I stumbled upon it like most beauty hacks these days: down a TikTok rabbit hole. Board-certified dermatologist and mbg Collective member Whitney Bowe, M.D., stopped me in my tracks when she reviewed a video of someone using Maybelline’s Tattoo Brow Peel Off Tint. Rather than applying the formula on her eyebrows, the user traced her lip border with the temporary tint. After letting it dry for a few minutes, she peeled off the tattoo and was left with a naturally plump pout.
“I can get behind this,” Bowe says regarding the groundbreaking trick. “It’s actually safer for the lips than most lip plumpers on the market.”
Several more minutes of scrolling, and I came across Sacheu, a Los Angeles-based beauty brand focused on barrier health. The founder Sarah Cheung swears by this brow tint trick (her video was one of the first to go viral), so much so that she created her own peel off lip liner tattoo.
It’s the same idea as the brow tint (apply, let it set, then peel), but because it’s meant for your lips, it includes nourishing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin E. Imagine a lip liner and a lip stain had a baby—you’ll find similar ingredients to both, like safe polymers and emollients to give the peel off tint its staying power. Sacheu has even partnered with ClearForMe, a platform that allows shoppers to click on each ingredient and discover straightforward definitions and functions.
All that to say: I simply had to give this clean lip liner tattoo a try.
