Here's How To Wear A Daring Silver Lipstick

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Lipstick just isn't what it used to be and that's a good thing. A couple of decades ago, reds, pinks, and neutrals were the only acceptable lip hues, unless you were heading for a club or it was Halloween.

Though metallic lipsticks were typically left to supermodels or only seen on the runway or big screen, they've become easier for the average person to get (via Steal Her Style). No longer are unusual colors difficult to find. Now you can find just about any shade online quickly and usually at a decent price if you search around a bit.

Black and green lipstick, while certainly bold options, can signal a goth look and doesn't have the most glamorous appeal. Purple lipstick might be the perfect retro choice and is a cut above the traditional colors.

However, sometimes you want a color that is both intriguing and chic, something you can wear in the daytime to work or lunch and look appealingly subtle or add a little more for nightwear to give off a high fashion style.

Metallic makeup is seriously on-trend this year so here's how you can add silver lipstick to your beauty repertoire.

Don't be afraid to try silver lipstick

Often it's a faulty mindset that prevents us from trying new things, but that's something that can easily be broken. 

Writer Alex Ronan was up for the challenge of donning silver lipstick one night and purchased it thinking it would be a one-and-done situation. She wrote her story for In the Gloss and says it was not only affordable but easy. Ronan purchased a silver lipstick for $1.49 and intended to use it solely for an experiment.

In the end, she liked it so much that she shared that she wears it on the regular now, and now just for late-night events. "No, I'm not going to an excessive amount of costume parties. I've never even been to a rave," writes Ronan. "Instead, I swipe it on to get a drink on a Tuesday night at the bar."

As the old saying goes, you never know until you try it.

You can use silver lipstick on a budget

You might think that anything that's typically reserved for celebrities and models is pricey, but metallic lipstick is actually quite affordable.

Some of the most popular drugstore brands make pretty stunning versions of the color. Maybelline New York Color Sensational Silver Lipstick Metallic Lipstick is $7.50 and COVERGIRL Exhibitionist Lipstick Metallic is a light, soft-looking silver that goes for just $4.50 on Amazon.

If you don't want to invest in metallic lip shades and would just like to see how they look on you, your best bet might be to visit a department store and ask for a free trial. They may try to rope you into a full face-free demo, but they also may let you try on just the lipstick. 

A professional department store make-up artist can also help you select a shade that matches your skin tone, and that can make all the difference.

Start off slowly with silver

There's no hard and fast rule that you have to begin by wearing the most metallic, jarring silver lipstick on the market — though you absolutely can do that if you choose! If you want to dip a toe into the silver pool, you can start with merely using a silver lipliner.

Actress Yara Sayeh Shahidi who played the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson both on the sitcom "Black-ish" and its spin-off series "Grown-ish", showed off her metallic lip liner on Instagram, incidentally, Shahidi was named "best dressed" by Net-A-Porter so knows what she's talking about.

Shahidi had fun with the lipliner, outlining opposing sides of top and bottom lips while filling them in with a natural shimmery neutral shade.

If you choose this option, you can also blend in the lip shade so it seeps right into the liner, creating a more uniform look. Or you can make the liner as striking as it can be, it's all up to you. Make-up is meant to be fun.

Silver is a great fall look

The warm weather is a time of neutral and natural makeup shades. Ideally, in the hot summer months, you wear as little makeup as possible since no one likes to feel greasy or sweaty and have makeup run.

A shiny metallic lipstick can go so well with the deep oranges, purples, browns, and grays of the fall. During the brisk weather of fall and winter, there is also a tendency to wear smoky eyes and darker eyeshadows which look ideal with a light silver lip.

For a more put-together look, you can also mix and match accessories to your makeup (via Glamour). Cold weather additions like gloves and a hat to complement the silver lip. Silver earrings are a nice touch, too (via Mark Schneider Design).

That being said, if you just don't want to wait until the crisp weather arrives, a very light silver lip can be a nice complement to a sun-kissed face.

Premiere silver lipstick at a party

There's nothing like a good party or club night to break out a bold new look. This is the time to grab your most daring silver lipstick and go all out.

"Metallic lips are a focus feature, so emphasizing the lips attracts light," says makeup artist Ashlee Glazer. As always with any lip color, but in particular when the lip color will be the primary focus of your face, it's vital to prepare your lips first."For the solid vampy metallic lip, make sure to exfoliate and hydrate the lips first," says Glazer. "Apply the color generously all over and use concealer or a Q-tip to clean the edges. Keep the rest of the skin clean and neutral."

Finally, when donning a dramatic metallic lip, consider the whole face. "If the focus of your makeup is going to be your lips, pair down the rest of your makeup," Courtney Tichman, the brand manager and director of product development for Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics tells YouBeauty.