Once it’s cool enough out to wear a sweater it’s like all of a sudden everyone and their mother are wearing a bold lip, which is fine by me because I love me some lip color. But for some ladies who want to try a bold lip but haven’t really tried it before it can be a little scary.

Completely understandable . . .It’s by definition a bold look, so if you get it wrong people will probably notice (or at least you will be SO SURE that they did) and that can make you really self conscious. So I figure it’s a good time to lay out my top tips for getting it right.

1. After you’ve applied your usual base and some lip balm, go around your lips with your favorite concealer. It doesn’t need to be super neat at this point, but try not to get too much onto your lips.

2. Blend the concealer in to the area. I like to do this with my hands because I find that the warmth of my fingers makes it blend more easily, and I have more control. Some of the concealer will get onto your lips as you can see in the picture above. That’s fine as long as it’s not enough to affect the color of the lipstick you’re going to apply. You’re going to redefine the shape of your lips anyway.

Concealing the area will make a nice even canvas around your mouth, which means no distractions from the crisp, bold lip you’re going to apply.

3. Next it’s time to line your lips. I don’t feel that it’s necessary to always use lip liner per say, but if you opt to not use lip liner then you should take your lip product on a lip brush and use that to line and define your lips instead. So in other words, you can skip using a separate product, but I always outline them and make sure I get a clean and even shape.

Whether you’re using a lip liner, or just your lipstick on a brush, the key to getting the line right is TAKE YOUR TIME. I know it’s tedious but don’t rush. Plus, the edges of your lipstick are the last area to wear off, so when you go in for touchups you will just need to apply it to the middle and the edges should still be nice and neat. So it might take a minute or two, but you’ll only have to do it once.

4. Now all you have to do is fill in the rest of the lip area with your color. Super simple right?

One last side tip: If you really are self conscious but want to give it a try, start by doing it on a day where you will be home a lot, or where you will be around friends and family who make you feel really comfortable, that way by the time you are out there in the cruel cruel world, you will feel super confident and nobody will dare question your look!

(PS- the lip color is OCC lip tar in “Vintage” isn’t it awesome?)