Red lipstick is iconically vintage and all things glamour but honestly, it can be a little bit temperamental. Whilst wearing a red lipstick, you want to feel fabulous and eating, drinking and general light canoodling can really take all the fizz out of your lusious red pout. Most red lipsticks are prone to smudging, bleeding, feathering or fading but there are ways to help prevent this and extend the life of your lipstick.

Prep your lips with a gentle scrub
Like with many things, preparing a good strong base is essential to making the top coat perform at it’s best. Red lipstick can be pretty unforgiving if you have dry and crusty lips, especially if you use a liquid lipstick, so the best thing to do is to exfoliate your lips. A gentle lip scrub can hydrate and smooth the surface of your lips and create a smoother base for the lipstick to cling to. We all get dry lips and it’s nothing to stress over so look into a good exfoliator and don’t work it too hard, gentle is always best.

Priming your lips
Although this isn’t a step I do every time I wear lipstick, for special occasions, I find it can make a difference. A lip primer helps create a base for the lipstick to adhere to, fill in a few lip cracks and sometimes neutralise your lip shade which can be important if you are wanting a unique colour.
If you don’t want to buy a brand-new lip primer, using a matte concealer and gently dabbing it over your lips can work just as well.

Line your lips with a lip liner
If you are wearing a bullet or cream lipstick, lip liner will be your best friend. Lip liner helps create a seal around your lips which will help prevent colour bleeding and feathering into the skin or into the lines around the lips. A lip liner also allows you to adjust your lip shape and you can take your time getting everything perfect.

Once you’ve outlined your lips, fill in the entire lip with the liner and then go in and add your lipstick. This will help your lipstick last all day.

Blot your lips
Once you’ve applied your lipstick, take a tissue, fold it in half and blot your lips on it (almost like you’re biting the tissue but with your lips covering your teeth when you do so). Once you’ve blotted, add a second layer of lipstick.
Blotting helps remove any excess lipstick and will help smooth out the colour a little better.

Powder to Finish
With a translucent powder, go over the lips with a very thin dusting using either a brush or sponge. This will create a seal and keep your lipstick on all day as it works kind of like a setting spray. If you want your lipstick to have a bit more of a shine, go in with a final very thin layer of lipstick.

By following these tips and steps, your lipstick should be able to last all day. In saying that it really depends on your day and activities; greasy food will effect your lipstick, as will accidentally wiping your lips on your sleeve (sorry mum!). When you’re not wearing lipstick, sometimes wearing a lip balm can help keep your lips moisturized and plup as can a good lip mask in the evenings. I’ve been using this one for years and still absolutely love it.

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a bullet/cream lipstick but if you remember back to this Fatale lipstick review, we covered these steps when testing out some new vintage-inspired colours. Although I mainly stick to liquid lipsticks, whenever I wear cream or bullet lipstick, I always follow the above steps and find my lipstick really does last.

Since our last chat about lipsticks, I have also been testing out some lipstick locks which are a way of sealing your lipstick and making it kiss and smudge-proof. I still need a bit more time to really give these products a good test but hopefully, I’ll have a review for you all very soon.

Blog Details:
Photographer Red Leopard Photography
Lingerie Set from Nordstrom
Nightie from Dotties Delights
Lipstick from Colour Pop
Favourite Lip Scrub
Favourite Lip Liner
Favourite Lip Primer
Favourite Powder
Favourite Lip Mask

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. This page contains affiliate links/codes which aids in funding future reviews.