Maybelline long wear lipstick

I am not much of a lipstick wearer. The reasons why are plentiful:

1) My lips peel constantly, so I am forever chewing on my lips, thus wearing off the lipstick.

2) I don’t have much occasion to spend in front of the mirror, so when I’m out in public, I like to just wear lipgloss, then I don’t have to worry about my lipstick being half worn off.

3) I have big lips. To quote my friend Tristann, “We big lipped girls don’t like to attract too much attention to our mouths”. That’s not exactly completely the case, I’m mostly too lazy to be constantly maintaining my lip colour.

4) I do, sometimes, worry about drawing too much attention to my mouth for fear it's not properly made up. It’s constantly moving what with the talking and chewing and drinking water, so I can never be quite sure how the state of my lip colour is fairing.

Big Mouth

I tend to stick with neutral colours that don’t show that they have faded or worn off. I also tend to stick with lipgloss so that it’s easy to reapply without a mirror.

When I worked in retail in the early 90’s, I wore red lipstick every day. There were mirrors on the walls, in the dressing room area, and in our stock room. I was always able to monitor the state of my lips, and re-application was completely within my grasp, so wearing a non-neutral was totally do-able. Now that I sit at a desk all day, I don’t have that luxury.

In the mid 90’s, long wearing lipstick became very popular. I tried several brands, but all were very drying and my already dry and peeling lips became ESPECIALLY extra dry and peeling lips.

Earlier this winter, I was able to have some rare me time and went shopping. I wandered in to a store called Ulta. It’s like stepping inside a Sephora. The minute I opened the door, choirs of angels sang out, the light descended and I was floating on a cloud. I just had to stand there for a minute and take in the awe of it all. It was like being welcomed home.

I was looking for a mauve coloured lipstick and a chocolate colour. I happened to pick up this 24 hour lip colour. Since it was a deal, I didn’t feel guilty about wasting my money on something that didn’t work out. The mauve colour is more of a dark wine, and the chocolate is more mocha, but that’s okay, the colours both look good and I’m so pleased with this product.

Maybelline Super Stay 24-hour Color lip colour in Consant Cocoa

I wore the wine colour to Thanksgiving knowing that I would have access to a mirror and be able to ensure that I wasn’t committing any lipstick worn off crimes. The colour DID. NOT. BUDGE. Thanksgiving is the ultimate test for a long wearing lip colour, wouldn’t you think? I didn’t take it off that night (too tired, stop gasping, Mum, sometimes I go to bed without washing my face – it’s okay, I’m still a good person). The next morning, the lip colour was exactly where it was supposed to be. No smudging, nothing. It was like I had just put it on.

The way it works is that there are two ends. One with the colour, the other with a moisturizing lip balm. You paint on the colour, let it dry, then put the lip balm over top. I love it because I can re-apply the lip balm as much as I want without ruining the lip colour. My lips stay moisturized, and my colour stays put. I. LOVE. IT.

The one trick is to make sure that your lips are sufficiently exfoliated, dried off, and naked. I am in the habit of wearing lip balm under my lipstick and one cannot apply the colour with anything on one’s lips or the colour won’t take nor will it apply smoothely.

I have never been more pleased with a lip colour in my life. I am so happy that I ran across it.