While lipsticks are non-negotiable in your makeup arsenal, chances are you don’t have the best tips and tricks up your sleeve – especially if you’ve been victim to feathering, bleeding, and smudging. Achieving a picture-perfect pout is far from easy, often requiring you to resort to tried-and-tested tips and hacks that increase the longevity and efficiency of your formula. To ensure your lipstick doesn’t budge all day, we give you the know-how to make your best lipstick last longer and your lips appear fuller.
- Scrub Away
Exfoliation is crucial when it comes to prepping your pucker for lipstick application. Take a lip scrub and rub the grainy formula on your lips in gentle, circular motions for a few minutes. Doing so helps eliminate the dead skin cells and dirt accumulated on your lips, lending a smooth base for lipstick.
- Quench Its Thirst
After exfoliating your pucker, you must restore lost moisture by applying a soothing lip mask, followed by a lip balm or lip oil. Dry, flaky lips and lipstick don’t pair well; hydrated lips hold onto lipstick better, ensuring that the formula doesn’t settle into cracks and creases. Consider swiping on a moisturising lip balm before applying a matte formulation. Hydrated lips also limit bleeding and feathering.
- Prep Your Pucker
If you don’t own a lip primer, your concealer can double up as one. Apply the concealer along the corners of your lips to prevent smudging and bleeding around the edges. You could also fill in your lips with concealer to increase the wear-time of your lipstick.
- Brush to the Rescue
Applying best lipstick with a brush allows for control and precision. You can evenly distribute the formula with the help of a brush, ensuring the lipstick lasts longer since fewer product layers are applied each time.
- Overline Your Pout
Desire fuller, plumper-looking lips? A lip liner is your best friend. This underrated beauty offering helps create the illusion of luscious lips by overlining along the contours of your upper and lower lip, drawing attention to your cupid’s bow. Pick a lip liner that is a shade darker than your lipstick to add dimension.
- Puff and Blot
Once you’ve applied lipstick, place and press a tissue between your upper and lower lip to absorb excess product. Then, puff a translucent powder onto your lips through the tissue and apply a final layer of lipstick to seal in the pigment.
- Loose Powder For Your Lips?
Yes, you heard that right. After applying lipstick, dab a bit of loose powder on your pucker and press your lips over a tissue to eliminate excess product. Now, go in for a second round of lipstick application and repeat this process to ensure a long-wearing look.
- Less is More
If you’re used to swiping on a thick layer of formula over your lips, stop. Stacking thin layers of lipstick over one another will help extend the staying power of your formula. Plus, thick layers take longer to dry, leaving room for makeup mistakes. Evenly spread out, thin coats of lipstick stand a better chance of survival through the day.
- Matte to Last
If you’re looking for a long-wearing formula, a lipstick that lends a matte finish is your best bet. Liquid matte lipsticks hug the contours of your lips much longer than a creamy bullet variant would. Matte formulations reduce the need for touch-ups, too. Ensure you don’t top your matte formula with a lip balm or gloss to limit the possibility of smudging and smearing.
- Cupid Love
If you don’t have a lip liner handy, dab a bit of highlighter on your cupid’s bow to accentuate the feature and create the illusion of fuller lips. Applying lip gloss or lip plumper can make your lips appear more voluminous.
Conclusion
A beauty bag staple, the best lipsticks work as fabulous makeup multitaskers, doubling up as a blush, eyeshadow, and even a highlighter! But remember that parched lips and lipstick don’t work well together. A bit of prep – exfoliation and moisturisation – is all you need for seamless lipstick application, extending the wear of your formula and limiting the need for touch-ups. Besides, there are myriad hacks you can employ to enhance the look of your lipstick for all occasions. Keep your concealer, lip liner, loose powder, and highlighter handy to accentuate the contours of your lips, opt for a mattifying finish rather than a creamy or satin formula for extended staying power, and use a brush to apply lipstick to ensure even distribution of the product that leaves no room for errors. When overlining your lips with a lip liner, pick a product just one or two shades darker than your lipstick for a natural, understated look. Beige nudes and pinks will give your lips a more subtle appearance, while deeper shades, including mauves and browns, can help make your lips appear more voluptuous.
