It has to be said, I am a lipstick addict. “Nevermind brows,” my motto states, much to the dismay and unmistakeable disapproval of my brow-obsessed peers. It’s not that I don’t necessarily care about brows, contours or the rest of the trillion steps one is supposed to go through when painting one’s face, it’s more of I’m no expert at its application. So minimal strokes (and attention) suffice.
What I am good at though is applying lipstick. I take that back. I would like to think I’m just a notch below Kylie Jenner’s make up artist’s infamous lip-lining techniques so I am pretty good (let’s assume, for the sake of this argument, that her lips are in fact rendered in liner alone – minus alleged collagen shots.) It doesn’t matter what texture or whether it comes in a tube, glass or a pencil. If it changes the hue of my puckers, they are mine to be owned and conquered.
Fittingly, my lips have tasted and tested so many shades. From browns, to violets, Ive been obsessed with them all. Over the years with a rapidly growing collection, I have learned that I only really need one stick of each: a red, a pink and a nude. The oranges and the plums, though they render a different and sometimes necessary personality shift altogether, are too ostentatious in nature and, regrettably, can’t be worn everyday. That is unless you’re Rihanna and work embraces your eccentricity. Otherwise, all normal people with regular jobs must keep these for “special” occasions (a term I use loosely of course – Saturday nights most definitely included.)
Enter Happy Skin’s most recent collection of three special shades in collaboration with celebrity stylist Liz Uy: Style Icon (nude), 24 Carats (pink) and Red Carpet (red). A stylist first and foremost, Liz knows exactly what staples each woman needs. The three shades alone are good thinking enough on her end – a solid red, pink and nude are best kept on regular rotation. But, of course, a partnership with a stylist entails a more meaningful marriage with fashion. Hence, the lipsticks also come in your choice of case – a leather pouch or an acrylic clutch especially requested by Liz herself.
Of course, as a person who regularly has a hard time going through the contents of my own purse, I chose the cold, hard, shiny, see-through case. It wasn’t just for comfort though, it was mostly for show. Lipsticks meant to impress are best kept visible – on your person by way of your newly tinted mouth and by way of promotion, lugged around as an essential with other seemingly important stuff. My new Happy Skin shades take on higher importance when leveled with keys, phones and wallets. And rightly so.
And with a lipstick collection named “Shut Up & Kiss me,” a gentle nudge (or a more aggressive prompt – whichever you need at the time) is not just undoubtedly welcome. It’s also absolutely necessary.
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Each new Happy Skin StyLIZed lipstick costs P599 each. The acrylic clutch 3-piece set, P1799, and the leather pouch 3-piece set, P1499.
A portion of proceeds from each stick sold goes to Gawad Kalinga. Purchase your own shade (and help) at Rustan’s Makati and Shangri-la, Beauty Bar and Plains & Prints stores nationwide.
