Lipstick can be a fantastic beauty enhancer, but it can also make a girl look like a bit of a clown. If you work in the circus, that probably wouldn't be a problem; if you don't, you may want to make sure you're not overdoing it. Just because the supermodel in the television advert looks fabulous in hooker-red, doesn't mean that same lipstick is going to suit you, too. In fact, very few people look good in hooker-red lipstick, unless a professional makeup artist applied it for them. So, unless you've got one of those on retainer, please see the following five lipstick tips to help you avoid the most common lipstick mistakes.

Tip #1: Check your skin color.

I dunno what color some of you think you are, but I do know what color I am -- and I know that red, pink and peach don't go with my 1/2 white and 1/2 Middle Eastern skin-tone. Just as you wouldn't mix your peach blouse with that orange skirt, so should you avoid such pairings when it comes to your lipstick and your complexion. White, brown, black and yellow come in all different shades. Fortunately, so does lipstick.

Tip #2: Check your lip line.

Not everyone can just pop a lipstick out, run it across their full, sexy lips, and look like they just stepped out of a Revlon commercial. Some people have a lip line that doesn't hold lipstick. In other words, 95% of your lips will take the color as it's applied, but the outline of your mouth will not. This means you'll either have an oddly shaped pout, or the lipstick might run onto your skin at some point. I have this problem myself -- it's easily fixed by using lip-liner. I recommend MAC, as it stays on until you take it off.

Tip #3: No fudging the lines.

Duck lips are not sexy unless you're a duck. Most women would like bigger lips, but please believe me when I tell you that you cannot simply draw them on. If you could, I'd be right there with you; but you can't. If you don't like the way your natural lip line looks with lipstick, don't wear any (seriously -- this is why I usually don't wear any myself). This is much better than having lips that resemble the McDonald's arches.

Tip #4: No glitter if you're old enough to remember MTVs debut.

I know it's tough being pre-middle age and older, but please don't make it worse than it needs to be -- glitter is for kids, teens and 20-somethings who are still too young to ken how silly they look. The rest of us should know better.

Tip #5: Be aware of what time of day it is.

Hooker-red lipstick rarely looks good on white women, but even if you're one of the lucky ones, it doesn't look good at nine in the morning. Save the dramatic colors for the evening and use something more appropriate during the day. Unless, of course, you really are a hooker, in which case hooker-red would actually be appropriate.