Indigo jones

This morning, I put on makeup and applied lipstick at 8:30 am. It’s 5:30, and I have had lunch, a couple of cups of tea and a few meetings, and my lipstick is still on. Liquid lipstick, where have you been all my life?

I am pretty lazy when it comes to makeup. Most days, I workout and work from home, so I just wash and go. An occasional smear of tinted lip treatment keeps me from chewing on my lips when the hills get hard in spin class. When I go out in public, I apply makeup, and then pretty much forget about for the rest of the day. That perfected version of myself seems to be gone the next time I glance in a mirror, with my makeup being almost invisable, barring the unsightly smudge of mascara under my eyes from time to time.

Last summer, I got a goodie bag of samples at Sephora, and one of the items was a Kat Von D liquid lipstick in a very dark, goth looking burgundy. I pretty much ignored it, since I figured the shade was a bit intense for me, and would make my lips look even thinner than they are. One day, on a whim, I tried it on for kicks, and had a revelation; it was so bold that it actually highlighted my lips, and more importantly, it was almost impossible to get off! The color was in fact a bit too much for me, but the formulation was a keeper.

Liquid lipsticks are not exactly new, but they are new to me. Kylie Jenner certainly didn’t invent them, but her lip kits may have had a major role in introducing the idea to the masses. I hadn’t given them a minute’s thought, until I tried a sample, and I am now a convert.

I noticed it was hard to get a perfect application on my lips, and if I missed, there was no easy way to correct it. The key to liquid lipstick is to use a pencil to create an outline, and then use the lipstick wand to fill it in. Once you have it applied the way you want it, you need to wait a minute to let it dry. If you smear it, you might walk around looking like a crazy clown for the entire day. Oil based makeup remover on a Q-tip would take care of it, but it would also take everything around it off as well, requiring a complete do-over; something few of us have the time to deal with.  It is a bit dryer feeling than a regular lipstick, and if you like sheen, you need to add a little gloss on top.

I am currently using a very reasonably priced Sephora brand product, which is more pigmented than what I usually use, but way less intense in hue than the Kat Von D sample. All the major brands seem to have their own version, and color options range from nude to almost black.

Sometimes, I opt for a more natural look, but on the days that I am wearing makeup, and want it to last, long wearing liquid lipstick is my new go to.

Have you tried it yet?

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