7 Expert-Approved Makeup Tips To Pull Off Dark Lips

One look through your Instagram feed and you'll see that striking dark lips are the unofficial makeup choice of the season. From celebrities like Shay Mitchell and Kangana Ranaut to your favourite fashion bloggers, everyone's sporting them. You're certainly dying to try it, if only it wasn't such an intimidating look. Well, not anymore. We got onboard makeup artist Mausam Gandhi to share 7 tips that will help pull off dark lips with ease this season.

1. Base Is Everything

A dark lip really draws attention to the face, especially the lower half of it. Hence, it's important to make sure your base makeup is absolutely flawless when you wear it. Concealer, primer and high coverage foundation are essentials for this so save the au natural look for another time.

2. Prep Time

Never skip a lip scrub before opting for deep toned puckers. "Especially if it's a dark lipstick with a matte finish, scrubbing your lips is important because it shows texture very easily," advises Mausam. "Once you're done scrubbing, a lip balm layer before lipstick will keep your pout moisturised.

3. Every Lipstick Isn't Equal

Dark lipstick isn't a shade - it's a category as it comprises of so many tones from cranberries and chocolates to burgundy and violets. For those who have skin with cool undertones, pink-toned dark lipsticks like purples and berries will suit beautifully. For warm undertones, brown-toned dark lipsticks like brick and cocoa shades will look amazing.

4. All About The Eyes

One of the biggest beauty secrets to pulling off dark lips is keeping it minimal, especially on the eyes, to save the attention for the lips. So this definitely isn't the time to bring out the purple and pink eyeshadows. "I usually pair dark lips with bold, filled-in brows and plenty of mascara, that's all - anything more will make it over the top," says Mausam.

5. Don't Forget A Teeth Check

Nothing is more embarrassing that finding out lipstick has been sitting on your teeth for most of the day. So once you apply lipstick, open your mouth and run your first two fingers through it once. This will get rid of excess product on the inner lip area which will can make its way to your teeth.

6. Balance Your Cheeks

Just like your eye makeup, your cheek area also needs to work harmoniously with dark lips. For this, heavy contouring with a matte terracotta toned bronzer is ideal. "Besides bronzer, avoid using any blush as that will take away from the look of the lips," says Mausam.

7. Always Line

Last, but most importantly, always line your lips before applying dark lipstick. "Dark lipstick has the tendency to leak past the natural lip lines. Since it always needs a neat, precise look, first outline your natural lines, then fill in with matching dark lipstick," advises Mausam.