Don't let your mask wipe the smile off your face. Try these long-lasting lipsticks instead
Expert tips from a Bollywood-approved makeup artist
It was my first day meeting my new colleagues at the office. Excitedly, I took off my mask to greet them… and presented a grisly scene. The perfectly lined and filled-in lipstick I had left home with was smeared across my face like the Joker in The Dark Knight. Rushing to the restroom, I managed to bail myself out by quickly dipping my pinkie into my concealer (which I thankfully carried in my handbag) and dabbing around the edges of my lips to blur away the mess.
Masks are going to be a part of our lives for a while now (as they should be), making fellow lipstick addicts lament. I know what you’re thinking. Why not just wear matte liquid long-lasting lipsticks and stop whining? Sadly, most of them make my lips dry and flakier than a week-old Malabar parotta.
I shared our ordeal with celebrity makeup artist Neha Parmar who has worked her magic on Natasa Stankovic, the fiery Mirzapur stars Harshita Shekhar Gaur and Sheeba Chadda, and even Mary Kom.
With her help, we hunted down long-lasting lipsticks and added a few hacks to help them last through the day.
Exfoliate your lips
Skincare lovers found their new BFFS this lockdown – the exfoliators. They help you get rid of chapping and cracked lips, keeping them hydrated. Exfoliating the top layer of dry and dead skin will allow your lips to retain more moisture, stay plump and hold onto the product smoothly.
So start your makeup routine by prepping them up with some lip scrub. Parmar says, “Smooth lips provide a clean base allowing the product to stay for long”. Add rich moisturising lip balm before you go in with your lipstick or liner to extend the staying power of your lip colour. Whip up your own scrub at home or invest in a well-formulated cosmetic product. Just remember to be gentle with your application.
Grab your lip liner
Skipping lip liner is almost as bad as skipping breakfast in the morning. “Outlining (your lips) restricts the lipstick from bleeding out, making it last longer than you imagine,” claims Parmar. Pick a product that meets the tint of your lip shade, and start from the centre working your way to the outer edges.
Embrace a matte base formula
We aren’t recommending you try the liquid mattes that cling to your lips for hours. Spending forever wrestling with your oil-soaked cotton pad to remove red stains is the last thing you’ll want to do after a tiring day.
If you’re a serial lipstick dater, then choose a formula that’s creamy enough to stay longer than your balmy lipstick and doesn’t make your lips scaly like the liquid mattes. Then blot and press it with your finger. Blotting soaks up the oils and emollients while leaving the pigments intact.
Your loose powder trick never gets old
The loose powder and tissue paper hack is as classic as ’80s Bollywood music.
For the ones who are new to the game – to lock the moisture in your lips, hold a thin sheet of tissue over your lips and gently dust some translucent powder on top of the tissue. Lift the tissue carefully and voila, your lipstick is mattified.
Run out of long-lasting lipsticks? Use these quick hacks to save your smile
Whether you’re all set to go on a socially-distanced date or a trip to your nearest grocery store, sometimes no matter what you do,you end up messing up your lipstick.
Makeup saviour Parmar suggests some ‘quick fix’ tips to prevent SOS mode:
- Have a few Q tips, at your fingertips. You can dip it in your pocket vaseline or makeup remover and clean off the excess along the lines of your lips.
- Blotting paper removes the excess product sweat on your upper lips.
- Instead of swiping the smudged lipstick stain left and right along the perimeter of your lips (because this isn’t Bumble), push the smudge into the center. This will prevent the formula from getting rubbed in and staining your skin and when you reapply, it will look just as good as your first application.