Alas, I didn’t manage to snag any ColourPop Liquid Lipsticks that day, but I did when they restocked. I only ordered three because I know I’ve never been a huge fan of the general feel of liquid lipsticks before. I love the idea of a stay-all-day kinda lip product, but the dryness associated with them has always made me question prior purchases. Plus, there’s always a bizarre and very distinct line at the edge of my lip line where the liquid product is applied that bothers me. Not to mention, I have very wrinkly lips and it didn’t really occur to me that perhaps some shades might just draw attention to that because the shades I’ve tried previously have usually been darker and that kind of unpleasantness can hide in the shadows nicely.
I’ll start with the shades I ordered and my thoughts and concerns. I ordered “Avenue” and “Creeper” which look fine, nothing special required. I also ordered “Solow” and this is where my real battle began.
Solow, Creeper & Avenue
I should point out that in addition to wrinkly lips, I also have the strangest bottom lip line that is very difficult to find, let alone apply product to nicely. That is an issue no matter what I’m wearing. In the past what I’ve done to aid that, assuming I actually care which is rare, is to apply whatever form of lip color I’m using with a lip brush. In fact, all through high school I think I always applied my lipstick with a lip brush. Weird, I know but I was weird! JSo marry the super crinkly lips with a wonky lip line and you’ve got issues.
My Super Pale Natural Wrinkled Lips
Like I said, “Avenue” and “Creeper” look fine because they are deep enough to kind of camouflage the lines in the shadows of the deeper shade. Not so with “Solow.” It is a beautiful nude-y pink shade and the texture screams “dry, dry, dry!” even if my lips are in great condition. Normally I would probably just say, “Ok, that shade doesn’t work,” and move on, but “Solow” is a ridiculously gorgeous color on my skin tone! Determined to find a solution, I tried whatever I could think of. My thoughts kind of ran out with lots of lip balm underneath and going so far as to buy a dedicated lip primer. None of it worked. I even purchased a similar shade from a different brand (it’s “Committed” from theBalm if you’re wondering), but had the same issue despite a totally different texture. Never did it occur to me to try using a lip brush.
Solow Applied Direct from Tube
Well damn if that isn’t the answer! It solves pretty much every issue I described above. Uncontrollable lip line? No problem. Harsh lines at the edge of the color? Nope. They’re softened by the lighter application of product and almost a bit of blending just from the natural properties of a brush. Lip wrinkles? Gone!!! Well, not literally, but they’re not emphasized. You do see them because they’re there, but they are not terribly pronounced and looking drier than the Sahara. The product itself still feels the same, so if you hate the feel of a liquid lipstick, this won’t fix that. It may improve it a bit because there is not as much product on your lips, but it’s still going to feel dry because that’s just the way of matte liquid lipsticks.
Solow Applied with a Lip Brush
What I do is pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll share anyway. Basically I open the tube as per usual, pull out the applicator and get my lip brush. I take a tiny bit of the product from the applicator and just brush it on to my lips. I’m careful not to load the product on to the brush because that kind of defeats the purpose. You want as little product as possible so that it can’t settle or crack as it dries. I add more to my brush as needed and if I run out of product from the tip of the applicator, I take some from the stem of the wand, or re-dip the applicator. Simple, easy and a bit time consuming, but liquid lipsticks are typically an apply once and your done kind of thing so I don’t mind a bit of extra work in the beginning.
For me, using a lip brush has made liquid lipstick much more enjoyable! The sharp line at the edge of application is nicely blended with little to no effort, no lip liner is needed (though you could add it if that’s your preference), and most importantly my lips don’t look like all life has been sucked out of them regardless of the shade! It’s such a simple fix to a chronic problem that I can’t imagine why I didn’t think to try it sooner. I’m so, so glad that I now feel I can wear “Solow” without feeling like a dried up raisin! J
I hope this has helped some of you if you’re having a similar problem, or encouraged you to try a liquid lipstick if you’ve been concerned about lip lines. If you give it a go, let me know if you have similar result. It has definitely given me a reason to continue lusting after all the liquid lipsticks that seem to pop up on a daily basis. J
