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Editor’s note: This dark lipstick tutorial post was originally published in January of 2015. It has been edited, updated and published anew to include new photos and video but the tips, tricks and tools are still the same! 

Hi ladies! Thank you SO, SO much to those of you who took my reader survey last week. There were so many helpful pieces of feedback and ideas for the year ahead – I can’t wait to get started on them! In fact, that’s what I’m doing today! You asked for more makeup tutorials, so here goes. I’m bringing an oldie but a goodie back – with a major upgrade of new photos AND A NEW VIDEO!

One of my early readers told me she STILL follows this tutorial all these years later, so now that I have a bunch of new followers of the blog, it’s basically my duty to make you aware of these easy makeup tips. Why? Well, I STILL use these tricks for applying dark lipstick so that it both pops and stays.

I included the earlier photos at the bottom because it’s kind of interesting to see the change in a person over exactly 3 years but this post is brand sp

So, what are my secret weapons for the perfect lipstick application? Exfoliation, a crisp cupid’s bow, lip liner (ALWAYS) and powder. Read on for my simple dark lipstick tutorial and let me know what you think about the new video – I’m really proud of it!

TOOLS YOU NEED:

• Lipliner + Lipstick: My favorite dark lipstick in winter is a pinkish berry since it goes with my pale skin. Here I’m using MAC’s liner in Magenta and Lipstick in Girl About Town (same one from 3 years ago).
• Loose Powder + Powder Brush: I prefer Make Up Forever HD Loose Powder.
• Tissue + Cotton Round
• A white/nude kajal pencil: Yes, you read that right. You need a kajal pencil, and NOT a gel liner. Think a cheapo Wet n’Wild pencil liner or this one I got from Target by Essence for under $2.

DARK LIPSTICK TUTORIAL:

1. Exfoliate your lips with a scrub or a toothbrush a couple times a week. I don’ t know about you but my lips get so dry in winter, and nothing looks worse than dark lipstick with all kinds of flakes in it, so this is a really important step. Don’t skip it! Wet a toothbrush and brush your lips to slough off the chapped skin. If you want to spend a little money, a gentle lip scrub works too – I like this one by Fresh but it’s pricey.
2. Line your cupid’s bow in the shape of an ‘x’ with the white or cream kajal pencil. I learned to do this in beauty school, and it really makes a huge difference if you want that sharp and crisp angle on your top lip. Trace an x starting at the peak of the bow and stroking downward on each side. Use a cotton round to blend. This area will appear lighter than the rest of your lips but that’s okay. You’ll cover it with liner and lipstick in the end but the bow will be delineated and bright underneath!
3. Line lips with dark liner and then fill them in. This is the most important step. The liner will stain the lips a bit so even if the lipstick comes off, you’ll still have a touch of color on. Plus, the liner gives the lipstick a base to grab onto so that it holds still. Without it, the color isn’t as rich, and the lipstick can bleed outside of your lips or get easily spread to other parts of your face. Like the cupid’s bow step, trace your top lip with an x first, and then draw a horizontal line across your bottom lip. You can go over these a couple times to really solidify the center of your pout. Now fill in the rest of your lips so that the entire mouth is covered in lip liner. I know it’s called “liner” but trust me. Putting it all over your mouth is key for keeping it on.
4. Apply lipstick over fully-lined mouth.
5. Seal it in with translucent powder. I’m serious! Fill up a powder brush with translucent powder – even baby powder will work – and blow off the excess. Put a thin tissue over your mouth and rub LIGHTLY back and forth over your lips. The powder will transfer through the tissue without getting caked into your lipstick and will set the color in place.Place a tissue over your lips and with a fully loaded powder brush, tap powder over the tissue. The particles seap through and help seal the lipstick.
6. Touch up cupid’s bow with the dark lip liner.
7. Voila! Done!

Now get dressed up and get out there you gorgeous thing, you! AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WATCH MY NEW VIDEO!!

THREE YEARS AGO!

Back when I knew nothing about photography and blogging….EEK!!!

Speaking of easy makeup tutorials, if you missed my recent Tasteful Glitter Makeup Application lesson, take a look at that too and let me know in the comments or via email what else you’d like to see!

And what do you think of my new video? I’ve taken all your video feedback to heart and am busting my butt to make these better and better. I hope you like it, and thank you for supporting me in this journey! You gals mean so much to me and I’d be nowhere without you!