blistex with SPF 15 or SPF 20. Its usually available at your local drugstore, doesn’t cost too much and is medicated enough to tingle while it works. Right after I brush my teeth in the morning I apply this. I may apply a few other balms like the E.L.F. lipbalm in Ride or Die or any of my Pat McGrath sparkly gems. But I also give the lip balm time to work and seep into my lips. By the time I go to apply lip wear, there is little to no oil residue and my lips welcome the colour gladly. Find whatever works for you, but please do apply lip care before lip wear.

Well, I hope this post has been insightful to you and Emily and you and that you choose cool colour choices and #Wearitlikeyoumeanit in the sun or rain, summer or winter. Enjoy you!

Post #32- roy G biv: GREEN 🤩

I know what you’re thinking…”Green, Temeka? Really?” Even my besties, yes all four of them doubted me. A couple were more gracious about it, but they were really scared about me wearing green lips in public…or at all. LOL! My father held his head in his hands while I approached him wearing the bright green. My mother sipped her tea and looked at me over the cup with a slightly raised eyebrow. hahaha! I think they’ve all come to realize that if it has any colour in it, I will try it, green included. HA!

As mentioned briefly in another post, I think we often discount the value of certain colours because we have made others “normal” or “acceptable”. Colours like your perfect nude or that red shade of whatever your favourite brand of the week is are more palatable because of the way we’ve been conditioned to see them in more places through media. I could go on, but what I’m really trying to say is, Give green a chance!

This past St. Patrick’s day I dressed up in as much green as I could. I had a green shirt, a green headband, green leggings, and green eyeshadow. I try to wear something green every year to support the Irish side of my ancestry, but I felt the need to be extra green this year since we were stuck behind a screen for class again this year. Once my face was all complete, I went to grab a lipstick and realized I didn’t own a green lipstick…how was this possible? As a girlie girl, I had at least 5 different green shades of nail polish, green eyeshadow, green mascara…for crying out loud! So I improvised! I took my nude in the colour Libra by Juvia’s Place and took my Rimmel eyeliner in Jungle Green and lined my lips, then I filled them in and then I added a little bit of FU$$Y by FentyBeauty to add some shine and created a long-lasting green lippie for St.Patty’s day. Genius! (See pic below!)

Of course I couldn’t keep wearing my eyeliner as my lip wear ( I mean I can because they’re made for the face and I own them, but you know what I mean) I had to find actual green lip wear and not just for one-off holidays. I found two companies that have green and not just limited ones. There may be more out there but these two were readily available for shipping and wouldn’t take a long time getting to my house during these pandemic times. Thank God!

Like I would with any colour of the rainbow, I found my shade. Believe it or not, green lippies can have yellow or blue undertones too. If you’re willing or brave enough, you’ll try both. I tend to have a more bronze-golden undertone to my skin in the summer months than the pale yellow that is present in the colder winter months. A green with blue undertones will look more stark against my skin in Winter months which I don’t hate, but the yellow undertone green would work better in those months. Conversely, the yellow undertone could and does work well in the summer months but the blue undertone shade looks radiant against my bronze-golden skin.

FentyBeauty has a green named Midnight Wasabi from their lovely Mattemoiselle line. It is matte and glides on easily with so much pigment that I just couldn’t help myself. I looked so good.

Then I had the beautiful idea to add our lovely yellow friend Citron by NYX to lighten and bring out the yellow undertones of the colour even more. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this combination. It has me looking forward to summer even more and reminded me of my Jamaican heritage and the beaches I am always longing for along with my family’s hugs and kisses. This is a win!

The second green I found comes from the magical company ColouredRaine where beautiful pigments come in bright colours and the lip wear is built to last for more than a few hours. Jade is a metallic matte liquid lipstick. Yes! All of that! I was blown away by how beautiful this was when it went on. I was instantly wearing it like I meant it. It feels soft like velvet but doesn’t dry you out. So naturally I took this to the beach where Jilly my bestie and occasional photographer and I had fun capturing this. Even after the shoot, I kept it on because I felt absolutely fearless. I forgot I had it on as I laid there and wondered why those passing by were staring at me…fierce lips in green! 😉

My love, I hope I’ve encouraged you somehow to wear green OR that colour on the opposite side of the colour wheel that really would look good on you. You may look at me and think, “wow! She can really pull that off”, but I thought that first about myself before you did. I used to be scared of green, but green looks good here. It may be red for you or even lipstick at all, but Honey, it’s confidence we’re wearing knowing we are wonderfully made and have a right to own our space. It doesn’t have to conflict with others, but it shouldn’t cower in the presence of others either. The lipstick is the compliment to the beauty you are. Give your Green a chance, no matter what the unexpecting will or won’t say. #wearitlikeyoumeanit 💋

Post #31- Colours of the Season: SUMMER!

Hello Loves! Don’t you just love Summer?! 😁 In Toronto, Summer for me means long days, warm nights, friendly faces thawed out from the previous colder seasons, and colour everywhere! It’s amazing! Music Festivals, and BBQs, and friends hanging out after work because the sun won’t set for some time and even when it does it will still be nice out. Boat rides to the island or back yard pool talks or maybe just the extra Vitamin D make it all wonderful. Whatever it is, Summer itself has me swooning and is easily my favourite season of all. I won’t let the pandemic steal my joy either. God has blessed us with good hot weather already and I hope it’s a precursor of the actual Summer season.

I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me, but I was away on purpose getting some much needed rest and some pictures of my favourite summer lippies. Since we’re deep into Spring and the weather has been so summer-like, I thought it best to go ahead and share the colours that peak my interest and will pop just right with any shade of melanin in the Summer. Now, we await the beautiful warm days and sultry nights.

As a personal rule, I usually go for as bold and bright as I can especially because it is usually too warm to wear the usual beat and less product on the face is a win when the humid really gets going.I love a full lash, some kind of glowing product on the face and an on-purpose lippie. That being said, I also included some gloss options as they are often a good way to trick the eye into viewing another area of glow instead of oil while they also provide moisture to your lips. A Little coloured under eye colour and I was ready to SLAY all day! So let me encourage you before I even show you the list, honey look for your brightest and most moisturizing shade of the colour that makes you the most happy and wear it like you mean it this summer. Take it from day to night and hold your head up high whether you’re in a dainty summer dress or a a pair of those fitted jeans that make you smile, smile brightly not just because I said so, but because YOU are beautiful all year round and especially right now.

Some of these colours or brands will be familiar and others may be new. I promise they will all be wonderful. Thanks to my bestie Jilly, we got a good spot on a pretty deserted beach and beautiful sunshine.

  1. Purpsicle by FentyBeauty is a glossy lipstick with tons of purple pigment and shine. It comes in two colours and will leave your lips with a light tint as well. It’s perfect for sandwiches and all of the treats you’ll be eating and has just enough of a pop in it to turn my basic black bathing suit attire into a whole party.

2. PartyGirl by LipCandy is a lovely magenta vegan lipstick packed with healthy oils and vitamins safe enough to ingest just in case you do. Oh and your lips will love the way this feels too. I also decided to mix this with my favourite yellow by NYX in the creamy lipstick Citron to create a sunset ombre look that had me feeling myself.

3. For those beautiful Summer days when you just want your lips to look luscious in a nude of your choosing there are options like Sika from PabaCosmetics that has a gold shimmer matte feeling that acts like a nude with just enough glam on it to win your heart. And let’s not forget that this one comes infused with sunscreen. Thank you PabaCosmetics; Easy by Smashbox from their Be Legendary Lipstick collection; Distro by ColouredRaine which is a metallic nude lipgloss with iridescent purples and pinks present enough to trick the eye and provide coverage while still letting you shine; and of course one of my favourites is a Gloss Bomb by FentyBeauty in the colour Fenty Glow, which allows me to do just that.

4. I love a bright baby pink in any season but a bright bubble gum pink and Sweet Talk by Pop of Love does just that. I paired it with Romantic by Maybelline from the Superstay Matte Ink collection for this bright combination of radiant pinkness. Together these two pinks are matte and long lasting. A win for me since everything seems to run, slip, and slide off of a hot face in the Summer. What’s your pink or bold winner for the Summer months?

Some things to remember when visiting the beach with your lippies: yes Lip wear can melt 🙄 so bring a cooler and get them on ice once you’re finished with your shoot or touch up. Don’t forget to pack lip care with SPF in it, because that skin on your lips needs protection too. And lastly, explore a colour that isn’t traditional to rock this summer. Below is a collage of some of my favourite non-traditional Summer looks. Besides all that, I’m still exploring many different brands and colours bound to excite and accentuate my Summer Lip experience. So look out for part two once we are in the full swing of all things Summer. Until next time, #wearitlikeyoumeanit 💋

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