Anita Grant Lippy Pucker Lip Balm - Original
I have been a working makeup artist – meaning having people pay me for makeup with little or no ‘side gigs’ necessary – for going on 10 years now. I work largely with media clients although in the last few years I have started teaching a bit and also working with private clients. When you’re in the makeup biz you really do think about product a lot. Therefore for me as a beauty blogger, when I write about makeup I tend to gravitate to the latest and greatest or things that I’ve found that help me with my photographic work or things of that nature. I am frequently reminded, however, that “normal people” (aka – non makeup artists) do not think about these things at all, they just want some basic products that work so they can look their best and go on about their way. Reality is – when women find out I’m a makeup artist – they are MUCH more likely to ask me what is the best mascara or moisturizer than they are to ask about some esoteric micro makeup brand. Let’s be real: they’ve never heard of the esoteric micro-makeup brand, nor do they particularly care. Over the next few Makeup Mondays I will be going back and revisiting some basics. These are the things that real women ask me about all the time and all the time. Being a pro makeup artist I’ve gone through umpteen brands of each type of product and these are the ones that make my cut.
Now – A word about what I look for in a lip balm: First and foremost anything Petroleum based is out. Some folks love Petroleum based lip-balms and if that’s you and it is working for you then great. Keep doing you. I do not like Petroleum based lip-balms at all. They do not actually moisturize, in my opinion, nor do I like the way they feel (greasy) and then as a makeup artist I cannot use them under lip color because they make the color “slip”. Therefore there will be no Carmex, Chapstick, Rosebud Salve (although I LOVE Rosebud salve for other things), or even the ever popular Keihl’s Lip Balm #1. I look for balms that are creamy in texture and feel and are derived from natural oils often in some kind of an oil/water emulsion formula. Here then are my picks of fabulous lip moisturizers. Continue reading →
