10 Common Liquid Lipsticks Struggles And How To Overcome Them

 Pictured are my lips struggling with dryness, as I was out of town and forgot my favorite lip mask! 

The liquid lipstick craze is here to stay. Nearly every makeup brand has added liquid lipsticks to their lines, and they regularly add new colors to keep you hooked and coming back for more. Your favorite celebrities and beauty gurus continue to collaborate with different lines to produce fresh and interesting shades, providing options for women of every skin tone and style. Once you’ve had your first taste of liquid lipsticks, it’s difficult to go back to using anything else.

While liquid lipsticks are a complete beauty game changer, they can also be a real pain to put on. Makeup novices and experts alike can struggle with achieving the perfect application, and it’s easy for your lips to accidentally get a little crazy looking. It’s not an easy product to take off if you need a re-do, so removing your lippie in order to try again can result in ruining your entire face of makeup. These 10 liquid lipstick struggles are supper common, whether you are just starting out on your makeup journey or have been glamming for decades. There are quick and easy solutions to all of these problems, so get ready to master the liquid lipstick look and achieve your perfect pout.

1. Your microscopic mess ups are extremely noticeable.
The downside of having a really bold, opaque lip color is that any tiny booboo is going to stick out like a sore thumb. If a slight breeze blows by your elbow while you’re applying your lipstick, you can see the resulting microscopic imperfection from across the room. It feels impossible to get it perfect on the first try, and adding layers and layers until it’s even just results in you having liquid lipstick on up to your nostrils.

Solution: Correct mistakes by running concealer around your lips.

Instead of attempting to remove your teeny tiny mistake or even it out with extra lipstick layers, cover it up with concealer. A high coverage concealer will completely erase any errors and no one will be the wiser. Blend the concealer out with a brush for flawless finish, and never fear a liquid lipstick mess up again.

2. Your lips feel super dry.
Your lips are cracked and dry like you’ve been stranded in the desert without water. You’ve tried chapstick and moisturizer under your liquid lipstick, but nothing is really doing the trick.

Solution: Hydrate your lips with a luscious lip mask.

Liquid lipsticks are inherently drying- some brands more so than others. If your lips and skin tend to be on the dryer end of the spectrum, you might need a little secret weapon to prevent drying and cracking. Apply a lip mask before your lipstick, and your lips should stay smooth and gorgeous all day long.

3. Your lipstick starts to flake after a short time.
After an hour or two of wear, your lipstick is completely dried out and begins to flake off. You can’t fix this problem by applying a fresh coat, because you no longer have a smooth canvas to work with. Additionally, adding a second coat will just encourage additional flaking once it dries.

Solution: Exfoliate your lips prior to lipstick application.

Your liquid lipstick is causing your dead skin cells to fall off in public, which can be a little horrifying. Use a lip scrub- an exfoliator designed specifically for your lips- to naturally slough away those dead cells and prevent flaking.

4. You look like a corpse.
That shade that seems to flatter everyone on Instagram makes you look like you’re in complete organ failure. You try filter after filter, but nothing helps bring your lips back from the dead.

Solution: Skip the gray toned nudes.

Pink and peach toned nudes are flattering options if your coloring makes you look sick in grayer shades, and deep mauves and dusty roses tend to look great on everyone.

5. Your color bleeds on to your face.
Your lips initially look gorgeous, but melts or feathers onto your skin throughout the day. You love your liquid lipstick colors, but you need them to stay in place so you don’t look like a melted wax figure by lunch time.

Solution: Use a clear or skin toned pencil to reverse line your lips.

This acts as a barrier around your lipstick and prevents spreading, feathering, and bleeding. Blend it out with a concealer brush for a perfectly sharp lip line.

6. Your lips feel sticky.
It feels like your liquid lipstick never completely dries all the way. If you push your lips together, you get those annoying little strings of lipstick when you pull them apart. You look gorgeous as long as your lips don’t touch, but you do need to be a functional human being who eats and talks.

Solution: Set your lips with a tiny amount of powder.

The powder will help absorb any extra moisture on your lips and prevent your lips from sticking together. You’ll achieve that super matte look and your lipstick should stay in place all day.

7. Your lipstick looks translucent.
The lipstick you bought just doesn’t have that opaque, full coverage look you’re after. You like the color and feel, but a translucent lippie will always lack a little something in the drama department.

Solution: Apply lip liner all over your lips.

A thin pencil will work OK, but you may need to stop and resharpen once or twice. Opt for a thick lip liner all over your lips for quick, complete coverage. Apply your liquid lipstick over your lip liner for an amazing, opaque look, with none of your skin in sight.

8. You look way overdone.
Full glam is a great look for some people, but it’s just not your thing. When you use a liquid lipstick, you tend to look really overdone, and you aren’t sure how to remedy that without removing your lipstick all together.

Solution: Tone down your eye and cheek make up.

If you don’t like full drama everywhere on your face, pair your bold lip with a nude eye and a subtle cheek. This will give your look some balance, and you won’t accidentally scare yourself every time you walk past a mirror.

9. You look like the Joker.
For some reason, you can’t apply liquid lipstick without accidentally channeling the Joker. Your lips look wide and crazy, and you can’t seem to master this look despite your endless attempts.

Solution: Only over line the center of your mouth.

Despite what you might see on social media, you really can’t draw on giant lips and have it look natural. If you want to over line your lips for some extra pout, only do so around the center of your mouth- above your cupid’s box and below the center of your bottom lip. This technique will give your lips some extra drama without creating that wide, Joker wannabe look that is definitely not cute.

10. You can’t stand the matte look.
You want in on the liquid lipstick craze, but you just aren’t a matte girl. You don’t like how matte finishes look on you, so you’ve been sadly sitting on the sidelines while everyone else enjoys their new lippies.

Solution: Choose a satin or lacquer finish.

The majority of liquid lipsticks come in a matte finish, but girls who like a little shine don’t have to be completely left out of the fun. There are satin and lacquer finishes to give your pout that extra super sexy kick.