Beauty Jargon: Lips

When walking into a department store and heading to the makeup stations it is a lot less daunting if you know what these ladies are offering when they are waving various lip enhancing tools at you.

If you are ill-informed of whether you would like to have your lips stained, plumped, lined or sealed here is a breakdown of the jargon to help you along the way.

Quick Flick:
Lip Gloss
Lipstick
Lip Stain
Lip Balm
Lip Plumper
Lip Liner
Lip Sealer
Chapped Lips
Cupid’s Bow
Pout

Lip Gloss
Usually applied with a brush or wand lip gloss adds a glossy or glittery finish to the lips and in most cases, it comes in subtle colours. It is usually applied with a brush or wand as it can be a sticky or liquid texture.

Lipstick
Lip stick is made up of pigments and oils along with wax. This forms a waxy texture. Be warned if you are vegetarian though, as over 50% of lipsticks in America contain pig’s fat, to get the shimmery effect on some lipsticks fish scales are also used.

Lip Stain
Although more expensive than the conventional lipstick, lip stain does what it says. It is a long lasting colour, said to be like “permanent marker for your lips”. A good one can be waterproof along with hard wearing. It can be used on its own or as a good base coat before applying lipstick to make the colour last longer.

Lip Balm
It has a texture not dissimilar from lipstick; lip balm is made with wax along with substances like petroleum to help relieve chapped, dry lips. It is usually fairly translucent and can be fragranced.

Lip Plumper
It is a product which helps lips to look fuller. It can be applied as a lip gloss due to its subtle colours or sheer versions can be worn underneath lipstick. Using ingredients such as menthol, the plumper irritates the thin layers of skin on the lips making them slightly swell. It also stimulates the collagen in the lips but has to be constantly reapplied as the effects are only temporary.

Lip Liner
It it can also be called a lip pencil as it is commonly sold in this way or in a retractable form. Lip liner can be used outline the lips to stop colour from lipstick bleeding or even to slightly alter/emphasise the outline of the lips to make a more defined shape.

Lip Sealer
Lip sealer is applied after lipstick to help it lock in colour for longer, thus making the colour last for up to 8 hours. It is usually in liquid form which can be rolled onto the lips.

Chapped Lips
When lips are referred to as “chapped” it means that they’re sore, cracked and rough, usually because of dehydration, cold weather or illness.

Cupid’s Bow
Referring the shape of the lips, the cupid’s bow is the double curve of the upper lip where there is a slight dip.

Pout
Pouting is when you push your lips forward in either a sexual or irritated way. Some people, such as Angelina Jolie and Keira Knightley, have natural pouts.