The Best Lip Products For Every Need
Lips. They can be such a turn on when they're right, and such a turn off when they're not.
You know what I mean - a perfect, smooth pout or a chapped, crusty smirk - entirely different reactions, right? That's why it's essential to have the right lip products at the right time. Enter this article, which will help you with the best lip products for every pout!
Nourish Your Lips First
The health of our lips is extremely important before we even start having fun with color or texture. The most beautiful lipstick or lipgloss ever will look terrible on lips that haven't been cared for and maintained, so if you have to think about where to invest, put your money in lip care first, and color later! The first thing you may need (especially if you live somewhere cold or dry, or have been neglecting your lips) is a lip scrub to exfoliate them.
My favorite is the Sugar Lip Polish by Fresh, which can also go with one of the royal favorites - the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment (it's Meghan Markle's go-to lip balm)!
A Great Chapstick Is Essential for Everyday Wear
This may seem like something not worth reading about, but don't skip this section! The reason this can be so important is that a lot of chapsticks, even those that seem healthy or medicinal, can actually be harmful.
We love hyaluronic acid for skincare, but for lips, it can be damaging. For many, chapstick becomes addictive, because our lips become dependent on an outside source, and stop creating moisture on their own - thus the need to constantly reapply! The same can go for licking our lips, which is why it's so important to moisturize them the right way!
My two favorite chapsticks are Burt's Bees, and the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment. But my #1 go-to for everyday wear and lip health is actually Total Shine Addict by Victoria's Secret. It makes no claims to be moisturizing, but I feel like it seals in the natural moisture from my lips. I even wear it to sleep!
Healthy, Plump Lips Are Sexy
In my online makeup academy, I share that most of what we do in makeup is actually to give the appearance of improved health and genetics, because generally speaking, our brains use physical characteristics to help us choose the best possible mates to make children - sounds barbaric (and is definitely explicitly geared toward heterosexuality), but it's true.
As such, the markers for health in the lip department are a pink or red color to show health, symmetry, and full lips. Fortunately, we can go beyond genetics and give those appearances by using lip plumpers, gloss, and lipstick!
Once our lips are smooth and moisturized, we can play! Now that that's taken care of, it's time to enlist a plumper if you want fuller lips. My favorite is the O.G. of lip plumpers - DuWop Lip Venom! However, if you want more variety in color or finish, you should try the Buxom line. It's pricier, but it works, and there are tons of options for formulas and shades!
Lipstick That Lasts All Day
Want something that you can put on once and not think about anymore for the rest of the day/night? I have two favorite products for long wear, but neither is perfect. We can put a man on the moon but don't have more permanent solutions for lip and nail color? Come on! My two long-wear picks are Lipsense, and Revlon Colorstay Overtime Lip Color.
Lipsense is part of a multi-level marketing company, which basically means that independent distributors buy them and sell them to people they know, which can be a turn off for people whose friends have turned into high-pressure salespeople or whose social media feeds are full of posts selling things, but that doesn't mean the products are bad!
Lipsense is pigment suspended in alcohol - basically, the same concept as how tattoos in movies are done. The alcohol dissolves, and the dye remains. This makes Lipsense transfer-proof, which means it must be removed with a specific remover. The drawbacks to it are that you need specific gloss and remover to work with it, so it comes in a kit, and that it sort of trains your lips to be ideal for it - the more you use it, the better it works. I've had a couple occasions where its peeled off, and I've had to reapply, but I've had more times where I've actually worn it for 12+ hours and only reapplied the gloss!
My other selection is Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick, which is just one step and claims to last up to 24 hours. I love this and all the shades, but find it to be a little drying (which makes sense, because that's how it works)!
Fun Colors for the Fun Times
The sky's the limit, here! If you take care of your lips, you can basically wear whatever you want: glosses, stains, tints, lipstick, or liquid lipstick. Go for whatever matches your look, experiment, and have fun!
If you're looking to go bold, you may want to invest in a great product, as sometimes bolder colors can end up looking streaky! Some cult favorites for a non-streaky look are Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge, Kat Von D's Everlasting Lip Color, and Bite Beauty's Amuse Bouche Lipstick.
Create a Custom Lip Color
If you're a true lip enthusiast, once your lips are nice and healthy, a lip color palette could likely entertain you for the rest of your life. There are tons of colors to use on their own, colors you can blend into just about any color you could imagine, or colors you can make slight adjustments to so you can create your perfect signature lip color!