#BeautiesOnFire | How To Wear A Black Lip (without looking goth!)

It’s #BeautiesOnFire time again… and I haven’t posted since last week, whoops! Had a bit of an overall life-burnout and got unbalanced on vitamins so I’ve spent the last two weeks mentally and physically exhausted. Conveniently – the beautiesonfire collaboration with the lovely girls involved is always enough to push me into creativity and wanting to put makeup on again.

So I’ve done a bold lipstick post… and I JUST did a bunch of bold colors on my face last week when I used my war paint… so what can I do for this week’s theme: BOLD?

How about a black lip? I’ve never done a black lip. Correction. I’ve never done a black lip for anything but photos for the boyfriend. Not to say he didn’t appreciate these too.

A lot of people are hesitant to wear a black lip. Maybe you don’t want to look goth just because you want a dark lip, or maybe you’ve tried it before and it just looks messy, so today I’ve got 3 tips specific to dark lipsticks and how to rock them without looking harsh or goth (unless you want to).

TIP #1) Clean Base

Whether it’s freckles, acne, discoloration, or just uneven skintone, an uneven base (or no base) can make bold or dark colors look a LOT messier. You’re more than welcome to rock a black lipstick without a base, but if you want that crisp glam look, pull out that concealer and clean up as much as possible to give yourself a clean canvas.

Bonus tip, if you apply concealer over your foundation, your foundation application won’t move the concealer.

If you’re ultra pale like me, you can check out the Hard Candy Glamoflauge concealer in Ultra Light. Or if you’re in one of their other colors too. It was designed to cover tattoos as well as everything else, and a tiny bit goes a LONG way. It’s the only thing I’ve found light enough for my ~N10 skin.

TIP #2) One Focus

While you can definitely break the rules and go bold in two or more areas of the face, one way to really bring out the effects of a dark lipstick is to leave everything else simple. I only used 6 products for this look, and that’s only because one product is two steps.

Keeping clean eyes and cheeks, or adding just a subtle touch of blush rather than a full on contour highlight and blush, can keep the look very soft and pretty, or going for a highlighter only (matte is sometimes better for this, as it’s less distracting) can make it look very glam and avoid that harshness.

I stuck with a very thin eyeliner applied by using a felt tip liner and dabbing between my lashes with the tip to enhance the line and round out my eyes without adding too much attention.to my eyes. Then finished it off with the third big tip, and my personal favorite for making any look a little “prettier” or girlier.

TIP #3) Lashes Lashes Lashes

And I don’t mean falsies, because all but the absolute most natural ones can still risk looking too heavy, though if that’s the look you want, go for it! But a much more natural look is to just pull out your best lengthening mascara, or go for something like the fiber lash mascaras. I used Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof under some old 3D Fiber Lashes on Amazon. These typically come with one tube of sticky gel like a normal mascara, and another of small fibers. You brush on a layer of wet, a layer of fibers, then top it with wet to keep from having fallout.

If you want an extra soft look, brush your lashes straight up, OR up at the center, then out towards the inner and outer corners as you coat the edges. If you feel that your eyes are already bordering on too round, you can pull the lashes out towards the outer corner for a sleeker look to make your eyes look more graceful.

Let’s be real though, I really just wanted to be a gothic princess today. I ❤ my crown.

If you want the perfect lipstick application for any color, check out my guide to rocking a bold lip. It focuses on reds and bright colors, but the tips are applicable to every lipstick you’ll come across. And make sure to click on the logo below to check out our hostess and the other lovely ladies in this week’s blog collab. More are being added so you can always check back! I tend to bookmark hers to make sure I find all the girls over the weekend.

Hey! Let’s connect!
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
also feel free to add me on Facebook as a friend 🙂