Problem: I like a sheer lipstick look, but every one I’ve tried (and I’ve tried them all) just feathers into the lines around my mouth and looks like a mess! I’ve tried several of the lip paints, but they look so hard and dry unless you keep applying the glossy top coat, and pencils are useless. I’m too young to have this problem. Is there something out there I’ve missed?
Solution: No, you haven’t missed anything! Sheer lipsticks—which are just glosses in a stick form, and this goes for both the expensive and inexpensive ones—are slippery by nature and don’t stay put. Pencils are helpful, but they can’t block a creamy, glossy lipstick all day. If you have any lines around your mouth, and that’s not necessarily related to age, sheer, creamy lipsticks and lip glosses in general will follow those pathways. Your only option is to give up the notion of a completely sheer look. Try a semi-matte lipstick such as Clinique Long Last Soft Matte Lipstick, Laura Geller Creme Couture Soft Touch Matte Lipstick, or for a more creamy feel with staying power, Max Factor Vivid Impact Lipcolor.
Once you apply it, blot with a tissue until it looks more or less sheer. I know it won’t have the sheen you’re looking for, but it also won’t travel into the lines around your mouth. Don’t try to put a gloss over it; that will only encourage the lipstick to bleed. Matte lipstick isn’t a shield that’s impervious to the effect of the gloss. Gloss creates movement no matter what it goes over.