Malaysian Beauty & Lifestyle Blogger

Why Swatching Lip Products On Your Inner Arm Is Bad

Have you ever swatched a lip product at the store and fallen in love with the colour? Then you proceed to pay for it and rush home to try it on. Then you realise that it doesn't look that good on you after all.. What went wrong? You loved it at the store..

Not at all? Really? Well, I have.. And more times than I can remember. It's kinda stupid, actually. My skin is naturally yellowish so it makes pink shades lean towards coral or peach. (Yellow + Red = Orange, remember?) I love those colours but when I try it on my lips, it turns really pink or purplish. Then I'll be disappointed and dump it in a corner.

I've suddenly come to realise that I was swatching it at the wrong spot all these years. And no, tissue doesn't work either. Your lips aren't white. My lips are kinda pigmented and has a hint of purple. This is kinda odd since purplish lipsticks look horrible on me =_= Sucks..

So anyway, obviously the colour would turn out to be different since the base colour is so different *sigh..* Why didn't I realize this earlier? IMO, it would be better to swatch on your palm, especially the lower end opposite your thumb as there's enough space + it's reddish, just like your lips. Well, my palms are usually kinda pale (bad circulation?) but it does make a small difference, which may have changed some of my decisions in the past.

I have proof for my theory! lol~ Swatches are from the same photo so don't argue with me on lighting/camera settings. I just cropped it so it's easier to compare. As you can see.. The swatch on my palm (right) is pinker than the one on my arm (left). On my lips, it looks more like the right, appearing more pinkish.


Also, if you have many lines on your hand like me, you can even test if the lipstick settles into lip lines! xD I haven't actually tested this 'theory' but it does make sense, right? o_O

Anyway, the palm swatch still isn't very accurate, as shown by Revlon's Soft Nude below. But I could get it to look more similar if I concealed my lips before applying lipstick.


For my blog swatches, I'll still swatch on my arm though. Cos it's so much smoother lol but don't worry.. I edit all swatches to try to match the true colour.

Hope this helped! Now.. Go out and get yourself some more lipsticks xD

P.S. I tried scheduling this for 29/2/11 then realized there's no 29th this year when Blogger didn't allow it =_= Happy Birthday to all those born on the 29th of February! Pity you.. Can only celebrate your official birthday once every 4 years lol

9 comments:

  1. What you say about the swatching actually make sense. Anyway, this year don't have 29th February, next year is leap year. Hehe.

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  2. this tip is helpful
    personally i swatch products at the back of my hand though...but often times when i am planning to buy lip products i really remove my lipstick on the counter & bring my own lip brush, sanitize the whole tube of lipstick then apply it on my lips..haha!

    a lot of process but it's so worth it for i have to know how it looks on my lips.
    LOL

    love that lip color,hun!
    seems like the perfect nude for you!
    ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  3. @ Pepper
    Hahah yeah.. xD I forgot it's Feb now =x

    @ thiamere
    HAHAHA! Wow.. I still wouldn't feel clean even if I did that. Don't know if someone dropped it on the floor and it rolled into a pile of dusts or if someone had an infectious disease =_=

    Well, it does look good but pretty drying =( Current fav nude lippie is Rimmel Nude Delight cos it isnt so drying lol

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  4. warm skin tone use warmer tone colors will makes the lips stand out better :) cool tone vice versa :D try it! according to color theory la :P hehe

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  5. Oo thank you for this post! I always have this problem too and have always blamed it on the artificial lighting. I'll try the palm method next time!

    X

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  6. Hi Isabel..just to inform you that u are oner of the winners of my mini giveaway.. :) sorry the gift is so small..can you leave me ur full name, address and phone number so that i can post it to u, say tomorrow? thanks dear..
    and i think the lipstick look so good on u! u have such smooth lips.. love it! and thanks for the useful tips..
    love
    Yana

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  7. @ Nicole
    HAhaha.. warna panas = red orange n yellow. should I wear yellow? xD Btw, I don't want my lips to stand out =( I would prefer my eyes to stand out hahaha

    @ Chuui
    Well, lighting can be another problem, actually. lol Maybe we should all be like Thiamere above xD

    @ Shaz
    Sorry! I've already left a comment on your blog. I wasn't joining the giveaway actually (by right you should disqualify me for not obeying the rules =P)

    ReplyDelete
  8. You are SO right! AMAZING post!

    http://carpe-diem13-beauty.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

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