Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment, but after watching folks on YouTube attempt to wear a hundred layers of liquid lippy, I needed to get a piece of the action. So, I tried the 100 Layers of Liquid Lipstick Challenge to see how I would fare. That, and I think I'm way too morbidly curious for my own good.
You see, this isn't the first time I've tried out a wacky challenge. I've also attempted the 100 Coats of Nail Polish Challenge along with the 100 Coats of Mascara Challenge. I always knew I was a curious by nature — heck, I am a journalist after all — but until I discovered these viral challenges, I had no idea how far my curiosity would take me. For those who have no idea what I'm babbling on about, I'll start from the beginning.
Over the past few months, YouTube has exploded with videos of eager folks attempting their own "100 Layers" challenges. I believe it started with the beauty vloggers who wanted to see what a hundred layers (or coats) of certain products looked like, such as fake tan or dipbrow. This swiftly moved onto YouTubers wearing a hundred coats of their entire face makeup. However, the trend segued into vloggers trying out tons of different experiments like 100 Layers of iPhone Screens.
So, I'd done 100 coats of nail polish and 100 coats of mascara — it was surely time to try a hundred coats of liquid lipstick!
The Product
Before this challenge, I didn't own any liquid lipstick, as I'm more of a classic, red lippy kind of gal. I went and purchased a new tube. There wasn't a lot on offer at my local beauty store in the small town where I live, however I ended up with an MUA Luxe Liquid Metallic Lipstick in "Spark." Yes, it's purple y'all! I thought if I was going to do this challenge, I may as well go all out.
I followed the advice of YouTuber and freelance makeup artist Mayra, who seemed to be one of the first folks to try out this challenge. Before she began, she applied Vaseline to her lips and lined them too, so she had a rough outline. After doing the same, I began the 100 Layers of Liquid Lipstick Challenge! FYI, I ate and drank immediately before beginning this challenge, because Mayra's challenge took her almost nine hours. I was really hoping that the product I'd chosen would be fast-drying, because for me personally, nine hours without food or drink is basically my personal hell. Here's what happened.
1 Coat
It's possible that I'm either really bad at makeup or this product is super gloopy (or maybe it's a mixture) because even after lining my lips, they still turned out less chic and looked chaotic.
However, there was one big problem I encountered from early on: The product didn't seem to dry. It was more like a sticky and shiny lipgloss, rather than a liquid lipstick. I waited a few minutes between each coat, had to resort to wafting my face with a notebook, and it still didn't dry. But, I carried on anyway and figured I'd make it work.
10 Coats
By 10 coats, things were getting a little more messy, but my lips looked rad. I felt like a galactic space babe.
The only problem was, the product was getting all over my teeth and in my mouth. I am notorious for getting lipstick on me teeth at the best of times, but this product seemed to have it in for me. Small blobs would occasionally appear on my tongue too, which wasn't the most pleasant of experiences.
20 Coats
I'd thought 10 coats was messy, but when I reached 20+ coats, it was getting everywhere. I'm not normally a messy person (aside from the accidental lipstick teeth accidents) and I was really trying my best not to accidentally ruin it.
But, sadly I am not accident-proof. Yes, that's purple hair stuck to my face and a great, big smudge on my cheek.
30 Coats
At this point I felt my experience was not going the same way as the YouTubers who conducted this challenge. My lipstick was exploding out of the tube and my lips were a monstrous mess.
40 Coats
Although my pout was gloopy and sloppy, I felt I had an ethereal alien vibe going on and that I might get beamed up at any second. It was at about 40 coats that my lips started to tingle, which I figured (unless I'd been using Carmex, which I hadn't) was probably not a good sign.
50 Coats
At 50 coats I knew I had dramatically failed this challenge. My lips were not "solid" and didn't look caked in makeup or as if I could remove the lipstick in a couple of pieces, like the YouTubers' did.
Sure, they were caked in liquid lipstick, but the product hadn't congealed like in the videos I'd seen.
You can see from this lovely image, including some liquid lipstick stuck attractively in my moustache hairs, that it was layering up, but it was still wet in some areas.
The Aftermath
The product was all over the bottle and seeping out down the sides, so consequently it was all over my hands too.
I tried to swipe some product off with my finger, to see if I could remove a large section at once.
As you can see, it barely had an effect, so I resorted to baby wipes.
Conclusively, I'm not sure if it was my overzealous application of Vaseline at the beginning of my challenge, or the type of "metallic" liquid lipstick I was using, but it's safe to say that I totally failed the 100 Coats of Liquid Lipstick Challenge. If I was going to try it again, I would steer clear of Vaseline and I'd try a non-metallic liquid lipstick. Better luck next time, eh?
Images: Phoebe Waller
