Fall has come and gone, but my pastel lipsticks are nowhere to be found. Instead, I’m standing out from the spring break crowd with dark, vampy lips, which give my mouth some major attitude. My inspiration is none other than Lorde, soulful singer and goth lipstick queen. But dark lips come with a number of issues: bleeding out of the lip line and staying on through the night, to name a few. The products and steps below will ensure your pout stays perfect, even if – like Lorde – you’re performing all night long.
1. Pat any translucent powder all over the lips. This will make your lip color pop, as well as help it stay on longer.
2. Apply a purple stain over the lips – it’ll show a bit through the darker lip color and give you the kind of dimensionality Lorde tends to rock. I like Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush.
3. Blot the topmost layer of color off with a tissue, another tactic to ensure staying power.
4. Dot a dark lip product – like OCC Lip Tar in Black Dahlia – on the hand so it will be easy to apply with a lip brush.
5. Use a lip brush to fill in lips with the dark lip color. The OCC product comes with its own mini lip brush.
6. Use the tip of the brush to smooth out any imperfections, especially near the cupid’s bow. Since the lip color pops so much, any errors will be obvious!
7. All finished! Stand back and make sure there are no smudges from afar.
