How do I make sure red lipstick stays on?

There's never a bad time to break out the red lipstick, except perhaps if you're planning to wear it all day long with only the lipstick tube and a prayer. Wearing red lipstick is all fun and fancy until it's wiped off on the rim of your glass and left behind on each bite of party snack. Feathering, smudging, fading, or the tragic teeth marks are the signs of lipstick gone wrong. Luckily, there are ways to set yourself up for success with beautifully bright lips that last all day and all night.

Follow these 5 steps for how to make red lipstick last way longer.

1. Exfoliate

The key to smooth application is to start with a good base. Exfoliating helps to ensure that lipstick glides on easily and looks good. Many people deal with dry lips at some point, regardless of time of year. Using a sugar lip scrub creates both a hydrated and smooth surface for any lipstick to adhere. The gentle scrub will buff away roughness and leave lips soft with its conditioning ingredients, which helps combat post-lipstick dryness afterwards, as well.

2. Prime

A step that is often skipped, priming is essential for optimizing the wear of your lip color. Whenever a time arises when you need lipstick to last hours (and withstand elements like sweat), you need to start with a primer. It creates a prepped canvas and helps lock down the color on your lips for longer-lasting wear. A lesser-used technique—but helpful in a pinch!—is using matte concealer in lieu of primer, which also neutralizes the natural pinky tones of the lip to enhance the true tones of a lipstick color.

3. Line

Liner has always been, and will continue to be, the most important step in the lipstick-applying process. It's the best way to ensure lipstick won't bleed or feather outside the natural lips and into fine lines, especially when humidity or eating are factors. When using red lipstick, feathering creates a messy look that's hard to constantly fix, making lip liner extra important. Pro tip: Instead of just lining the outer edges of the lips, fill in the entire lip after lining the outer edges to ensure you'll get that longer-lasting color all over. Just make sure you're using a similar or matching color!

4. Blot

If the goal is setting up your red lip for long-lasting success, it's the blot and repeat that matters. After swiping on the first coat of your red lipstick, use a tissue to gently blot the color. Then, apply a second coat of your lipstick. It works even better if the second coat is applied in a "dab and twist" manner to get rich red color in every crease and crack.

5. Powder

This trick is only necessary when you really need lipstick to last hours and hours without touch-ups or having to worry. Using a translucent powder, gently swipe a very thin dusting over the applied red lip. Just as it sets your face makeup, it'll make sure your lipstick will stay for good. You can even then dab a final coat of your red lipstick over the powdered lips for a pop of color and even more reassurance.

No matter the color choice—nude, pink, red, or Cindy Crawford brick-brown—we guarantee your lipstick routine will be sealed tight after using these foolproof tips.

With holiday party season in full swing, there’s nothing like a bold red lip to get you in the right mindset and the right mood. But how to make lipstick stay in place—and away from your teeth—through multiple sips of champagne? We asked the makeup artist behind Dakota Johnson’s epic bold pout, Pati Dubroff, to share her method for achieving the perfect lip—and making it last until the party’s over.

First and foremost: Prime the area. “Prepping with a light balm is important but needs to be done in advance,” says Dubroff, who suggests letting the balm absorb to properly moisturize the skin before applying any color. If lips are feeling a little dry, try buffing the flakes away with a toothbrush and a lip scrub, like Fresh’s Sugar Lip Polish. Once lips are clean and excess balm has been wiped away, “apply a base coat of color straight from the tube to the center of the lip,” Dubroff says, and “press lightly with your finger to distribute over the whole area.” Then, to hold the color in place, define the lips with a pencil of the same shade.

Next, add another layer of lipstick, then blot with tissue to help remove leftover pigment. To make the lipstick last even longer, repeat this process a few times to ensure that the color is pressed and locked into the skin. Finish off with a light dusting of loose translucent powder applied with a small brush along the edges of the lips to guarantee a flake-free look that won’t budge—even through mistletoe kisses.

Herbivore Coco Rose Lip Conditioner

Fresh Sugar Lip Polish

Kevyn Aucoin The Flesh Tone Lip Pencil in Bloodroses

Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in 400

Nars Cosmetics Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour SPF 15

Chantecaille Lip Chic in Wild Poppy,

The 13 Best Selling Red Lipsticks of All Time

1

/ 14

Photographed by Angelo Pennetta, Vogue, September 2015