Lipstick Mistakes That Are Making You Look Older

Lipstick has the power to instantly make you appear years younger, especially if you're at a certain age and your lips start losing pigment. A pop of pink or even a subtle peach gloss can do wonders for livening up your face. However, you may start noticing that once you begin maturing, some shades just don't work anymore. Or, the techniques that you used in your 20s aren't holding up in your 50s. Once your lips slowly lose volume, lipstick can start to bleed or feather around the edges, causing an unsightly mess. Wearing lipstick gets tricky as you level up in years and as a makeup artist who has worked on faces of all ages, I can tell you that some mistakes unfortunately tend to make you look older.

You don't have to ditch lipstick if you feel like it's not doing you a service anymore. You simply may just need to adjust the color or add another step to your makeup routine. Once you start avoiding these following beauty blunders, I guarantee that your lipstick will have your pout looking fresh and flirty all day long.

Lipliner is essential in getting those crisp edges around your lips and preventing feathering. It also helps to create an outline so that you can apply your lipstick more evenly, especially if you have shaky hands. Bold liner is the daring trend these days that gives an edgy, full-glam look, but that can add years to your face. When applying your lip color, you don't want to be able to see where the liner starts and ends, as having a dark ring around your mouth will only highlight fine lines and wrinkles.

I suggest finding a lipliner as close to your lipstick shade as possible. It can be slightly darker but try not to use one that's visibly so. And, when you line your lips, don't use the point to draw the outline. Instead, hold the liner at a downward angle and use the side of the tip to feather it in. You can even fill in most of your lips so that you have a nice base color and once you apply your lipstick, the two will blend seamlessly together.

Playing around with various lipstick shades is oh-so fun and by now, you've probably amassed dozens of tubes in your makeup kit. However, if you don't want to add years to your face, you'll want to ditch the dark colors and opt for something brighter. A too-deep lipstick can weigh down your features and look overly garish. It can also make your lips appear thinner, as there is less reflection on them. So, if your favorite colors are a deep burgundy or maroon, ditch those for lighter colors.

You also want to pay attention to your skin's undertone. If your skin looks more pink, then you probably look better in cool shades, like mauve and fuchsia. Those with warm undertones will want to try neutral colors or peachy pink. Fond of crimson colors? To determine which shade of red lipstick is perfect for your skin tone, consider a berry hue if you're fair-skinned with a cool undertone and an orange-red for deep and warm skin colors.

Many reach for matte lipsticks because they tend to not bleed as much and are long-lasting, but they can make your lips look parched. Matte lipsticks can also make your chapped lips worse, so if you see a tube that promises 24-hour longevity, skip those in favor of more hydrating formulas. The key to looking youthful is having plump, moist lips which means choosing a lipstick with a velvet or creamy finish. The Colour Riche Original Creamy, Hydrating Satin Lipstick from L'Oréal Paris is a great option since it's made with argan oil and vitamin E for extra hydration. Lipsticks like this may not last as long, but with the proper technique, you can make sure your lipstick is budge-proof.

The key to making any lipstick last all day is layering. First, apply a bit of lip balm to combat dryness and blot off any excess with a tissue. Then, feather in the lipliner until about half of your lips are colored. Next, apply the lipstick with a small brush and gently press a tissue over your lips. Put on a second layer sparingly and finally, only blot the very inner part of your lips to avoid getting color on your teeth. Your lips will be set for the entire day.