Last updated on January 9th, 2023 at 11:56 am

Welcome to our new series, “Beauty At Any Age”. Very similar to our “How to Wear it at Any Age” series, but instead of clothes, we’re talking beauty products!

Here’s how “Beauty At Any Age” is going to work. Once a month we will pick a beauty product and/or beauty routine and talk about how we each use the product or the routine…..at both our ages. We’ll show you how beauty can be used at any age. Then we will share the products we’ve used to get the look and additional recommendations. You may find that our recommendations overlap, which for this series is ok. Two recommendations for the same product is better than one – it means we both love and use it.

**Please Note: This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on our links. However, we only recommend products that we truly love. 

Beauty At Any Age: How to Wear Dark Lipstick

JEN’S ROUTINE & FAVORITE PRODUCTS

Fall is the perfect time to start wearing dark lipstick! 

For me, any time I’m wearing lipstick that isn’t a nude, I like to go for a liquid lipstick formula. Because somehow, no matter what I’m doing, lipstick will end up on my chin. 

Before even applying lipstick, there’s a couple steps I follow, and you should too! I’ve listed them below, along with the exact products I used to get this look.

Let’s Start Beauty at Any Age: Exfoliate! 

You want your lips to be smooth, so gently exfoliate to get rid of any flaky skin. You can use a soft toothbrush, or a special lip scrub. 

My Exfoliant:

Other Exfoliant Recommendations

Moisturize! 

Use a super-hydrating lip balm to get your lips prepped and ready for lipstick! Apply a thick layer when you start your makeup, and blot off right before starting on your lips. 

My Moisturizer:

Other Moisturizer Recommendations:

Liner! 

Either use a lip liner that closely matches your lipstick, or one that matches your natural lips. Using a lip liner is really important, so you have guidelines for your lipstick, and so your lipstick doesn’t bleed outside your lip line.

My Liner: 
The Lip Bar Vegan Lipliner in Straight Face

Other Liner Recommendations

Lipstick! 

It’s time for lipstick! Using your liquid lipstick, start to fill in your lips, and make sure you’re staying in the lines! 

And if you go outside the lines a little bit, no problem! Wait until your lipstick is dry, and grab a small brush and some concealer to clean up the lines!

My Lipstick:
Maybelline Super Stay Vinyl Ink Liquid Lipstick in Royal

Other Lipstick Recommendations:

DIANNE’S ROUTINE & FAVORITE PRODUCTS

So, one of the biggest differences I’ve noticed between Jen and me when it comes to beauty products is the number of products she can personally recommend versus what I use/recommend. I’ve wondered why and questioned if I should be trying more products?

But then I realized that I HAVE tried a lot of products, over a lot of years. I am in a place now where I pretty much know what I like and what I don’t like (one benefit to being older!). So, you may not see as many recommendations from me, but know that the products I recommend are ones I really love.

My routine for dark lipstick is pretty much the same as Jen’s, especially the first two key steps: exfoliating and moisturizing.

Exfoliating has become more important to me over the years. Just like a lot of things as we get older, my lips have gotten more dry over time. So getting rid of that flaky skin is an important step. And because my lips are dry, I actually exfoliate at the end of the day after wearing dark lipstick. It can tend to get into those little cracks in your lips (even after moisturizing) so it helps to “clean it up”.

My Exfoliant:

Other Exfoliant Recommendations

When it comes to moisturizing my lips, it’s more of a long game. I wish I could tell you that I am consistent and do it every day, but I can’t. But I do try to use a moisturizer, especially at night, several times a week.

What I am good at is using MAC’s Prep + Prime before I apply lipstick, especially dark shades. It’s designed to be worn with lipstick so it’s both hydrating and allows for a great application.

My Moisturizer

Other Moisturizer Recommendations

My Liner:
Maybelline Color Sensational Shaping Lip Liner in Plum Passion

I have a love/hate relationship with lip liners. One one hand, they really do help you “color inside the lines”. But on the other hand, sometimes I make things look more crooked. But I do think it’s important with darker shades. These are the colors that you don’t want bleeding outside of your lips!

Other Liner Recommendations

My Lipstick
Maybelline Color Sensational Ultimatte Slim Lipstick in More Berry

This is the second shade I have used from Maybelline’s Ultimatte Collection. I’ve used the “More Ruby” before and I liked it a lot – which is why I decided to try another shade. It goes on very smooth and the color stays for hours. (You can see how I wore More Ruby in “How to Wear it at Any Age Volume 3“).

Other Lipstick Recommendations

Looking for more lipstick content? Then be sure to check out “How to Pick The Best Lipstick Color for your Skin Tone”.

What did you think about the debut of our “Beauty At Any Age” series? If there’s anything you’d like to see us try, let us know in the comments below.