corpse-y lips

I have a theory, and that theory is that I love buying lipsticks so much that there will always be a part of my brain dedicated to imagining new types of lipstick I don't yet have. For some reason, at the moment I'm really loving the dead-lips vibe, a very romantic look perfect for valentines day!!! (hoho)

These are lip colours which actively work to make you look cold, uncomfortable and sickly - cute! There are three ways to do a corpse-y lip, and I like all of them.

The prettiest version of a dead lip is a pale, extremely cool-toned nude. This one is by the brand Gosh and is called "Darling". This is a UK brand, which came to America and now I think has failed and is going away. The good news on that front is that this lipstick was reduced to $3. I really, really like it - it smells sweet and is really smooth and shiny, but still long-ish lasting. It's an almost grey-toned pink, which completely masks any natural lip pigment leaving you looking like an adorable frostbite victim.

Speaking of grey toned, this is basically a grey lipstick - the OCC Lip Tar in "Sebastian" (which they describe as a plum toned taupe). I just think this is the coolest thing ever. I understand that a lot of people will think this is stupid or gross, but I think some other people love it like me, because it's consistently sold out on Sephora. I love it on its own, but I guess it would also work well as a mixing medium, to add some corpsey vibes to any lipstick. 

 A more traditional take on the corpse lip comes in the form of this Sephora Cream Lip Stain in "Polished Purple". This is the dark purple lipstick - incredibly incredibly long lasting and bizarrely pleasurable to apply. It has a tiny metallic sheen but on the lips it doesn't show up, it just adds dimension to make your lips look fat (and also, phat). It gives a slight hint of just-been-punched-in-the-mouth vibes and also makes you look like you might practice witchcraft in your spare time.

 When wearing a corpsey lip, I like to try to make the rest of my face look very alive, bright, fresh, young etc. Bushy brows (holla) help with this. I also like the curl my eyelashes and wear lots of mascara for eyes like a dairy cow. Wearing something brightening in your waterline is a good idea, because corpse lips plus red eyes does suggest a serious illness, whereas I want to look like I'm pretending to have a serious illness, which is an important distinction. I like the Korres pencil in "Green White", among others, because green is the opposite of red (this is the optical-illusion side of makeup that I just think is so cool). It doesn't look actually green on the waterline, just pale and bright. Spraying something illuminating over your face further contrasts the dead/alive or sickly/healthy vibes. I like the Boots Botanics Rosewater because it gives instant shiny glow, is actually good for your skin, is all natural, smells like roses and isn't expensive. Now looking "dead"-cute is easy (I am hilarious and I won't hear otherwise).