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Applying lipstick to dry and cracked lips not only hurts, it leaves little colored rags of skin that do anything but make you look kissable. Vaseline, the best-known brand of petroleum jelly, can help smooth out your lips and is often used a base for commercial and homemade lipsticks. Applying it just before adding lipstick can help your color go on smoothly, but it may also make it harder to stay put.
Benefits of Vaseline
Vaseline, and petroleum jelly in general, has qualities of a lip balm and can help keep your lips feeling smooth and moist. It can help prevent chapping, splitting and dryness that are not only beauty disasters – they just plain hurt. The moisturizing and anti-chafing qualities of Vaseline that help it keep your lips smooth may, however, actually make it a poor base for lipstick.
Problem
For your lip color to last, it needs to sink into your skin a little and have a bit of something to grip. If you apply Vaseline, the color simply slides off. You may end up with a shiny lipstick coated in Vaseline, that didn't put much color on your lips. Vaseline can be used as a makeup remover to take off mascara, blush and lipstick.
Exfoliater
You can use Vaseline to help you exfoliate dead skin off your lips before applying lipstick. Use a finger or cotton swab to apply a little Vaseline to your lips, let it sit for five to 10 minutes and scrub gently with a soft toothbrush. Wipe the Vaseline off and apply your lipstick onto your now, super-smooth lips.
Strategy
If you do need to moisturize just before adding lipstick, use a lip balm that isn't quite so slick. If you only have Vaseline available, apply it and wipe off any extra before applying your lipstick color. You might also try powdering your lips after wiping away the Vaseline to leave a drier surface to which your lip color can adhere.
Additional Tips
Apply a small dab of Vaseline to your teeth before applying lipstick to prevent accidentally coating your pearly whites with red or pink. You can even mix lipstick with your Vaseline to make a cream blush or a light lip stain or gloss.
