To me, being able to successfully execute a dramatic lip takes serious skill. It takes research to find the exact color to compliment your skin tone, it takes time to find the right consistency, and it takes style to design the entire effect. In my opinion, it is a lot more challenging than creating a dark or dramatic "eye" look because most everyone looks good with a bit of definition on the eye to make them pop. Plus, if that wasn't hard enough, you've got to get over your mouth hang-ups. Believe me, I've heard them all; "my lips are too thin for lipstick" or "my mouth is too wide for a dark color" or even "I don't want to draw attention to my teeth." You don't ever hear somebody complaining that she doesn't want to draw attention to her eyes, now do you? Of course not.
Another problem with trying to find that exact shade of dramatic red or pink or burgundy is that there is never enough of a variety. Most brands create their darkest colors for women who have extremely dark complexions in strange colors like shimmery brown (does brown lipstick look good on anybody?) And there might be one or two shades of red, but they're so fire engine red that if you decided to wear it, people might start calling you Ronald. Another important thing about a dark colored lipstick (and this is not so important with a light color) is that the consistency is very creamy. Have you ever tried to wear a dark, dramatic colored lipstick that was old or just really bad quality? It's sort of like trying to rub a mushy chalk on your lips, and even if you have the nicest lips in the world, they are still going to resemble paper mache.
Normally I wouldn't even write an article on dark lipstick because it is too hard to find a color range that suits all or most skin tones, and it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the lipstick loving community. But alas...I have found the Holy Grail of Lipsticks from Urban Decay; and the packaging even resembles one of my favorite stories, The Sword In The Stone. The color range is stunning and broad, ranging from rich reds to dark rose, to its newest addition not for the faint of heart (Oil Slick, the infamous black shadow now becomes a lip color.) The consistency is creamy and smooth, so much so that I don't even feel the need to wear anything on top or underneath it. Plus all of the colors have an amazing caramel smell that makes me never want to go back to a glue smelling lipstick ever again. They're feminine with an edge; the kind of woman who keeps a pair or thigh high black stiletto boots in her closet that only she knows about. Even though I'm one pair of boots short, I still am enchanted by this newest collection from Urban Decay.
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