Making Your Bold Lipstick Last

Contrary to belief made popular by my admittance to being lazy across social media, there was a time where I used to get ready almost every day of the week. That meant combing through my eyebrows, actually brushing my hair, and putting on clothes that weren't pajamas. I would say clothes that I didn't wear three days in a row, but honestly, I'm an outfit repeater. I mean, that's what Monday/Wednesday/Friday and Tuesday/Thursday classes exist for. Nobody knows that you wore the same thing in a row besides you and that one kid that somehow is in all of your classes.

Anyways, I digress, back when I used to get ready, I wore a lot of lipstick. Like, a new color for each outfit that somehow perfectly matched or coordinated. It was weird. I also wore a lot of dark and bold lipstick because I thought it was fun and suited me. And other than "what the hell are you wearing on your lips" (mainly when I wore my darkest colors that could've been a black lipstick or those times that I did actually wear a black lipstick), I got asked a lot how I got my lipstick to last without smudging or bleeding or fading off in patchy sections.

Now, I'm not good at many things, but I am good at keeping my lipstick on, especially my boldest shades.

Line your lips

It is true when I say that I don't own a lip liner and never have, aside from maybe one red liner from Covergirl ages ago. I personally hate lip-liner on myself, however, this is totally a helpful step, especially if your issue is that lipsticks bleed on you. You could either try to find a good match to your lipstick in the form of a lip liner...or you could actually just use a small lip brush and use the actual lip color you're using and outline your lips in that. I know a lot of people like to use nude pencils or concealer around their lips as well to really carve out the shape and ensure that there is no bleeding of the color, especially with a deeper shade.

Layer and blot 

This is, honestly, what I think keeps my lipstick going strong all day. It's a process. Sometimes you just can't swipe one layer of a color on and call it a day. If you really want it to last, you have to apply it in thin layers and build it up. Even if the pigmentation of a lipstick is great and it opaque in one swipe, it's more about building a stained base for the top layer of lipstick to set on. If I'm using a bold, let's say, fuchsia color, I apply a normal layer on my lips and grab a folded tissue and will blot it off until it looks like a faint stain. I normally do this one more time until it's a less saturated version of the color in the tube. Then, for the top layer, I apply it like normal and make sure everything is precise and looks neat and tidy. 

The blotting can be tedious, but it gives you a stained base so that if your top layer does wear away, there will still be color underneath and not just your lips or a really faded version of the color you're wearing. The blotting also gives your lipstick something to stick to rather than your natural lip texture. It's important to be careful not to apply too much or blot too hard where pieces of tissue get stuck on your lip because you still want a smooth application without any build up, so definitely stick to thin, even layers and you'll be all set!

Make sure it's dry before you do anything

Seems simple enough, but how many times have you put on lipstick in a rush and then have gone to do something and it smudges everywhere? Take a few extra minutes to either wait for it to set in or just grab a notebook or something of the sort and gently fan your lips. This goes for liquid lipstick and regular lipstick. It just helps seal everything in and make sure that it's settled into your lips and not settled somewhere else around them.

What's your favorite bold lipstick to wear?