Lucious Lips By Yvonne Sylvester Some of TGF's prettiest readers have agreed to share with us their favorite style, beauty and "how-to" tips. This week features ideas from Yvonne Sylvester, who lives in New York State and has a very cute look. To see more of her go to her Pictorial here at TGForum. One of my favorite parts of "transforming" myself into Yvonne is applying lipstick. No matter what else I do with my face, it's not complete until I do my lips, and I spend a lot of time getting them just right. So I'd like to tell you some of the things I do, and maybe you can use some of my ideas. For one, I have taken to using only a pencil, rather than cream sticks. The main reasons are that I can outline them better and the color lasts longer. I have basically thin lips, so the pencil let's me "cheat" a little. The drawback to using a pencil over the entire lips is that it tends to dry my lips out, but I can live with that knowing I can go a whole day without having to fix my lips. Pencils can be hard to work with if they go on heavy, but I discovered completely by accident a way to make it much easier and get better results. I discovered this trick when I was looking for a way to remove foundation from my lips. I suffer from a heavy beard shadow, so I have to be sure I apply foundation right up to my lips, which means I usually get a lot on my lips. By the time I'm ready to add lip color, the foundation has dried and won't rub off easily. I discovered a vitamin-E lip balm that comes in a stick form, like lipsticks. This oil is not creamy, like something that comes in a tube, nor is it wax-based like Chap Stick. When I apply it to my lips, it immediately warms and turns into a transparent oil. The brand I found is called Zia, but there are probably others. I found that this stuff loosens the foundation that has dried on my lips and lets me clean it off easily without disturbing the foundation on my face around my lips. But I also found that if I apply a light coat before penciling my lips, it turns the color from the pencil into a cream, making the pencil glide easily. Then, after about an hour, the vitamin-E oil is absorbed into my skin, leaving just the color from the pencil, and it never comes off on anything. If I go out, I usually carry a lipstick that is close in color to the pencil I used, and if my lips get real dry, I moisten them with the lipstick. But the initial base of color never comes off! Back to Transgender Forum's home page