Hey! So, let’s talk about lips.
I think every girl and makeup-loving guy has done it at least once — fell in love with a lipstick from afar, or maybe at the counter, but for whatever cruel, unknown reasons, when they got it on for the first time, it just looked…darker than it did on the website or in the store.
I’ve done it so many times! Sometimes it’s a wine shade; sometimes it’s a burgundy or a plum. And I’ll see it at the counter and think, “Suh-weet! You’re comin’ home with mama.”
Then I’ll get home, try it on and be like, “Hmm…”
For those times when a dark lipstick looks more wearable in the store than it does on your lips I.R.L., but you still don’t want to part with it forever, try turning it into a lip stain.
I repeat, you do not have stick it in the back of your lipstick drawer, ignore it, and have it be a sore spot for you every time you see it sitting there collecting dust.
All you have to do is apply it the way you normally would — either straight from the tube or with a brush — and for applying darker lipsticks, I think it always helps to have a lip brush around, especially for drawing clean outer edges, but it doesn’t matter in this case because we’re going to be turning what’s on our lips into a stain.
Next, after you’ve applied your layer of this unfortunately dark lipstick, blot most of it away with a tissue.
Now, even out whatever remains on your lips with a finger, leaving a beautiful stain behind that still has an echo of the color you fell in love with at the counter. 🙂 But it won’t be as dark.
One of the reasons I love lip stains is because they don’t need as much babying as dark, opaque lips do. Basically, you’re taking a high-maintenance dark plum, dark burgundy, dark wine or whatever, and making it easier to wear. Plus, in its stain form, you won’t have to worry about it migrating beyond your natural lip lines, since you’ve removed most of it.
In the pic at the top, I’m wearing a plum shade from The $22 Mini Team: Rouge Cream & Shine Lipstick Set by Sephora as a stain.
Now go forth and have fun with those dark lip colors! Sometimes it’s just easier to wear them as a stain.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Good idea! Now you made me want that cute mini lip set!
I do this all the time with my reds!!!! Tones down my Mac Russian red to an “easier” more nonchalant lip stain??
I LOVE dark lippie! Except black.
I do that a lot, not necessarily because I feel they are too dark in general, but because I wear them to work where the stain is okay, the full on lip not. And then I apply the full on version when I leave, way better than carrying around two lipsticks.