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We tried Wonderskin’s bestselling ‘peel and reveal’ lip stain – here’s what happened

The semi-permanent product is designed to give your smackers an all-day tint

Ellie Fry
Monday 04 September 2023 06:41 EDT
The coveted stain has gone viral for its longevity
The coveted stain has gone viral for its longevity (Ellie Fry/The Independent)

Finding long-wear make-up that actually works is always a gamechanger. From full-coverage foundations to waterproof mascaras, perfecting such formulas is no mean feat. There’s usually a compromise for longevity, whether it’s in the product feeling dry on the skin or proving difficult to remove.

So, when a long-wear buy goes viral, our ears prick up. Case in point: Wonderskin’s wonder blading lip colour. After enjoying sell-out success in America, with thousands of five-star reviews on Amazon’s US site, the coveted product landed in the UK in 2021 and dominated our TikTok feeds at the time.

The multi-step kit is a peel-off lip stain that claims to last all day long without any budging, feathering or smudging. Aiming to deliver the colour pay-off of a lipstick and the longevity of a stain, it also claims to be water-resistant, with no need for any touch-ups.

These are big promises, considering even the most long-wearing of lipsticks will usually need some TLC throughout the day. The staining process is rather unusual, as it involves applying a bright blue lip masque (not the final shade, don’t worry) before peeling it off to reveal the long-wearing colour.

There is some method to the madness. Wonderskin uses what it calls “liquid blending” technology to infuse colour into the top layer of the lips, before locking it in place with a sealant.

Think of the semi-permanent lip stain as an alternative to microblading, for serious longwear that doesn’t transfer or fade throughout the day. The whole kit is alcohol-free too, so it shouldn’t dry out your lips.

With such huge claims, we put Wonderskin’s bestselling lip kit through its paces, following the multi-step instructions to a T, to give a fair verdict. Read on for everything you need to know.

(Ellie Fry)

How we tested

We used this lip kit on exfoliated lips, as strongly suggested by the brand, and judged the results on longevity, colour pay-off and coverage, as well as our experience of using the kit, from the instructions to the product itself.

Wonderskin peel and reveal wonder blading lip stain

wonderskin results.jpg
  • Best: Natural-looking lip stain
  • Shades: 22

How it works

The lip kit has two stages, or three if you include exfoliation. First up, you’ll need to buff away any dry skin with a lip scrub to ensure even colour pay off and long wear. Then you apply two to three coats of the lip masque, making sure to cover every part of your lips. After waiting 10-45 seconds, depending on the colour intensity you’d like to achieve, you spray your lips once or twice with the activator spray, before peeling off the blue film to reveal the final look.

The process

The first thing we noticed was that the instructions for the Wonderskin kit weren’t hugely clear. There’s plenty of tips on how to achieve the best results, but we had to read over the steps a few times to get our heads around all the timings. That said, once we’d cracked the details, it was an easy kit to use, considering it’s quite technical.

The lip masque feels really soft and nourishing on the lips, with a pleasant fruity scent, but the formula itself is quite difficult to apply evenly. We kept experiencing blotchy areas where the product just wouldn’t stick to our lips, despite exfoliating beforehand. To combat this, we’d suggest working quickly but in thin layers, allowing the first coat to dry evenly before applying the second. You do need three coats to completely cover your lips in pigment, as the brand advises. The applicator is quite long and thin, which makes it difficult to hug the contours of your lips when applying. We think a doe-foot applicator would have given better results.

We didn’t notice any irritation or stinging while we waited for the masque to set, and opted for the full 45-second period to achieve the best colour pay-off. Applying the activator spray is quite messy, as it’s a heavy spritz rather than a fine mist. The whole bottom half of our face got wet as we aimed for our lips but, luckily, the spray didn’t disrupt our foundation or powder, so it wasn’t a deal-breaker.

After leaving the activator to do its thing for a few seconds, we managed to peel the blue film off with ease. This was definitely the most satisfying part of the process, as we were keen to reap the benefits of all our efforts. There was no blue residue left on the lips, and the film peeled off in one fell swoop, making it a mess-free process overall.

The final result

The shade “adore” left us with a just-bitten red tint that looked really flattering on the lips. Long-wearing lip products can often feel uncomfortable and drying, but our pout felt soft and hydrated and the pigment covered our lips evenly. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, after eating pasta for lunch, about an hour after applying the lip stain, the colour faded significantly to a barely there hint of pink. At this point, we felt the need to reapply the kit, which is a real shame, given it’s supposed to last all day whether you’re eating, kissing or drinking. A few hours later, the tint had practically disappeared, leaving us quite disappointed. If the colour had been long-wearing, we’d happily go through this process each morning, but having to top it up is quite laborious.

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The verdict: Wonderskin wonder blading lip colour

Despite slightly confusing instructions, we enjoyed the whole process of Wonderskin’s lip kit, and were impressed by how nourishing it felt on the lips, given it’s such a potent formula.

The initial colour pay-off was impressive but, sadly, for us, it didn’t last. Given this is the kit’s USP, we wouldn’t recommend this product if you’re looking for serious longevity. But if you want a natural-looking lip stain that you’re happy to top up throughout the day, and can handle the process of painting your lips blue each time, this might be for you.

Looking for more nourishing essentials? We’ve rounded up the best lip balms

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