Beauty Clinic: Lipstick advice for 'ageing' lips...

Q. As I get older, I find my lipstick runs away from my lip line and the colour doesn't stay true, or actually stay on very well. Also I have always liked a good bright red but now that doesn't seem to look good against my skin. What can I do? A. These problems occur very commonly as the years go by and, luckily, clever cosmetics and a few tricks can help. Here’s what we would do:

First, keep your lips conditioned. Put a good layer of product on before bed so it sinks in overnight. Try Lanolips 101 Ointment, if you have really dry lips. You will also find several award-winning natural lip balms in our latest book The Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible. (That includes our own Beauty Bible Lip Balm, which you will also find at www.victoriahealth.com.)

Outline your lips and then fill in with Lipstick Queen Invisible Lip Liner, which stops bleeding and feathering and forms a perfect base.

As Lipstick Queen founder Poppy King says, it’s ‘like a police line for your lips that no lipstick or gloss will cross…’

Then apply your first layer of lipstick, blot with a single sheet of paper tissue, and reapply. Don't expect a gloss to last: you need a deeply pigmented (but not densely opaquely matte) lipstick like the range from Lipstick Queen.

Now, which shade of lipstick is right for your skin tone? Skin tends to lose colour as we age and the shades we could wear in younger years may look a tad too garish or harsh. However, as Poppy King says, there is a shade of red for everyone: it’s just a case of finding the right one. We suggest you get yourself to a Lipstick Queen counter at SpaceNK or John Lewis and have a play.

There are of course literally thousands of great lippy ranges out there but we particularly like Poppy’s because lip colour is her passion – all she does all day every day (since she was seven), and it really shows.

PS Just a hint, Lipstick Queen Medieval is a sheer cherry that suits every skin tone. It’s in our make-up bags.

Lanolips 101 Ointment/£11 for 15 g - buy here

Beauty Bible Lip Balm/£6 for 8 g - buy here

Lipstick Queen Invisible Lip Liner/£18 for 0.28 g - buy here

Lipstick Queen Medieval/£22 - buy here