In the lip makeup world there are many lip color products including permanent makeup for lips, which is proobably the best solution, but not within all budgets. This review covers the best lipsticks and lip stains for the perfect lip color look.

The idea of lip makeup used to be contained within one product: lipstick. Today though lip makeup, specifically lip colour, is available through lipsticks, lip stains, or even liquid lipsticks. However, liquid lipsticks tend to be messy and wear off quickly. To achieve the same look like a liquid lipstick, users can apply a clear lip gloss over their favourite lipstick instead. This combination will have much better staying power.

The traditional lipstick is what most women still use in their makeup routine. Lipsticks are easy to apply and are almost never sticky, unlike those newer liquid lipsticks. Lipsticks also tend to wear well except the newer long-lasting lipsticks or semi-permanent lipsticks that will be discussed at the end of this review.

Those who want a more natural lip makeup will love lip stains. Lip stains are usually available in a liquid form, and they do just what they say, stain the lips with a sheer colour. These stains cannot be removed and just simply wear off throughout the day. Lip balm or lip gloss should be applied to them because the stains themselves are the only pigment and they are not moisturizing.

L’Oréal Colour Riche Lipcolour
This is an excellent lipstick that is available at drugstores. This line of lipsticks contains 54 shades that give the user plenty of options to complement their individual skin tone and makeup look. There are other drugstore lip colour products that also offer a lot of colours to choose from, but this writer has found that most lines of lipstick offer very few flattering colours, which is not the case with this L’Oréal lipstick. Recently the formula of this lipstick has been improved, and it now includes omega 3, vitamin E, and argon oil to condition the lips. The formula wears very well and doesn’t feel too heavy.

Almay Ideal Lipcolor
This lipstick comes in eight shades. The shade choice might seem like nothing compared to L’Oréal, but the idea behind this product is that the shades can adapt to flatter any complexion and they do exactly that. This writer purchased the shade named Plum, a berry coloured lipstick, and tried it on herself as well as her friends with differing skin tones. The lipstick, even in such a strong berry colour, did not look off or unflattering to anyone. This lipstick contains vitamin E, aloe, and coconut oil to condition lips.

Lorac Sheer Wash
This is an excellent liquid lip stain that is contained in a roller ball container. Application of lip stains, in general, can take some getting use to because they have a thin consistency. This roller ball applicator makes the application much easier because the colour can be dabbed on or rolled over the entire lip. Once the colour is on, the user just has to rub their lips together a couple of times to work the product in. This product is available in three shades.

Benefit Benetint
This is another great liquid lip stain that is available in two shades. This product is applied with a brush instead of a roller ball, and the product overall is very similar to Lorac Sheer Wash and should be applied in the same manner. The choice between these two lip products comes down to which colours in the lines the user prefers. Both Lorac Sheer Wash and Benefit Benetint can also be used as cheek stains.

A note on lip stains: Many available lip stains are contained in a felt-tipped pen applicator. These are horrible for application. Lip stains are made up of concentrated pigments, and these hard felt applicators apply the product too strongly.

Long Lasting Lipsticks or Semi-Permanent Lipsticks and Their Downfalls

This writer has consciously excluded any of the new long lasting semi-permanent lip colours from her review. This writer has tested many different brands and formulations of the new long lasting semi-permanent lip colours. Most have two steps, a semi-permanent colour that is applied first and clear topcoat to keep the colour coat from drying out. The colour that is applied first usually requires one to two minutes of drying time according to the packaging, but sometimes the colour isn’t even dry after those two minutes are up.

While some of these lip colour products have been promising all of them have really frustrating downfalls, one of which is inconsistency. Sometimes these products wear beautifully, but other times, for reasons too difficult to pinpoint to just one cause, they wear very badly. Normal lipstick just wears off, leaving the user with clean lips. These new semi-permanent lip colours tend to flake off or wearing oddly, leaving the user with a dry and cracking film of lip colour left on the lips. This film of worn and icky colour can also only be removed with an oil-based makeup remover, making reapplying cumbersome if the lip colour does not last all day.

A trained makeup artist shares her thoughts on the psychology of makeup and why women choose to wear it.
I can’t speak for all women, but as a trained makeup artist and a makeup lover and wearer of over two decades, I do have something to say about why women wear it.

Allow me to share with you my philosophy on the psychology of makeup.

When I studied Early Childhood Development in college, it was not uncommon for children as a young as preschool age to admire my painted nails and to request that theirs be painted, too.

Feeling Good in Our Skin

As time goes on, most of us begin to settle in our ways when it comes to makeup. We develop routines, must-have products, and what we consider to be “essentials.” While some women prefer to be completely natural and wear no makeup at all, others will not leave the house without a bit of mascara or their favorite lipstick, and others goe even further and have permanent makeup, so they effectively wake up with makeup!

Feeling Attractive

Many women feel that wearing makeup makes them more attractive, and they often feel more confident while wearing it. In fact, according to Psychology Today, a 2016 study revealed that, on average, men were more likely to approach women who were wearing makeup as opposed to those who were not. As a female,I can surely attest to that as I get a lot more attention when I am wearing make up compared to when I go out without it.

The Desire to Look Young

Eventually, as we begin to reach our 30s and beyond, products are marketed to us that promise the fountain of youth to reverse the signs of aging or to at least temporarily mask them or cause them to retreat. Whether they work or not, perhaps we would like to believe they do and will use them either way, just like we believed we transformed into “big girls” the moment we put on Mummy’s lipstick.

Affordable Luxury, Even in Hard Times

Another reason why women wear makeup is because a good tube of high quality lipstick in a color that makes her look and feel beautiful can easily be found almost anywhere from just a few pounds for cheap drugstore brand, and therefore it is a relatively inexpensive luxury that we can still treat ourselves to, even in times of economic hardship. And if it makes us feel better about ourselves and more attractive, then why not!