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The beauty team at Well+Good was recently confronted with a near-impossible conundrum: If you had to choose between lipstick and lipgloss for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
Personally, I was stumped. Because how could I commit to only one? I’ve always loved the easy delivery system of a lip gloss, but as I’ve aged up my beauty look, I’ve come to depend on the creamy finish of a lipstick. Then, I remembered that there was a product category out there that would give me the best of both worlds: liquid lipstick.
Liquid lipstick goes on the same way a lipgloss does, but that’s where the similarities stop. In fact, as celebrity makeup artist Natalia López de Quintana puts it, it’s actually the “polar opposite” of the glossy stuff. “Liquid lips tend to finish with a matte or satin texture whereas gloss is glassy and wet-looking,” she explains. “If applied to properly primed lips, liquid lipstick will give you a full day of satin to matte opaque lip color with minimal to no touch-ups.”
For a more glassy finish, you can apply a gloss on top of your liquid lipstick which will make it shine and stay put without sacrificing the integrity of the shade. As makeup artist Daniel Martin revealed at a recent event celebrating the launch of Honest Beauty’s first foray into the category, if you apply a spot of liquid lipstick in the center of your lips and dab it with your finger, it can double as a DIY lip stain. So even if you want a lighter coverage look, it’s got you covered.
In order to make the look last all day long—even in the midst of this squelching summer heat—López de Quintana suggests treating your lips with the same care you would your skin before applying a foundation. “Lips need to be fully saturated with moisture before applying a liquid lip if you don’t want to feel dry all day,” she explains, but adds that you can’t use any oils or balms because the emulsifiers in these types of products will actually remove the color. Instead, start with a moisturizing lip scrub, like Bite Beauty Agave+ Weekly Lip Scrub ($20), then follow up with a lip cream, and a lip oil, like NYX Professional Makeup #Thisiseverything Lip Oil ($4). “Once your lips feel happy and saturated, blot them on a tissue once or twice to remove any extra oil that hasn’t soaked in and begin to paint on your liquid lip.”
This should keep the color immobile all day long, which means that you’ll have to take special care when it comes time to swipe it off at night. “At the end of the day to remove your bulletproof lipstick, roll some lip oil on, scoop out a pea-sized amount of lip scrub and go to town,” says López de Quintana, noting that you may need to use an exfoliating makeup remover wipe to help get the job done.
Here, eight of our favorite liquid lipsticks that won’t make you choose between a gloss and a stick, and that wont budge all summer long.
Lawless Soft Matte Liquid Lipstick ($25)
Lawless’s line of liquid lipstick proves that clean beauty can be intensely pigmented. It comes in 10 matte and one metallic shade, each of which dries into a bright, full-coverage finish.
L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Matte Liquid Lipstick ($7)
One swipe of L’Oréal Paris Infallible will keep your lips coated all day long—16 hours long, to be exact. It goes on opaque, but not thick, and it’s worth noting that, when I swatched every product in this story on my arm for testing purposes, this one was the hardest to get off (in a good way!). In other words, it really does live up to its long-wear reputation.
Giorgio Armani Beauty Lip Maestro ($38)
Sephora describes Giorgio Armani’s latest lip stain as “radiant,” and I personally can’t think of a more perfect adjective. It offers a matte finish, the way other lip stains do, but is also just dewy enough that it will make your lips glisten.
Givenchy Encre Interdite 24 Hour Lip Stain ($33)
If you’re looking for a liquid lip with a more sheer and shiny finish, look no further than Givenchy Encre Interdite. It comes in eight shades that are meant to last up to 24 hours, no matter how much eating, drinking, or kissing you do.
Honest Beauty Liquid Lipstick ($13)
Honest Beauty’s new, all-natural liquid lipsticks offer full coverage with just a little bit of creaminess in the finish (thanks to its hydrating ingredients). Plus, the itty-bitty applicator is small enough that it will give you a perfectly precise application every time.
Clé de Peau Beauté Radiant Liquid Rouge Matte Liquid Lipstick ($50)
For a liquid lipstick that feels a whole lot like a regular lipstick, Clé de Peau’s Radiant Liquid Rouge Matte has got you covered. It has a buildable, matte finish, which can be used to contour lips or give them a full-on paint job.
NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment ($26)
I’ve been wearing NARS Powermatte for months, and while the liquid goes on like a breeze, it dries down to a velvety finish that lasts all. day. long.
Yves Saint Vernis à Lèvres Water Stain Lip Stain ($37)
As if coating lips in the lightest, freshest shellac of color, this water stain is like Spandex for your lips, stretching and moving with them, and providing easy-to-wear color.
To make sure all of your makeup survives the hot weather, try these artist-approved tips. Plus, the only no-foundation foundation our beauty editor will be using until this gross humidity has passed.
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