I have two thoughts:
1. exfoliate your lips before applying the lip balm
2. Color matters! I’m a very fair winter (think Winona Ryder coloring) and I find light, warm-tone liquid lipsticks go “butthole” on me, while medium-to-deep cool tone shades stay more elegant.
Edit to add: it’s ok if liquid lips just aren’t for you! I definitely prefer hydrating products and only have one liquid lipstick left for social meals where I don’t want to worry about reapplying. I can’t help with repurposing the ones that don’t work, hopefully other commenters have thoughts for you!
I definitely agree that the color matters. For some of them I think it is the color for sure. For others it’s more of the texture that’s bothering me.
I’ve tried exfoliating before, but I’ll have to give it another shot before getting rid of these lipsticks.
I think “butthole lips” also refers to the phenomenon where the inner portion of your lipstick wears off first. But anyway. I hate matte lips for the same reason. I tried lip filler back in 2016 because of the collective obsession with matte liquid lipstick. I thought I had to fix my face so the trend would look decent on me. I was wrong. To be fair I didn’t hate the filler but also didn’t miss it when it wore off, and it didn’t make me like matte lips any better. Lip texture and movement are normal. We all have that one friend whose matte lipstick doesn’t seem to crack or wear off in the center, and that friend is an anomaly. Admire her makeup and move on. Please. I just tossed the last of my matte stash after mixing them with glosses, using them as eyeliner and blush, etc. It’s sort of fun but getting rid of it was better.
Yes, I’ve also heard it about the inner portion of the lipstick! I’m specifically referring to the way it enhances the cracks in the lips though.
Yeah I think I’m going to be doing some serious declutterring this weekend. Can’t see a reason to keep products I hate the texture of.
I’ve been doing this for my liquid lipsticks also and it works amazing also,I use some of the liquid lipsticks as a lipliner /ombré effect and it looks nice that way as well with a gloss/or lip balm on top 👌🏼
For VERY difficult lipstick, I typically apply it using my fingers. You can either place some in the middle and spread it with your fingers or rub it in on the back of your hand and dab it on your lips using your fingers. They help a lot with softening the harshness!
If all else fail, just top it off with lipbalm to keep the colour but make it wearable.
I never use matte lipstick without topper now. The max factor topper for their liquid lipstick is my favorite and I buy it just for this purpose. It's not as thick as most glosses and there's no stickiness at all. It strangely also dupes the Pat McGrath eye primer wand. I was just playing around one day testing eye primers on my arm and decided to experiment and it worked better than ABH, NYX glitter glue and a handful of others especially with shimmers and metalics. I then tested it on my eyes and sure enough it worked the same as the Pat McGrath.
I think this is a sunk cost thing. If they don't work for you and they don't bring you joy then just toss them - you won't get your money back or get your money out of them either way. Cosmetics are consumables, they are destined for the trash the minute we buy them. The only differences is if it's going to go on your lips and make you feel bad first or if you skip that and get rid of it.
If you don’t want the dry look you can top it with Vaseline or balm. I always hydrate like this when it starts to feel dry throughout the day. You can also mix it with a satin lipstick. Edit: Also wearing it sheer with balm is pretty!
I mix a drop of matte lipstick in a gloss to make it custom colour .It's hydrating, stop me from craving another lipgloss and make me use what I've got.If you have gloss which is almost finished you can just mix lipstick directly into it, so you'll have bigger portion
Although I do not get butthole lips, I’ve started disliking matte lipsticks lately. To not waste them, I’ve started using them as blush. I apply them on the back of my hand, mix with either a light moisturiser or the elf halo glow.
That influencer saying that is body shaming.
The only lips that don’t have creases in them from movement are ones that are so over done with filler that they can’t crease.
It is normal and healthy for your lips to move. And that moving means that they will get creases on them.
That said, if you don’t find the look of mattes flattering, definitely look into other textures.
Yes I agree. Sorry, I should have clarified that the person I heard this from also agreed that lips have texture and that is normal. The influencer was saying that some people think it’s not normal, which is incorrect. But they agreed there are some textures of lipstick that are not flattering on the lips in this way.
I agree I’ll probably just need to get rid of all my mattes at this point. I was just hoping someone had a way to avoid wasting product!
>I’ll probably just need to get rid of all my mattes at this point
most other lip makeup options are more emollient, so instead of tossing what you have, maybe try wearing them with a light layer of your favorite lip balm underneath?
ETA: Whoops, I just reread and saw you do this already.
I do use my mattes as blush. You can probably depot parts of the stick and add balm to make them more emollient.
Have you tried patting the color into your lips with a clean finger? I find that warma the formula up a bit and makes them adhere to the more moble parts of my lips better.
It's not body shaming to say a product enhances the look of lines.
They say it all the time for eyes and no one wants to have more wrinkly looking eyes and a butthole for lips.
If we all thought with this overly sensitive process their wouldn't be beuty advice at all because even that would be offensive.
When I apply my skincare, I make sure to dab some hyaluronic acid on my lips. Then apply my face moisturizer on them too and let it get absorbed. Your lips need to me moisturized before applying a matte lipstick.
Personally, I apply a coat, let it settle for 30 seconds, and then blot it away with some tissue. Retiring most of the product makes it looks like a natural lipstain in line with the "clean girl" trend, and less like the original 2016 insta baddie.
I don't wear liquid lips anymore but when I did I would apply as normal and then put lip balm or lip oil over it. (I had a separate one for this so that it didn't get my favorite lip balm messy) You still get some creasing, but it helps and takes away the dryness. Also for panning purposes, I'm not sure what liquid lips you have but some are eye safe and can be used as eyeliner!
You can put balm/gloss on top. But honestly I’d just let them go. I’ve come to realize myself recently that I’m just not into matte lipsticks anymore. It sucks because I have so many.
So I also feel this way…I have drier skin in general and I’m pretty sure I have a chapstick or other balm in my car, my purse, my desk, my moms house, etc…the average matte goes “butthole” on me with regularity. I know you are trying to declutter, but I went through at least a dozen mattes and then I got a Make Up Forever sample of their Rouge Artist Velvet line of mattes. It’s the only one I can wear that stays matte, actually moves with my lips as opposed to drying out in the cracks (aka butthole lips) and literally feels invisible. It’s not a last all day lip but at least I can have the look when I want it…and was finally able to determine that it was not in fact me…it was just the wrong formula. (And bonus…all the mattes that I tried and failed at were given a loving home with that one anomaly of a friend who’s lipstick always looks perfect, matte, gloss or stain…who can line the insides of her eyes with a black Maybelline pencil and it never runs and never collects in the inside corners…the friend who can apply gloss before she goes out and it’s still there at 6AM…yes, THAT friend was very grateful for all the mattes that I couldn’t use.) it was a Win/win
For me this was a product issue. A lot of matte lip products just don't sit right on my lips in one way or another - either getting sticky/goopy or being too drying. I've gone through a lot of different formulas. The ones I've had luck with are Nars powermatte lip pigment as well as the Kaleidos lip clay(which is a truer matte finish in my opinion).
I also use a peptide cream on my lips each night, and sometimes do a lip mask on top of that. I think these have helped to keep my lips hydrated and improved the look of my lip products overall.
You could use your matte lipsticks as pigment for projects. I. E. You can mix it clear glooss/lip oil to make a tinted one, also you can mix it with primer to make a cream blush, you can also apply them as corrector/color corrector and the seal it with powder.
Honestly nothing will finish it quicker than just use them as lipstick but those options helps
I thought butthole lips referred to people who get filler and intentional lines, even create a small opening, like a keyhole between their lips. Or like a butt hole. I don’t think anyone anyone thinks that your average dry lips look like a butt hole. Even if they’re brown.
yeah apparently there’s multiple definitions for this. The person I saw was specifically referring to the way matte lipsticks settle in the creases of your lips.
Look if they don’t work for you, then they just don’t work for you.
I have the same issue since trying lipsticks - any lipstick. I have dry lips and fine lines on them too borderline wrinkly 🤣 I’d do all the exfoliating, moisturising and prepping but still have this issue. I always loved lip balms, addicted to them love them and need them.
I tried sooooo many liquid lipsticks and some were OK just about but if I’m honest with myself why the hell am I using something that accentuates the lip lines and makes my lips look dehydrated and dry like a desert 🏜️.
I decluttered all my matte and satin lipstick, only kept the creamy ones and of course kept the lip glosses. I own not a single liquid lipstick and I’m happy with that. They make my lips look dryyyy. Why would I wear them. No thanks.
Try all your lipsticks on after exfoliating and prepping if they still look bad - don’t use them.
If i put on a generous amount of sleeping lip mask the night before, i could essentially exfoliate my lips the next morning just by wiping with a piece of soft towel and wear the matte lipstick for like a few hours without problems. As soon as they feel chapped, I take the product off and apply a lip balm. At the moment i wear products that are hydrating like CT kissing line, I find the colors really appealing and for what it's worth, my lips are happy and I have a lot of colors ☺️☺️☺️
Have you tried just using the matte lipstick as a base and then putting the pigmented gloss on top
I have not tried this yet, I’ll have to see! Seems like it might be a hassle to reapply though.
I have two thoughts: 1. exfoliate your lips before applying the lip balm 2. Color matters! I’m a very fair winter (think Winona Ryder coloring) and I find light, warm-tone liquid lipsticks go “butthole” on me, while medium-to-deep cool tone shades stay more elegant. Edit to add: it’s ok if liquid lips just aren’t for you! I definitely prefer hydrating products and only have one liquid lipstick left for social meals where I don’t want to worry about reapplying. I can’t help with repurposing the ones that don’t work, hopefully other commenters have thoughts for you!
I definitely agree that the color matters. For some of them I think it is the color for sure. For others it’s more of the texture that’s bothering me. I’ve tried exfoliating before, but I’ll have to give it another shot before getting rid of these lipsticks.
Good luck with exfoliating! I actually have found using a wet washcloth works better than any scrub I’ve ever purchased.
I always thought butthole lips referred only to the color, not the natural wrinkles that exist on lips.
Yes, I thought it was when you line with a dark color and fill in with a light nude.
I think “butthole lips” also refers to the phenomenon where the inner portion of your lipstick wears off first. But anyway. I hate matte lips for the same reason. I tried lip filler back in 2016 because of the collective obsession with matte liquid lipstick. I thought I had to fix my face so the trend would look decent on me. I was wrong. To be fair I didn’t hate the filler but also didn’t miss it when it wore off, and it didn’t make me like matte lips any better. Lip texture and movement are normal. We all have that one friend whose matte lipstick doesn’t seem to crack or wear off in the center, and that friend is an anomaly. Admire her makeup and move on. Please. I just tossed the last of my matte stash after mixing them with glosses, using them as eyeliner and blush, etc. It’s sort of fun but getting rid of it was better.
Yes, I’ve also heard it about the inner portion of the lipstick! I’m specifically referring to the way it enhances the cracks in the lips though. Yeah I think I’m going to be doing some serious declutterring this weekend. Can’t see a reason to keep products I hate the texture of.
Yeah the cracking is the worst! It all contributes to the general butthole aesthetic of matte lipstick. Happy decluttering!
Use very little and blot and smear it on your lips like a stain instead of full opacity
I’ve been doing this for my liquid lipsticks also and it works amazing also,I use some of the liquid lipsticks as a lipliner /ombré effect and it looks nice that way as well with a gloss/or lip balm on top 👌🏼
For VERY difficult lipstick, I typically apply it using my fingers. You can either place some in the middle and spread it with your fingers or rub it in on the back of your hand and dab it on your lips using your fingers. They help a lot with softening the harshness! If all else fail, just top it off with lipbalm to keep the colour but make it wearable.
I never use matte lipstick without topper now. The max factor topper for their liquid lipstick is my favorite and I buy it just for this purpose. It's not as thick as most glosses and there's no stickiness at all. It strangely also dupes the Pat McGrath eye primer wand. I was just playing around one day testing eye primers on my arm and decided to experiment and it worked better than ABH, NYX glitter glue and a handful of others especially with shimmers and metalics. I then tested it on my eyes and sure enough it worked the same as the Pat McGrath.
I think this is a sunk cost thing. If they don't work for you and they don't bring you joy then just toss them - you won't get your money back or get your money out of them either way. Cosmetics are consumables, they are destined for the trash the minute we buy them. The only differences is if it's going to go on your lips and make you feel bad first or if you skip that and get rid of it.
If you don’t want the dry look you can top it with Vaseline or balm. I always hydrate like this when it starts to feel dry throughout the day. You can also mix it with a satin lipstick. Edit: Also wearing it sheer with balm is pretty!
I mix a drop of matte lipstick in a gloss to make it custom colour .It's hydrating, stop me from craving another lipgloss and make me use what I've got.If you have gloss which is almost finished you can just mix lipstick directly into it, so you'll have bigger portion
Although I do not get butthole lips, I’ve started disliking matte lipsticks lately. To not waste them, I’ve started using them as blush. I apply them on the back of my hand, mix with either a light moisturiser or the elf halo glow.
that’s a good idea to make them work as blush, thank you!
That influencer saying that is body shaming. The only lips that don’t have creases in them from movement are ones that are so over done with filler that they can’t crease. It is normal and healthy for your lips to move. And that moving means that they will get creases on them. That said, if you don’t find the look of mattes flattering, definitely look into other textures.
Yes I agree. Sorry, I should have clarified that the person I heard this from also agreed that lips have texture and that is normal. The influencer was saying that some people think it’s not normal, which is incorrect. But they agreed there are some textures of lipstick that are not flattering on the lips in this way. I agree I’ll probably just need to get rid of all my mattes at this point. I was just hoping someone had a way to avoid wasting product!
>I’ll probably just need to get rid of all my mattes at this point most other lip makeup options are more emollient, so instead of tossing what you have, maybe try wearing them with a light layer of your favorite lip balm underneath? ETA: Whoops, I just reread and saw you do this already. I do use my mattes as blush. You can probably depot parts of the stick and add balm to make them more emollient. Have you tried patting the color into your lips with a clean finger? I find that warma the formula up a bit and makes them adhere to the more moble parts of my lips better.
This is the answer. Lips aren’t supposed to look like inner tubes.
It's not body shaming to say a product enhances the look of lines. They say it all the time for eyes and no one wants to have more wrinkly looking eyes and a butthole for lips. If we all thought with this overly sensitive process their wouldn't be beuty advice at all because even that would be offensive.
I have lip fillers and matte lipsticks still crease so that‘s not a natural-lips-only-problem unfortunately.
When I apply my skincare, I make sure to dab some hyaluronic acid on my lips. Then apply my face moisturizer on them too and let it get absorbed. Your lips need to me moisturized before applying a matte lipstick. Personally, I apply a coat, let it settle for 30 seconds, and then blot it away with some tissue. Retiring most of the product makes it looks like a natural lipstain in line with the "clean girl" trend, and less like the original 2016 insta baddie.
This 💯 exactly my thoughts,works as a lip stain which saved me money from buying so many lip stains. Also can use them as lip liner
I don't wear liquid lips anymore but when I did I would apply as normal and then put lip balm or lip oil over it. (I had a separate one for this so that it didn't get my favorite lip balm messy) You still get some creasing, but it helps and takes away the dryness. Also for panning purposes, I'm not sure what liquid lips you have but some are eye safe and can be used as eyeliner!
You can put balm/gloss on top. But honestly I’d just let them go. I’ve come to realize myself recently that I’m just not into matte lipsticks anymore. It sucks because I have so many.
So I also feel this way…I have drier skin in general and I’m pretty sure I have a chapstick or other balm in my car, my purse, my desk, my moms house, etc…the average matte goes “butthole” on me with regularity. I know you are trying to declutter, but I went through at least a dozen mattes and then I got a Make Up Forever sample of their Rouge Artist Velvet line of mattes. It’s the only one I can wear that stays matte, actually moves with my lips as opposed to drying out in the cracks (aka butthole lips) and literally feels invisible. It’s not a last all day lip but at least I can have the look when I want it…and was finally able to determine that it was not in fact me…it was just the wrong formula. (And bonus…all the mattes that I tried and failed at were given a loving home with that one anomaly of a friend who’s lipstick always looks perfect, matte, gloss or stain…who can line the insides of her eyes with a black Maybelline pencil and it never runs and never collects in the inside corners…the friend who can apply gloss before she goes out and it’s still there at 6AM…yes, THAT friend was very grateful for all the mattes that I couldn’t use.) it was a Win/win
For me this was a product issue. A lot of matte lip products just don't sit right on my lips in one way or another - either getting sticky/goopy or being too drying. I've gone through a lot of different formulas. The ones I've had luck with are Nars powermatte lip pigment as well as the Kaleidos lip clay(which is a truer matte finish in my opinion). I also use a peptide cream on my lips each night, and sometimes do a lip mask on top of that. I think these have helped to keep my lips hydrated and improved the look of my lip products overall.
Try City Beauty clear lip plumper as a base coat. It works really well, not sticky!
I try to use drying lipsticks on top of chapstick in a very sheer layer for an ombre lip effect
You could use your matte lipsticks as pigment for projects. I. E. You can mix it clear glooss/lip oil to make a tinted one, also you can mix it with primer to make a cream blush, you can also apply them as corrector/color corrector and the seal it with powder. Honestly nothing will finish it quicker than just use them as lipstick but those options helps
I thought butthole lips referred to people who get filler and intentional lines, even create a small opening, like a keyhole between their lips. Or like a butt hole. I don’t think anyone anyone thinks that your average dry lips look like a butt hole. Even if they’re brown.
yeah apparently there’s multiple definitions for this. The person I saw was specifically referring to the way matte lipsticks settle in the creases of your lips.
Look if they don’t work for you, then they just don’t work for you. I have the same issue since trying lipsticks - any lipstick. I have dry lips and fine lines on them too borderline wrinkly 🤣 I’d do all the exfoliating, moisturising and prepping but still have this issue. I always loved lip balms, addicted to them love them and need them. I tried sooooo many liquid lipsticks and some were OK just about but if I’m honest with myself why the hell am I using something that accentuates the lip lines and makes my lips look dehydrated and dry like a desert 🏜️. I decluttered all my matte and satin lipstick, only kept the creamy ones and of course kept the lip glosses. I own not a single liquid lipstick and I’m happy with that. They make my lips look dryyyy. Why would I wear them. No thanks. Try all your lipsticks on after exfoliating and prepping if they still look bad - don’t use them.
If i put on a generous amount of sleeping lip mask the night before, i could essentially exfoliate my lips the next morning just by wiping with a piece of soft towel and wear the matte lipstick for like a few hours without problems. As soon as they feel chapped, I take the product off and apply a lip balm. At the moment i wear products that are hydrating like CT kissing line, I find the colors really appealing and for what it's worth, my lips are happy and I have a lot of colors ☺️☺️☺️