woman wearing red lipstickCredit : Photo by Terri Cnudde on Pixabay

Ever opened a tube of lipstick expecting the same results as the lipstick commercial? If yes, you'll have the classic example of expectation vs. reality.

You'll also understand why you were taught to draw inside the lines in preschool and why your mother always reminded you to wear lip balm with SPF.

To make the most of our lipstick shades, we present to you the best lipstick hacks you need right now:

1. Lip Care

Lay the foundation for your lipstick by having a skincare routine for your lips too. There's a thin layer of skin on your lips that's making those red blood vessels underneath make your lips look pink or reddish.

As it is skin, you need to slough off the dead skin cells like you exfoliate the rest of your body. But for the lips, you need to be extra gentle.

Exfoliate using a mixture of honey and sugar to get rid of flaky skin on your lips. Remember though, too much exfoliation can make your lips crack and bleed.

2. Always Use Lip Balm

Put on lip balm before your lipstick to lock in moisture. Lipstick tends to dry the mouth, especially matte shades, so remember to apply lip balm before lipsticks and lip gloss.

You can also use a lip primer for your base. Don't forget to look for a lip balm that offers SPF protection.

3. Keep Your Lips Out of the Sun

Your lips don't need a tan! Sun exposure can cause lips to darken and lead to dark spots. 

However, dark spots can also be caused by using cheap lipsticks filled with chemicals and toxins.

4. The Finger Pop

Using your clean index finger, put your finger in your mouth, close your lips around it, and pull your finger out. This will make a fun popping sound and will also prevent getting lipstick on your teeth.

5. We Want Matte

If your new lipstick shade isn't as matte as you want it to be, go for the concealer brush and gently use it on your lips to achieve an opaque look.

6. Dab it on Your Cheeks

For a youthful glow that's worth a pinch, use the same shade of pink lipstick for your cheeks. You don't need to buy a lip and cheek tint because you can use almost any lipstick you have in red or pink tones.

Take some cream blush and swipe the lipstick on your clean palm and blend it with your finger before applying on your cheeks.

7. Seal it in

To make your lipstick last the entire day, finish off with translucent powder over your lip color.

Lightly dust translucent powder on your lips to lock in the color. You may put a tissue over your mouth before dusting for a clean look.

8. Shape Desirable Lips

The trick to making thick lips look thinner is to skip your natural lip line when tracing with a lip liner. Use a concealer around the edges and fill in your lips with the lip liner.

The opposite is true for making thin lips look thicker, trace slightly outside your lips using a liquid lip liner o make your lips appear larger. After filling in your lips with your chosen lip color, finish off with lip gloss for fuller lips.

9. Blot Before Touching Up

In between applications, be sure to blot excess oil on your lips from the previous application. This will make the second application last longer.

10. Nail the Nude Lippie

Nudes are great for the holidays, especially when you're wearing bold prints and bold eyes. For the most flattering nude shade, opt for a shade darker than your skin tone.

Nudes with a pink tinge look great on fair-skinned women, while nudes with orange undertones work well on medium skin tone. For a deeper skin tone, go for a rosy brown shade that's slightly shimmering.

11. Wow with Red Lips

Here's the cardinal rule for choosing the right shade of red lipstick: fair-skinned women should go for a blue-based red lipstick, while those with an olive skin tone will look great wearing a red lippie with an orange tinge.

On the other hand, dark-skinned women should rock a burgundy red lipstick.