I don’t know why on earth I didn’t talk about this lipstick in more detail in my first post about Red Lipsticks over 45. 

Here are two pictures of me wearing two lipsticks to reflect different moods: ‘fuck it scarlet’ and ‘want to go red but not go mad’

I have already talked about my love affair with Lipstick Queen, but here I want to talk a little bit about the Nars Lip Pencil.

In the lower picture I’ve hardly got any of the colour on. Just a quick run over with the pencil. Enough to brighten me up but not over power – especially useful if I haven’t been arsed to bother with foundation, which I am wearing in the top photo. There’s no way I can wear that bright a red with naked skin.

It’s a really subtle colour which you can build up easily if you want to. Be careful not to build it up too much because if you do, it can go a bit crumbly and then you look like you’ve been scoffing plum pudding as you have little balls of colour clinging to your lip line.

It feels gorgeous on your lips as it has a velvety texture.

As you can see it looks exactly like a large crayon. It has a dry creamy feel so hasn’t got the gloss of the ‘Scarlet Sinner’ above but it gives your lips a long lasting stain.

It’s a great way of wearing red without being too overwhelming. It comes in these lovely shades…

I like these images because it shows you the effect of building the colour up – the image on the right is the same colour as the left but more of it.

When I saw this I immediately ordered another pencil in ‘Dragon Girl’ but it was REALLY bright so I gave it to a friend who had much darker skin and eyes that me and it looked fab on her.

I have also just bought a red from Burt’s Bees’ Lipstick and if it’s any good I’ll let you know. Already I have been annoyed by it, as the lipstick is designed to stick out over the top of the tube (even when wound down) so when I opened it to have a look I then knocked the end off when I put the lid back on.