Is Wonderskin’s Viral Lip Stain a Beauty Breakthrough or Just Another Fad?
Main Image – Courtesy of writer
One of the viral beauty routines I’ve been seeing all over my social media over the past few months is the concept of spending more time on the at-home beauty treatments that provide the biggest payoff. The idea is that you set aside some time for these treatments to free up time you would normally spend on your hair or makeup.
One of the most recent additions to this trend has been the Wonderskin Wonder Blading Lip Stain Masque – a lip treatment that applies as an alien blue/purple colour but wipes or peels off to leave a naturally blushed lip that supposedly lasts for up to 10 hours.
Image – Live That Glow
I’m already a big fan of this minimal effort- maximum payoff trend, tinting my eyebrows every three weeks so that I don’t need to use powders or pencils every day, and regularly using my heatless curl kit (which takes around five minutes to put in my hair but the waves last at least one day), to make my daily beauty routine simpler.
So after seeing Wonderskin’s stain going viral on TikTok for what felt like the hundredth time, I decided it was finally time to try adding a lip product to my low effort routine.
Here’s how I got on.
AT A GLANCE
Wonderskin Wonder Blading Lip Stain Masque
- Best for: Anyone who wants long-lasting lip colour without having to reapply throughout the day
- Biggest plus: Gave our reviewer bright, natural-looking colour that lasted for at least six hours
- Biggest drawback: The thin, fast-developing formula needs careful application to avoid an uneven result
- Our verdict: This slightly gimmicky blue masque disguises a genuinely impressive lip product. Our reviewer loved the shade and how soft her lips felt after using it. There’s a small learning curve with application, but the finished result convinced her it was worth the money.
- Our rating: 4.5/5
The product details
The brand claims this lip masque is a “Revolutionary all-day lip color. Transfer-proof. Waterproof. Life-proof.”
And it actually contains some really great skin-loving ingredients, including hyaluronic acid, squalane lactic acid, purified seaweed, and hydra-g complex. It’s also vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, gluten-free, and PFAS-free.
All sounds good to me and I particularly love that it’s cruelty-free.
The product is a substantial 4ml bottle and costs £18.00 from Boots UK /$22.00 from Wonderskin US. Slightly more expensive than most higher-end lip products but, if it does last the whole day, I’d consider that a worthwhile investment.
There’s also a pretty big colour range, with 20 shades to choose from ranging from natural blushes to bright red.
Finally, there are two versions of the product – the ‘peel and reveal’ and the wipe-off version that I’ll be testing out today (in the shade ‘whimsical’).
Image – Live That Glow
According to Wonderskin, the Wonder Blading Lip Stain Masque and the Peel & Reveal Lip Stain Kit are essentially the same product, just with a different application mechanism. The brand recommends the peel version for those who want a more dramatic reveal, but since I like my beauty as low maintenance as possible I’m happy to opt for the wipe-off stain this time.
First impressions
The lip masque arrived in a (slightly battered) slim silver box – just like most other lip products – and the masque itself is housed in a simple white tube with the brand name on it.
I was really surprised by its fragrance, it doesn’t smell chemically at all – which is what I expected. Instead, the scent really reminds me of Parma Violets, very nice.
The texture is thinner than I expected, so I’m going to have to have a very steady hand to apply this – nobody wants wonky lipstick, especially if it lasts for up to 10 hours!
How to apply the Wonderskin Lip Stain
I used the shade ‘Whimsical’, which is described by the brand as a ‘warm rose’ and which looks really similar to my go-to Rimmel lipstick – a sort of mauve shade that really suits my skin tone in winter and summer.
As I mentioned earlier, the colour you apply is a very dark purple/blue that you leave on for around 30 seconds for a light tint, or you can leave it up to 45 seconds for a bolder colour. I opted for the bolder colour and left it on for around a minute.
The application was pretty easy, however the formula is thinner than I expected so you do have to be quite precise.
During using the masque. Image – Courtesy of writer
Also, don’t rub your lips together like you do with lipstick or gloss. I did this instinctively and it transferred the masque from my top lip to my bottom lip so I needed to reapply more on the top to even it out again.
My results
The masque felt fine on my lips, I felt a slight tingle but nothing like when I’ve used plumping glosses.
After leaving it on for around a minute, I used a damp cotton pad (all you need is water) to gently wipe the masque off. This was really easy to do and I didn’t find any flecks stuck in dry patches.
I actually didn’t expect the colour payoff to be this good! As I was wiping I couldn’t believe how natural yet bright the colour was, and how soft my lips felt. It deposited a mauve/pink colour that’s similar to the effect of a temporary lip blush that you can get in salons – without the needles.
I would advise applying this really carefully though, because it will start to develop quickly, and focus on one lip at a time rather than outlining both and then filling in. I noticed going over the masque to reapply more does cause some transfer from the lip to the applicator, but this was easy to fix.
I’m really impressed with this and my results definitely did last for at least 6 hours, far longer than a normal lip tint. I also didn’t experience any of the dryness that some users seem to have when using this stain.
Before and after. Image – Courtesy of writer
What other users are saying
The reviews are quite mixed on this, despite a lot of beauty publications praising it (it even received the Allure Best of Beauty Award). Some people are completely sold, while others found the masque dried their lips out.
On the positive side, one user on Reddit says “I am very lazy, and have little patience for self-care in terms of cosmetics or scrubs/masques so I put it off for a week or two, but man, I am so pleased with the results now that I’ve come back to try again!”
@alanajasminethomas Shade Whimsical ? @Wonderskin ? #wonderskin #wonderskinlipstain #lipstain #tiktokmademebuyit #fyp
Over on the Wonderskin website, another user writes “I’m a convert. It took a few tries to be able to confidently get a nice line and coverage but now I have the hang of it. It starts to fade after 4-6 hours but it fades fairly evenly, at least compared to lipstick. What I really love are the colors (all three I chose look great) and the fact that it does not transfer at all.”
However, one user on TikTok writes “Done all the steps and it just goes patchy I feel like it only works best with lips with filler in! Doesn’t last long either”.
Overall value for money
Despite being more of a budget beauty fan, even I think this is worth the money (I know, I even surprised myself!) The colour payoff is really good, my lips felt softer, and it lasts so much longer than lipstick or gloss.
But, if you’re looking for a different type of lip tint, there are a few on the market.
I’ve been a fan of Benefit’s Benetint Lip and Cheek Stain (£23.50/$28) for years, especially for its versatility because you can use it on your cheeks and lips, and a lot of people are comparing it to Wonderskin’s masque saying it lasts longer.
Fenty also has a lip stain (£22/$28) that’s said to last a really long time, with some claiming it lasted all day even when they went swimming!
The takeaway
I really enjoyed using this masque tint. Is it a bit gimmicky? Yes. But does it work? Also yes.
I love how quickly the colour is deposited on the lips and the shade ‘Whimsical’ is perfect for me – I’d be really interested in trying the other shades.
So, there’s no need for me to carry lipstick around in my bag or try and find a mirror to reapply – this lasts for hours and gives a super pretty, natural look.
