Whether you’re looking for some lip action under the mistletoe or at the stroke of midnight come New Year’s Day, the last thing you want is to be left with smudged lipstick all over your face. As such, it is crucial that you put in the prep work. Plus, if you factor in hours of snacking on canapes and sipping on champagne, that’s a lot for your lipstick to endure. Here, five ways you can kiss-proof your lipstick:
Like makeup on the rest of your face, lipstick adheres better when the skin surface is smooth. To soften chapped lips, use a lip scrub like Too Faced Exfoliating Peach Sugar Lip Scrub, $25, to slough away dead skin cells before applying a generous amount of lip balm and leaving it on for a few minutes.
We like Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Advanced Therapy, $39, plumps and smooths lip. You can do this prior to applying makeup on the rest of your face so that the lip balm has some time to take effect. When you’re ready to move on to your lipstick, simply tissue off the excess lip balm.
One tip that makeup artists swear by is lining your lips to prevent lipstick from feathering and “bleeding” beyond the edges. But don’t stop there just yet. After lining your lips, use your lip liner to fill in the rest of your lips to create a base for lipstick to cling onto as this also helps prolong its wear. Try Urban Decay 4/7 Lip Pencil, $32, which goes on smoothly and has a waterproof formula so it stays put all day (and night).
Needless to say, a matte lipstick is going to less likely slide around and fade away compared to one that’s creamy and emollient. Which is why you should opt for a lip colour in a matte finish to further prolong its wear. Try Fenty Beauty’s Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipstick, $28, which applies like a creamy lipstick but offers a velvety matte finish.
If you don’t have a matte lip colour on hand, go ahead and apply your regular creamy lipstick. All you have to do to ensure that it lasts longer is to blot away any moisture on the surface of the lips. Or you can go the extra mile and place one ply of tissue paper over your lips, then dust loose powder — many pros swear by Laura Mercier’s Invisible Loose Setting Powder, $70 — over your lip colour to set. Reapply your lip colour, blot and dust loose powder again to build intensity.
Finally, turn to Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Seal, $46, which forms a waterproof layer over eye and lip makeup. All you have to do is apply a thin layer over your lip colour and let it sit for a while as it sets. It is also made without alcohol so it won’t strip your skin of essential moisture.