Luscious Lips and Lipstick Guide

A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. - Ingrid Bergman

If the eyes are the window to the soul, the lips are the door to passion. Here are the tricks of the trade for perfectly kissable lips.

Exfoliate every day, use a flannel to remove dead skin cells, cover with Vaseline and blot before applying lipstick.

Every evening rub in moisturiser until it disapears, then apply a thick layer and leave over night.

As with all skin care, hydration is vitally important. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. If you are dehydrated it is your lips that show it first.

To correct a wonky or thin lip shape, use a good quality lip liner pencil 2/3 shades darker than your lip colour. Draw the new line close to the outside of your natural lip line.

Lip liner applied to the whole lip makes a great base for lipstick.

Apply, blot and repeat several times to lock in lip colour.

The joy of gloss is the excessive need to re-apply, especially if it is strawberry flavour. It is generally accepted that gloss does not last, but there is something very sexy about reapplying regularly.

Gloss or lip plumper applied just to the centre of the lip will give the illusion of plumper lips.

Lick lips before drinking to avoid leaving a mark on the glass.

Insert finger between lips and pull out to remove excess lipstick and prevent transfer of colour to teeth.

Yellowing teeth can be camouflaged by wearing lipstick with bluish tone - plum, pink, violet shades are perfect.

Test lipsticks on your finger tips, it is a closer match than the back of your hand.