The Real Reason Your Lipstick Colour Looks ‘Off’ — and How Lip Blush Fixes It from the Base
- Ira Bale
- Jul 23
- 3 min read
By Ira Bale
Founder, Ira Bale Brows – South Yarra & Toorak Village, Melbourne
Ever bought the perfect lipstick — the one you swore would be your colour — only to try it on and think:
“Why does this look… weird?”
Maybe it turns mauve when you wanted nude.Maybe it looks orange instead of soft pink.Maybe it just doesn’t pop the way it did on the model, or in-store.
You're not crazy. And it’s not always the lipstick.
It’s your lip base — the undertone, the texture, and the unevenness you’ve never been taught to notice.
Let’s break down why this keeps happening — and how Lip Blush tattooing (done right) fixes it from the ground up.
The Real Culprit: Your Natural Lip Tone
Your lips aren’t one flat colour.They’re a mix of tones — often including:
Cool grey or purple corners
Uneven patches
Faded borders
Blueish or brown undertones
And even sun damage or melasma around the lip line
When you apply lipstick over all of that? The pigment mixes with your natural tone and shifts — sometimes dramatically.
This is why your “perfect mauve” pulls grey.Your “soft nude” looks brown.And your red? It’s suddenly orange or harsh.
Undertones Matter More Than Brands
You’ve probably heard about undertones in foundation — warm, cool, neutral.But lips? They’re even trickier.
Because unlike your cheeks or forehead, your lips are:
Thinner skin
More vascular
More prone to pigmentation from hormones, ageing, or trauma
This means even high-end lipsticks can’t neutralise what’s underneath.
Lip Blush: Not Just Colour — It's Correction
At Ira Bale Brows, Lip Blush isn’t about “tattooing lipstick on.”It’s about creating the right base, so every lipstick (or no lipstick) looks natural, warm, and balanced.
Here’s how we do it:
1. Tone Neutralisation
For cool-toned or pigmented lips, we start with a correction pigment — often peachy-orange — to counteract dark or purple undertones.
2. Custom Pigment Blending
Once the base is balanced, we layer your chosen tone: rose, nude, coral, soft pink — whatever suits your skin and lifestyle.
3. Shape Restoration
We softly restore blurred borders and add gentle symmetry — no harsh lines, just natural definition.
4. Buildable Layers
Everything heals down softly over 4–8 weeks. We build pigment gradually so you get results that feel real — not like makeup.
Client Story: Parveen, 45
Parveen came in with this exact problem. She loved the idea of wearing a simple gloss or balm — but her natural lip tone was uneven, with blue-toned corners and no visible border.
She told me:
“Every lipstick I wear either disappears or turns this awful greyish-brown.”
We started with one session of tone correction using a warm peach base.Six weeks later, we added her chosen pigment — a custom warm nude with rose undertones.
Now? She walks in with nothing but lip balm on and tells me:
“It’s like I finally have my real lips back.”
Why This Isn’t Just a Cosmetic Fix
Here’s what most people don’t realise:When your lips are balanced and naturally tinted, your whole face looks more awake. You wear less makeup. You feel more confident.And you stop second-guessing every lipstick purchase.
It’s not about looking made-up — it’s about looking right.
That’s what Lip Blush delivers.
Who It’s For
Lip Blush is ideal if you:
Constantly feel like lip colour “doesn’t suit you”
Have uneven, cool-toned, or greyish lips
Want to wake up with a subtle, natural tint
Have lost definition due to ageing or lip filler
Are tired of makeup that only works in perfect conditions
Why Choose Ira Bale Brows for Lip Blush
This isn’t a service we rush. It’s not a stencil, one-size-fits-all result. At our South Yarra and Toorak Village salons, I personally perform all Lip Blush tattooing — and only after a detailed consultation where we:
Examine your undertones
Map your natural lip shape
Select the pigment that will both correct and enhance
Plan for long-term results that age gracefully
Because when it comes to your face, shortcuts aren’t allowed.
Final Word
If you’re still blaming the lipstick — it might be time to stop.
Instead, ask yourself:
“What’s underneath?”
“What’s interfering with the result?”
“What would it feel like to just wake up… done?”
Lip Blush is that answer. It’s subtle, smart, and life-giving for anyone tired of chasing the right product instead of fixing the right problem.
Book your Lip Blush consultation at Ira Bale Brows — South Yarra or Toorak Village.Let’s fix it from the base — so you can finally wear any lipstick, or none at all, and feel completely like yourself.
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