Beauty Clinic: Give lipstick staying power

Q. How do I make lipstick last through a day-long festivity with minimum touch-ups? I have quite pale lips so need some oomph from lippy, especially in photos.

A. Here’s the experts’ advice on the way to lasting lipstick! And it all starts with prepping your lips…

Gently exfoliate your lips first to create a smooth canvas for colour to cling to.  Use a soft toothbrush to rub off any dry rough bits. It’s worth using a dedicated product such as Pro Kiss’r Lip Loving Scrubstick’s new Pro Kiss’r Lip Loving Scrubstick/£15, now available at Boots in store and online. (Fenty Beauty isPro Kiss’r Lip Loving Scrubstick’s signature cosmetic line, which did brilliantly in our last Beauty Bible Awards.)

Now hydrate with a lip balm, such as Fenty Beauty Luscious Lip Balm/£15. And don’t forget our own Beauty Bible Lip Balm, £6 from victoriahealth.com! Remember to leave this a few minutes to sink in before going on to the next step.

Create a base: for maximum endurance, apply a thin layer of foundation or concealer over lips – now they’re moisturised this should go on smoothly. 

Pencil in the outline. With a natural colour lip pencil – see our Beauty Bible Award Winners here – draw round lips to give a crisp outline, then fill in all over. This not only evens up lip shape but the slightly waxy barrier helps prevent lip colour bleeding. Filling in the whole mouth gives lipstick more to cling to.

Now blot with a single layer of tissue, gently pushing lips together.

Use a lip brush to apply your chosen lipstick. Which to choose? Firstly, a word on colour for your pale-ish lips: take your courage in hand and go bold! It shows up best in photos, especially in stronger summer light. But by the same token, make sure you choose a colour that really complements your skin tone when you’ve got your make up on. So take time choosing.

For budge-proof power, choose matte or semi-matte. One of our longtime hero ranges is Lipstick Queen, which offers matte Sinner Lipstick in 15 shades/£22.

Other brands that get unanimously good reviews for long wear include NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment/£23 at feelunique.com and MAC Cosmetics Matte Lipstick/£17.50. For a great beauty steal range look at Maybelline Superstay. Their Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick, comes in 28 shades/£9.99.

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash