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Lipstick know-how

Five practical tips to stop your lip colour slip-sliding away

24 MARCH 2011

If you've found your lip colour bleeds, or doesn't last as long as you'd like it to, you're not alone. It's a sad fact that lipstick sometimes seems to be more of a 'slipstick', as the colour creeps along the tiny lines and wrinkles that surround the mouth, particularly the upper lip.

Take a look at our practical tips and make this a thing of the past.

• Matte, semi-matte and long lasting formulas tend to have better staying power than glossy finishes and creamy textures.
  
• If you smooth a drop of foundation over your lips before applying your lippy, you will create a better, more even, base, which should help the colour stay put.
  
• Blot your lips against a paper tissue to help fix the colour and make it last longer.
  
• You can also finish off with a fine dusting of translucent loose powder to set the lip colour, although you may find that this leaves a slightly sticky sensation.
  
• Use a lip liner pencil – either in your own natural lip colour or the colour of the lipstick you intend to use, depending on the desired effect – to outline the shape of the lips. This creates a slight barrier which helps stop the colour bleeding.