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What lip products do you find unnecessary in your routine?

Lip primer as I test products on their own, and subsequently, lip liner is not something I tend to reach for either, for similar reasons. I like lip scrubs but find I do enough swatching that I don’t really need a standalone lip scrub (but I still use them as I enjoy them!).

— Christine

35 Comments

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Erica Avatar

Generally lip primers and lip liners. I have them and use them occasionally but they aren’t mandatory by any means. Also lip glosses, lip toppers are pretty useless. I mean I have them but I prefer a lipstick or lip balm. They can be more of a pain than they are worth but I buy them bc I’m a sucker for shiny things but they don’t get the most use lol

Seraphine Avatar

Scrub, liner, primer. As much as I adore lipstick (my favorite of all cosmetics), I don’t use any other lip-related products. I use a face scrub a couple times a week, so I include my lips when I scrub the rest of my face. As far as liner is concerned, I’m not very good at it, so I skip it. And I have an ABH lip primer, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference, so I don’t bother with it.

Mimi Avatar

I love lip liner to keep my favorite fuchsia lip colors inside the lipline. I’ll have to check out a variety of lip scrubs Usually I start at the lower end of a product category and work my way up. Maybe I did not go far enough with these. Suggestions? I need to develop a better habit of using balms as well. But I do like unscented balms the best.

xamyx Avatar

Have you tried ChapStick Total Hydration Scrub? It’s almost like a scrub in a balm; it’s got pretty much all natural ingredients, and a very light minty scent. I use it at night when I wash my face, and don’t bother removing it completely (it’s a sugar scrub, so the granules just dissolve on their own).

The ChapStick Total Hydration balms are good, too, especially the “natural” line. I don’t know if there’s an unscented option, but the ones I’ve tried aren’t strongly scented/flavored.

I keep a lip balm with my skincare products, and that makes it really convenient, and becomes part of the routine.

Miska Avatar

Hi Genevieve,
If you don’t find a lip scrub that you like, you can always make your own. I’ve done this with pretty much any lip balm/treatment in a tube and sugar. I just mix the two in a small container into the consistancy I like. They store/work like a charm. Chances are you probably have some kind of stuff in a tube laying around that you can make into a lip scrub. Just thought I’d share:-)

kjh Avatar

Some l/s stay on and do not feather, without the use of primer/liner. Do not understand why highly emollient black lace rabbit falls into that category. Being old, clear liner can be advantageous…and looking to get used to UD ozone, which felt icky outside the lips. Virtually all LLs require prebalming, or else I look like the mummy. (Like bite agave, better than UD ozone or other primers for that.) I can easily do without toppers-could live w/o glosses, scrubs, or colored liners.

xamyx Avatar

Other than lip balm, or the occasional scrub, I don’t find any lip products “necessary”… My lips are quite pigmented on their own, and unless it’s an occasion/event, I don’t spend much time/energy on my lips. If I remember or feel like making the effort to to go the closet where I store my lip products, it’ll most likely be MLBB shades, which I just slick on. However, if I’m doing a full look, I use liner, primer, possibly gloss…

Lulle Avatar

Lip liner most days – I only use it when I wear a bold or vampy color, and even then, I try to get away with just “lining” my lips with my lip brush coated in lipstick.
Lip primers – I don’t understand why you’d need a specific primer when you have good balms.
Lip scrub – I tried to love them but they’re never as efficient at exfoliating my lips as the good old cotton soaked in hot water trick!

Tracey E. Avatar

I had no idea lip primers even existed! I don’t use lip scrubs, and rarely reach for lip liners. When I do, it’s usually to alter or augment a lipstick shade or to give extra pigmentation once lipstick wears off.

Nancy T Avatar

Honestly, I cannot think of even one! Because I wear a lot of matte lipsticks, plus have a tendency towards flaking lips, I make good use of a lip primer and lip scrub. As I have areas of depigmentation around the edges of my lips, I usually wear at least a shade that matches my lips pretty well. Leaving lip gloss. I do use it and like it sometimes, but it’s not an absolute necessity, I guess.

Deborah S. Avatar

I use it all. I prime my lips if I am going to be wearing a lipstick that exaggerates my lip lines. I use a wax, clear pencil to create a more definitive border (as you age the defined border begins to thin and disappear, I know, sorry to tell you young women that!!) and a complimentary lip pencil to assist in keeping pigmentation when the lipstick wears off. I do exfoliate my lips and admit to loving it also, Christine. I rarely use lip gloss and always use a balm at night and under or over liquid lipsticks.

Lesley Avatar

I think I need them all. I have an asymmetrical mouth and lips getting thinner as I age so I really need lip liner. I use primer sometimes as it helps the lip liner go on more smoothly. I find scrubs helpful as well although I am not so diligent about using them. Frankly there are so many steps to making my mouth look decent that I don’t always bother with lip color at all. I just swipe on some Burt’s Bees tinted balm in red dahlia. Since my taste for make-up was formed in the 60’s — heavy eye make-up and no lipstick (or white lipstick or concealer on the lips !!!!), it doesn’t look strange too me. But I am trying.

Miska Avatar

I do not see a point of a lip primer. The ones i’ve tried have not made a difference at all. To me, primers have the texture of the Elmers paste that kids used for crafts back in the day. I always use a balm of some kind under my lipstick but I cannot deal with lip primers leaving that gross glue-like layer on my lips. Are they all like this, maybe I haven’t found a good one yet? Also, I only use lip liner for a dark or bold lip look or to increase the
longevity. But on a daily basis, nope. I have a DIY lip scrub I made (aka a tube of Jack Black lavender balm + sugar) that I use when I think about it. I wash my face twice a day either with a washcloth or my Clarisonic and I religiously go over my lips when doing so. Between that and Lansinoh lanolin balm (it’s actually for nursing mothers but works awesome on chapped lips!) overnight has been keeping my smacker in tip top condition to assault on the daily with a rainbow of lip colors.

Bonnie Avatar

I use something as lip primer, although it’s not always called lip primer, to create a barrier between my lips and the lip color. I do this because my body chemistry changes colors to a pinker version, and the barrier prevents that. I like to apply something pale nude to keep the lip color true.

Miska Avatar

Bonnie,
That has to be annoying that your body chemistry does that. And you say a barrier before your lip color prevents this? Thanks for sharing, good to know. The same thing happens to me with the lippies that are supposed to “adjust to your perfect lip color”. Everything always turns a very loud unflattering pinky fuschia color, yuk. Off subject I have a huge problem with perfumes and my body chemistry. What smells delish on others turns to cat pee on me. I cannot figure out why so many scents do this to me. Damn you body chemistry!!! Lol, but it really does suck.

kellly Avatar

Lip primer? What’s that? I also skip lip liner b/c I have a natural dark line around my lips which I’ve never liked in the first place. I also tend to stay away from lip glosses b/c even tho I like the shine, they wear off so quickly they’re not worth it. I also don’t particularly care for ultra-matte anything to put on my lips. It looks like I cut lips out of felt and glued them onto my face.

Sophie W Avatar

I’ve found that lip primer doesn’t really work for me. I’ve tried NYX and Duwop and have since given up. Same for lipstick sealant such as Lipcote. It made my lips painful and stingy!

Yasmin Avatar

I don’t really use lip liners (even though for some reason I have like 20, thinking I’ll use them but rarely do, I only use them if a lipstick is a touch light), lip primers and lip scrubs. I just use lip balm then wipe it off before applying lipstick so the primer I have never gets used. I have 2 lip scrubs that I actually really should use as my lips are always dry but I just haven’t gotten used to incorporating it into my routine. My fiance complains I take so long to get ready as it is, adding more steps into my routine would just take more time ??.

Brenda C Avatar

I don’t use a primer per se. I use a conditioner on my lips first and a clear lip liner keeps the color inside my lips. Gloss sometimes, it depends on what I feel like for the day.

Alecto Avatar

Glad I read the comments; there were a few things mentioned I hadn’t thought of…

I’ve never before heard of lip sealant, so obviously don’t think it’s necessary. No lip plumpers, because the ones that aren’t simply moisturizing work by irritating the lips — no go. I have a couple lip liners, but I rarely use them. I have a lip primer, but I’m not convinced it does anything. I’ve tried three lip scrubs, and rate them as evenly distributed on a scale of “why bother?” to “eh.” I have exactly four lipglosses, and recently discovered the trick of blotting them gently, layering, then blotting again to get a look very like lipstick, but more emollient (and so will be using them more than I used to); it only appears to work with highly pigmented glosses, so I still have very little use for gloss.

Leslie Avatar

Hmm…..lip scrubs. I mix white sugar with olive oil at home and it’s amazing. I don’t spend money on lip scrubs. I also don’t use lip plumpers. They don’t work. They make your lips FEEL fuller because of the tingling but I see no difference in the appearance of my lips. I don’t use primers either. I use lip balm at night when I go to bed. When I apply my lip products, it’s just lipstick and lip gloss. If I use a liner it’s used as a lipstick, then I’ll apply a touch of gloss.

MissJae1908 Avatar

I don’t care for lip oils or lip tints. I don’t wear makeup often, so when I do, I don’t want a “barely there” lip shade. And as far as lip primers, I use to think the same way…Until I used the Colour Pop one. Now I use it every time I wear any type of matte lip. It makes them more comfortable.

Kim Avatar

Christine- I have always wondered if you skip eating and drinking while testing a lip product. I pretty much always have some sort of beverage on the go throughout the day. If you do skip this I am in awe of you dedication to your job. I am forever breaking the drink station rules at work to stay hydrated. Also I only use lip liners to change the colour of a lipstick, never to actually line my lips. If i got the “right” lip colour to start off with I would for sure skip that step everytime.

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