This is the real reason why your lip tint looks bad (and how to fix it!)
Beauty troubleshooting
Tried to hop on the lip tint trend only to find that the results are patchy? Here’s what to do to fix it.
Has this ever happened to you? You put on a lip tint (also known as a lip stain) thinking, “Gosh, lip tints are such a convenient concept. All you have to do is swipe it on and it’s there to stay! Can’t wait for my lips to look exactly the same at the end of the day!”. Of course, you will only come to find that it’s a patchy mess by midday, clinging to every dry patch in sight and looking not at all as you’d pictured!
Let’s delve into what went wrong here. You were going for the classic K-beauty-inspired bitten lip look. So, you applied it to the centre of your lips, gave it a little tappy tap all the way out to the edges and thought, “Yep! That’ll do it!”.
In theory, a stain should have, well, stained the lips! So why did most of it disappear? It has to do with your prep and your application. When it comes to the perfect lip, it’s all in the priming. Ahead, we’ve devised the perfect routine to help your lip tint stay pristine all day long—here’s the play-by-play:
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Step 1: Start with clean lips
To make sure you’ve got the perfect base for your lippy, you’ll want to start with a clean slate. Ensure that your lips are free of any product, whether gloss, lipstick or lip balm. To do this, you can either cleanse with a gentle cleanser or use micellar water to remove any residual makeup.
Step 2: Exfoliate your lips
The key to the perfect tinted lip is to start with a smooth, seamless base—that means you have to take care of the flaky, dry bits on your pout first and foremost. Using a dedicated lip scrub is the best course of action here, but in a pinch, you can use a wet toothbrush to lightly buff your lips.
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Step 3: Moisturise your pout with a balm or mask
Once your lips are buffed, it’s time to moisturise. Apply a lip balm or lip mask to your lips and leave it to work for at least 15 minutes (overnight is even better!). In this time, you can do the rest of your makeup or your hair as you get ready for the day. Our best tip is to apply your product of choice to wet lips—lip balms and masks are occlusive moisturisers (read: they create a physical barrier over the skin to keep moisture in), so applying them over wet lips will help you ensure your lips stay soft and hydrated!
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Step 4: Blot the balm off with a tissue
Your first instinct may be to go straight in with the lip tint—after all, what was all this prep for, anyway? Well, hold back, soldier—if you go right over with your lip tint, you’re not going to get the results you want. While it’ll look great when you first apply it, the oily occlusive layer will dissolve that pigment as the day goes on, leaving your lips bare at the end of it all (albeit still very juicy!). To make sure your lip tint is going to stain your lips properly, you’ll want to blot any excess lip balm or mask off first.
Step 5: Apply your lip tint (properly!)
The key to getting the perfect application is first applying your lip tint all over your lips—and we mean it! You’ll want to get an even base first to avoid patchiness. Then, buff out the edges using a lip brush or your fingertip for a more natural blend. You can then touch up any areas that need more pigment (i.e. the middle of your lips) as desired.
PS: If you can’t hack doing each of these steps in a row, you can split them up—do steps one through three before you sleep so that you wake up in the morning ready for steps four and five!
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