How to Make Your Lipstick Last 10x Longer, According to a Celebrity Makeup Artist

Every step in a makeup routine has a purpose. Concealer covers imperfections, foundation evens your skin tone, and mascara makes your eyes pop. Lipstick ties everything together; it makes a statement in bold color and draws attention to your face. Commonly the last step of doing your makeup, it literally and figuratively completes a look. So when you look in the mirror just a few hours later to find that it has all rubbed off, it’s definitely a disappointment. Do you really have to settle with having lipstick on only for the time between application and eating a meal? Or running to the bathroom to reapply it every time you take a sip of water? Thanks to celebrity makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes, the answer is no, you don’t have to.

In a video she shared on TikTok (@Katiejanehughes), the pro beauty guru advises applying a light layer of lipstick as a priming base before applying your lip color as normal. Hughes uses a clean, fluffy eyeshadow brush to apply the priming layer of lipstick. She swipes the brush in the lipstick and then uses a circular motion to distribute the color onto her lips in a sheer layer. From this priming base, you can apply lip liner if desired, followed by your normal application of lipstick. “By building things in little layers and blending them in each layer, you will get a better longevity out of that color,” she says. The base layer will better hold onto the more full coverage layer of lipstick so that it stays put, but even if some does rub off throughout the day, the bottom layer will still expose your lip color of choice.

Related: 20 Best Primers for Mature Skin

More Tips to Get That Perfect Pucker

The priming layer is key to making your lip color last longer, but improving your lip look actually starts before you apply any lip color at all. Like, the night before. Having moisturized lips is crucial to achieving a smooth application of lipstick, but applying lip balm right before you put on your lip color will create a slippery base that the color easily wipes off of. Instead, lather up the lip balm before you go to bed so that you wake up with hydrated lips that have already absorbed the balm. This way, you’ll have a dry base on which to apply your lip color.

Related:30 Best Lip Balms for Soft Lips

Be sure to build your color in layers, even after the initial priming layer, and blot the extra color off in between. Hughes recommends spreading your lipstick over your top lip, pressing your lips together to transfer the color to the bottom lip and repeating that a few times. Alternatively, you can place a tissue between your lips and gently press down with them to blot off some of the color and dry it up. Then continue to build in layers, blotting in between, until you get your desired depth of color. To gloss or not is up to you.

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