Adult Braces Update 4 | Makeup Tips For Braces
Welcome to the fourth braces update! It’s been a little over FIVE MONTHS that I’ve had these absolutely darling metal braces. I seriously can’t believe it’s been five months already. It’s gone by very quickly (thank goodness). In today’s post, I’ll be sharing my progress photos (as usual) along with discussing my most favorite subject – makeup!
Wearing braces has definitely changed the way I apply and wear my makeup. It’s been a learning process, but I’m fairly confident in the tips I’m going to share because they have garnered more compliments when I do my makeup these ways. Continue reading if you’re curious how my treatment is going and to learn some Brighter, Darling-approved makeup tips for braces…
Makeup Tips
Before I got my braces on, I was convinced all I’d want to do was mute my entire mouth out as much as possible without looking like a corpse. I didn’t want to bring any sort of attention to my braces whatsoever. But just because you’re wearing nude lipsticks doesn’t mean your braces disappear – even if you’re smiling with your mouth closed (which… I do believe I’m slightly perfecting over time).
These are some things that have helped me feel a little more confident wearing my braces. If you don’t like wearing makeup at all, these may not be for you… but if you’ve been feeling a little less like yourself since your braces, give my tips a try and see how you feel.
- Enhance your eyes more. This was the first trick I started embracing that started getting me nice compliments. I already love eye makeup, but I definitely kick it up a notch during the day and even more so at night. If you don’t already use eyeliner, give it a shot. If you already do, try really smudging out your lower lash line a little more than you may feel comfortable with (within reason… I mean, don’t go out looking like Marilyn Manson here… just sayin). Really layer on the mascara on top and bottom lashes. If you don’t usually use a medium eyeshadow in your crease with a fluffy brush, add it in and see how you feel. Initially, I felt pretty glam during the day, but now it’s become more of a routine.
- Get a lot of Aquaphor tubes. For some reason, my lips are very quick to get dry… even if I’m not talking. I have a tube of Aquaphor on my desk, in my car, in my purse, on my nightstand, in the bathroom and in my travel bag. In addition to helping with dryness on your lips and the corners of your mouth, it helps just prep your lips for any possible color, which brings us to the next tip…
- Use all matte or super glossy lip color formulas. I can’t do in between. If a formula is simply creamy, it tends to get on my brackets or teeth and you can see it because the formula is tackier (even if I do the little stick-your-finger-in-your-mouth-and-pull-out trick). If the formula is a liquid lipstick or matte, it tends to stay put (which is ideal so you don’t have to be even MORE paranoid about your mouth). If the formula is super glossy, even if it’s getting on my brackets or teeth, it doesn’t seem to show up (granted, most of my glosses are sheer… perhaps this wouldn’t be true if you like pigmented glosses).
- Embrace bolder lip colors. This is one I’m still practicing myself. I can’t even tell you how instantly this gets compliments. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been a bright-lip sort of person, but it really puts out a “I-don’t-give-a-sh$%” attitude about wearing braces. No joke, wearing my brightest pink lipstick recently (MAC’s Candy Yum Yum neon pink) not only immediately got me instant positive attention from strangers, family, friends and colleagues, but 6 direct compliments on the shade in one day and in just FOUR hours. I’ve had similar results wearing reds, purple/berry and I plan on testing out an orange/coral soon!
- Closed mouth smiles work best from the side. I’m still smiling only with my mouth closed, so I’ve really had to work at this or I look like there’s something foul-tasting in my mouth or I’m rocking Resting Bitch Face REAL hard. Not cute. However, when posing with your face angled slightly to the side in photos, you can pull off a smirk without looking like a completely miserable person. As Kim Kardashian says anyway, “Smiling gives you wrinkles.” You do you.
(from left to right: Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid – Orange Shot (orange-based warm red), MAC Lipstick – Candy Yum Yum (my favorite!), Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids – Electric Orange (true orange), Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hi-Shine Gloss – Pretty Thing)
What’s happened since the last update
Nothing’s changed on my top teeth since last month’s update, but as I mentioned then, we’re really focusing on straightening out the bottom ASAP. My wire on the bottom was upgraded (fourth on top and bottom now), and wire ties were placed underneath the ligatures (rubber bands) to further tighten the pressure. You’ll see my left canine has made some great progress, but we need a little more. The center bottom teeth need to straighten out just a tad more, as well (you can see one of them very slightly tilted).
Once both top and bottom are straight, I’ll be getting to wear rubber bands attached to the top/bottom which will be used to help correct my “Class 2” posterior crossbite (translation to ‘real people words:’ apparently my top and bottom molars aren’t aligned properly… which *could have* resulted in bone loss/jaw issues much later in life). I have no idea how long I’ll have to wear the rubber bands or any of those details yet, but will be sure to update as soon as I find out.
Click HERE to see how last month’s ‘aerial’ shots looked.
Now that I’m approaching month SIX, I was curious how my ortho felt the treatment was going. Initially, he estimated 12-18 months, so I wanted to know how that’s looking at this point. I’ve always factored in that my teeth/bones would need about three months to ‘form/solidify’ once they’re in their proper places, so basically, at the end of your treatment, things are just sitting there not really being changed while you just wait for your bone to ‘bake.’ With this said, my ortho said a lot can change over the next 12 months, but he did feel that I’d probably have the braces on for the full duration of 18 months. BOO! 🙁 I was not thrilled to hear this, but as he mentioned, so much can change and you never can predict 100% how your body will react to adjustments. That basically means there’s about 9 months left of changes/adjustments and then approximately 3 months to ‘bake.’ If it has to be another year, I hope it continues to go fast.
As much as I’m dreading the rubber bands, I’m anxious to get them started already so I can see even bigger changes coming soon.
How are your braces doing? Just started? Almost done? Leave me a comment below and let me know what your favorite makeup tip for braces is/was and please share with any friends or family who may be going through this journey, as well. I have honestly received so many personal emails from many of you reading every month, so I know you’re all out there 😉
Check back May 30th for my 6 month update! I’ll be sharing month-by-month side-by-side progress shots to celebrate that milestone, plus some other details. Fingers crossed for some rubber bands!
Here’s to bright lips,
-Steffanie
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You are the second person who’s been talking about Mac’s candy yum yum! I think I might have to splurge and add it to my collection!
Ahh really!? Who else? I feel like it was huge a few years ago when it first launched… I remember going to 3-4 MAC counters to find it… and I tend to only wear it in summer, but everrrryyy time… instant compliments. It’s so fun and for a matte, not drying at all. I def recommend it (but I think there’s quite a few more affordable dupes out there now… I think Maybelline has a couple for sure if you want to test-run it haha).
I love these colors on you Steff! I have the electric orange and I LOVE it.
Thanks, doll! I am in love with the pink and red. Now I want like a bright purple (thinking Heroine from MAC). I love how I go from only nudey-peaches to…. electric colors. I guess for summer it’s acceptable for me lol.
Brazen berry from the Maybelline Vivids is amazing. I get SO many compliments when I wear it. It’s super purple in the tube but doens’t wear THAT intense.
Ohh good to know! I basically went through Sweetest Thing insta last night and liked all the pics she was wearing a fun lipstick so I would get the liketoknowit details LOL. Was going to make a walgreens run later today for some other things so now I’ll have to check out Brazen Berry 😀
Oh I just went to see it and it’s a MAC Heroine dupe! It looks so pretty! I ended up ordering a ColourPop one because it is $5 and matte. Brazen Berry has a sheen to it, but with my braces, more matte formulas work a little better haha. But it DOES look gorgeous – I may have to try it in a year when these braces are gone haha.
You look beautiful! I know it must be tough having adult braces, but you are rockin’ it!
Thanks, Kristin!
I am getting mine later this year and I am TERRIFIED!! But seeing you and your progress puts me at ease and I am actually a little more excited now! Loving all the different colors!
Aw don’t be terrified. It’s a bit of a nuisance, but when I see my progress, it’s extremely motivating! Good luck 🙂
Girl you are gorgeous!! Love all the bold lip colors especially the bright pink! I had braces when I was 20 for about 1 year, but it was so worth it! 🙂
Aw thank you, girlie 🙂 That bright pink is definitely my favorite. I feel like it makes me look so tan, too haha. I want to wear it all the time. Can’t wait to get these off so I can smile like I used to again haha!
Such lovely colors and a great blog post, I have a friend who is wearing braces at the moment and I’ll pass this on to her
That’s awesome! I hope she finds this helpful. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I just got my braces off after almost 3 years, and can totally relate to your lips always being dry. Thankfully it does get better once you get them off 🙂 Thanks for the post!
Blessings,
Edye // Gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com
Ah congrats on getting the braces off! I can’t wait to go back to having a ‘normal’ mouth, lol. Good to hear things return to the way they were pre-braces. 🙂
Just stumbled on your blog via Pinterest. I am in month 14 of my 12-18 months of braces and just wanted to say this lipstick post is great! Elastics are tough but you get used to it and you see results really quickly at that point. Good luck and happy to answer any questions!
So glad you found my blog! 🙂 I have been warned by my little brother how annoying the elastics are, but I’m just eager to get things moving along as safely and fast as possible. Do you remember when you got your elastics and how long you wore them for? Does your orthodontist still feel confident in your timeline/getting them off on or before month 18?
I think I’ll be over by a month or so unfortunately but I’m ok with that (mid summer this year). I started elastics for an open bite around month 7 and haven’t gone without since. The trick is wearing them all the time! They are a pain at first but that’s where the real changes happen. After I finish I have 6 months in Invisallign to lock everything in place. Can’t wait!!
Also!! Saw your note on wax, it’s the worst!! Try Macks ear plugs for swimming. They are silicone and you just need a very tiny piece of one. I saw the tip on YouTube and it was a game changer!
Oh I’ll have to pick those up today… for some reason, randomly throughout the month, they’ll start really hurting again and I’m going through wax like it’s my job.
bahhh omg I don’t wanna have to do invisalign after, as well lol. I know I have to wear a traditional retainer for (I think) 2-4 weeks once the braces come off 24/7… but after that, I think I just have to wear it at night and will also have that lingual/metal bar/retainer on the bottom teeth. Joy!
Oh you are just beautiful. I am three weeks shy of getting my braces off after two long years (I have just turned 31) and really nothing, NOTHING has saved my lips like a lip balm I got from a company called Paula’s Choice. I’m from Australia so not sure if they are big over where you are, I certainly know none of my friends know of them. God, you poor thing. I think orthodontists like to give broad estimates of timeframes but really whatever the maximum time they give, that’s more likely what you’ll be in for. I was told 16 – 24 months and it’s been just over that 2 year period. Even though I will *hoping and praying* be getting mine off very soon, I’ll be checking back in here for sure! Good luck!
You are the sweetest! I completely agree with you on the timeframe always being the longer-estimate. Even my ortho said to me when I first got them on, “I know you only heard the *12* part of the 12-18 months… but just get comfortable with it probably being more 18 months…” -__- At least he was honest with me, lol. Just hoping for the best, though, of course – for my own sanity. I LOVE Paula’s Choice! 98% of my skin care routine is her line (I recently did a post about it, too). I’ll have to check out her lip balm next time I place an order 😀 Thank you for the tip. Congratulations on getting those braces off soon. You’ll have to give me an update on how it all goes/feels without them finally!
I’m so glad I found this, turning 26 this year and after many talks with my boyfriend I can tell that he just isn’t sure about braces. “What will they look like?” has been the main discussion and I have to admit I am not getting them right away (have to get the Distal Jet first then braces in a couple months) but it’s still nerve racking! But after seeing your posts and seeing how you are working out the make up gives me a lot more confidence. I initially thought the same thing “no lipstick, nothing to draw attention to my teeth!” but now.. I think I need to go get some new shades 😉
Haha, my husband thinks they’re ‘cute.’ He says I look even younger. Of course, if you’ve read my braces posts, I’m still not thrilled wearing them, but sharing my journey on the blog and hearing from sooooo many women doing the same thing/about to, helps a lot. I also totally agree that wearing color on your lips seems to look a lot better than just sticking with neutrals. At the end of the day, I’m really glad I’m doing this and soo excited to have perfect teeth in the end 🙂 Good luck and keep me posted on how it goes for you!!