Wearing Dark Lips.

I have to say that I wasn’t a big fan of wearing dark lips until recently – and now I can’t get enough! It’s taken me until the age of 23 (a month shy of 24) to get used to wearing vibrant colours on my lips, so I thought I’d share some tips and tricks for anyone in the same boat.

My lips are usually in pretty bad condition, not chapped but not looking too healthy either! I always start off by using the Lush Popcorn Lip Scrub (£5.50) for its salted caramel goodness. This is lovely and light but really exfoliates the lips, and you can lick it off afterwards. I always follow this with the NUXE Reve De Miel Lip Balm (£9.50) because it’s just dreamy; you can use it overnight like a mask, alone applied lightly or even under lip products as it sinks in so well.

I then pick my colour, right now I adore the Benefit Hydra Smooth Lip Colour in Lip Service (£15) which glides on beautifully and has a slight shimmer, so it’s much easier to wear. I also really like the Topshop Lipstick in Hedonist, which I don’t think they make anymore, but the Heartbeat lipstick is quite similar, or the YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick (£25) in shade 50 – both of these make my teeth look super white!

I apply the lipstick using a really fine brush, like the Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush (£7.99) – I load up the brush with product, sort of flattening the brush against the bullet to make it really flat and fine. Then I get right up close to my mirror, stretch out my lips in to a Joker-esque smile and get to work – this makes sure the lipstick doesn’t sink in to the creases of the lips.

I spend a few minutes tracing the outer line of my lips and then fill them in, usually with the actual lipstick bullet. Then I tap off the colour a little with a tissue and reapply for maximum staying powder. I usually find my application isn’t as good as it could be, so I go in with some concealer and a fine brush and just clean up the lines a little if I feel it’s necessary.

I’m not the neatest person on earth but I think this works best for me, and you sort of get in to a routine with it so the whole process doesn’t take long at all!

Any tips for applying lipstick as neatly as possible?