I love coloured lips but hate it when I 'feel' and/or 'taste' a lipstick or gloss on my lips. As a self-declared fashion and cosmetics victim I'm prepared to endure a lot, but this is something I cannot get used to. Even lip products that are supposedly light weight or 'invisible' (or at least marketed as such) are already too much for me. Fortunately there is a category of lip products flourishing in Asia with products that colour the lips without leaving any product behind: Lip Inks, Stains and Tints. My favourite: a Lip Tattoo...
Apart from Benefit's cult-product "Benetint", several years ago Giorgio Armani Cosmetics was one of the first, at least in the West, to launch a Lip Ink that gave lips a coloured stain without leaving a physical layer of product on the lips. Never saw this kind of product again until I moved to Asia, where lip stains and inks are widely available. Korean Cosmetic brands in particular, trendsetting and groundbreaking as we would expect of them, offer a wide variety of choice.
From marker-like pens to ink-like liquids and from the sweetest pink to the most daring red. Online Korean Cosmetics Heaven 'Althea' even has a specific "Tints" section in the menu of their webshop, which supports the size and significance of this category today:
Lip Tints as one of the main makeup categories on Althea, a webshop that is pure Korean Beauty Heaven (and ships free to Singapore!)
For me, the main advantage of this type of product is that you do not physically feel or taste that you are wearing lipstick (or gloss or anything in between); another advantage is that these lip stainers tend to be long lasting, don't smudge and smear (great for the sweaty tropics!!) and -depending on the colour- give a fresh, natural and playful effect.
Product Review: Skinia "Some Lip Tattoo" in Sugar Pink
One product that I like in particular is Skinia's "Some Lip Tattoo" in Sugar Pink. The effect is very subtle, yet make my lips look like I've had some lip injections or fillers very well done (note: not my own words but an honest remark that I got!), especially when used in combination with a lip liner in a natural colour (my favourite: MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil, colour "Cultured").
This product is pretty unique within the category of lip stains; not an ink or a liquid that stains the lips with some colour (hence 'tattoo'), but a lipgloss-like gel substance that forms a thin layer on the lips that needs to be peeled-off after 5-10 minutes.
So how does it work?
1.) I first use some MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in colour "cultured" to contour my lips, but this is optional. The reason I use the lip pencil is to accentuate the shape of my lips and create a neat and well-kept effect; if you don't use a lip pencil the effect will be more natural and casual.
2.) Apply the product on your lips, that comes in a tube, like you would do with any lipgloss. The texture of the product is quite thick and has a somewhat chemical scent to it. Make sure to cover your entire lips and apply the gloss fast, as the product dries up quickly. Leave on for 5-10 minutes...
...do not press your lips together while the product is drying (see below), the layers of product will stick together -and thus your lips- which makes you look like you walked straight out of a horror movie :)
3.) Peel of the thin layer (above) and voila: a slight hint of colour for a very natural effect that last a few hours through eating, drinking, dancing and sweating in the tropics!
Left: Before (nude lips with MAC lipliner) Right: The Result of Skinia's Some Lip Tattoo
To summarize, from left to right:
Besides the Sugar Pink colour, Skinia offers several other cool shades like Ruby Red, Candy Orange and Rose Garnet. Also a great plus: the Lip Tattoos are Cruelty Free, not tested on animals and vegan.
Skinia "Some Lip Tattoo - Sugar Pink"
Price: 23,80 SGD
Available at BHG Bugis - aLT / Beauty Department,
Bugis Junction, Unit #01-02/100, 200 Victoria Street, Singapore
Online the Lip Tattoos can be purchased through a.o. Korea Department store (find website here)
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