Wearing lipstick is one of the easiest and quickest things you can do to boost your self confidence. There’s just something about swiping and packing on some extra color on your lips that makes you feel prettier, sexier and just over all more gorgeous in general. We all have different preferences when it comes to our signature / go to lipstick color but whatever your favorite lip color is, one thing is for sure: you want to keep it on your lips the whole day. Sure, you can always touch up when the color starts to fade or transfer but wouldn’t it just be so much more convenient if you could just wear lipstick in the morning and just go on with your day without worrying if it’s still there after you’ve eaten, drank or kissed? Check out these effective ways to make your lipstick stay on for longer and try them for yourself!

• Exfoliate your lips – one of the things that a lot of women forget to do before putting on some lipstick is to exfoliate their lips. It takes about a minute or less to do it and it makes all the difference in the world if you’re trying to make your lipstick stay on for longer. Exfoliating not only gives you smoother and softer lips, it also gets rid of dead skin cells so your lipstick has a nice smooth surface to adhere to.

• Moisturize – lipstick looks better and stays longer on soft, supple lips rather than dry and flaky ones so if you want your lipstick to last, you better moisturize before applying your lipstick on. I like to apply a thin layer of lip balm on my lips and let it set a little bit, about half to a full minute or so,  just before I put on my lipstick and I find that the color stays on longer every time I do that compared to when I don’t.  Don’t apply your lipstick right after you’ve applied balm, you’ll get the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.

• Use a primer – yes, there is such a product as a lip primer that you use to prime your lips so that lipstick goes on smoother and stays on longer but if you’re on a tight budget and you have to money to spare for a lip primer, you can use alternatives. One alternative that I find really effective is to use a thin layer of foundation on the lips before applying lipstick. It creates the same look as a primer and it also helps your lipstick color stay on longer.

• Use a lip liner – some lipsticks, especially red ones, are known to ‘bleed’ and that’s never a pretty sight when you have all the rest of your makeup done perfectly. To avoid this, what you can do is to line your lips. The lip liner acts as a barrier to keep your lipstick in place. You can also line then fill your lips with a lip liner before applying the actual lipstick so that the color is brighter and the lipstick stays longer.

• Choose long wear / long lasting formula – it’s the simplest thing you can do if you really want your lipstick to last all day. There are lots of lipsticks out there formulated to last you from 8 to 24 hours. Some are even water-proof and kiss-proof so you’re sure they won’t transfer or smudge.

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