Fashion

A Complete Beginner's Guide To Applying Lipstick

In my personal opinion, learning how to apply lipstick is one of the very most important things you can do in your life — at least when it comes to makeup. A bright red lip is way simpler than a crazy smokey eye or winged liner, but adds just as much fancy glamour in about a quarter of the time. Naturally, then, I was shocked (SHOCKED) to find out that my co-worker Rosanne had never applied lipstick in her life. NEVER. This was a travesty that obviously needed to be remedied immediately.

In complete contrast to Rosanne's experience, I've been applying lipstick since I was about six years old (though my relationship with the stuff got more serious once I hit high school), which means I've had plenty of time to play around and find out which products and techniques work best. I bullied Ro into volunteering to film a tutorial, but there was no way I was just applying makeup to her face and letting her take all the credit for how good it looked. Instead, I made her put the lipstick on herself for the camera to prove to all you other lippy newbies that you really, truly can pull this off too.

It's not going to be totally painless. I mean, first you'll probably be smearing lipstick everywhere.

However, once you learn the importance of starting with an exfoliated pout...

Fresh Sugar Lip Polish, $24, Amazon

...that lipliner really isn't scary...

MAC Prep + Prime, $18, Nordstrom; NYX Wonder Pencil in Light, $7, Amazon; Lip Liner in Wheels on Fire, $7, Topshop

...and why this is the most crucial part of the whole application process...

Lipstick in Screen Siren, $12, Topshop

...you'll be applying lipstick like a pro. Oh, and it'll last at least until lunchtime, too.

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