When it comes to lipstick, I'm something of a slacker. Obviously, I have lipstick, plenty of it - too much, in fact. This is largely because I once read that you should buy lipstick as a treat, rather than, say, shoes or chocolate, so now I buy a new one at least once a month. But the ownership of lipstick isn't what I'm getting at; it's the wearing of the stuff. More specifically, keeping it in place.
I know what I should do, but I'm too lazy. Long-lasting lipsticks are so drying I'd rather not bother, and the less said about lip coats, the better. But it's maddening when a lipstick doesn't stay in place. Gloss is easy to re-apply, but you can't just whip out a lipstick, lipbrush and mirror in a meeting/bar/on the bus, and hope no one will notice. Get your lipstick wrong, and it'll hang around all day, reminding you. Even if you get it right, unless you apply it properly, it will vanish before anyone's had time to notice.
"Start with a lip pencil," advises François Nars in his beauty book Make Up Your Mind. "This fills in your lips and will fix the colour due to the drier texture of the pencil. Using a lip pencil also gives a real depth to whatever colour you apply on top."
If your lip pencil is too dry or breaks, warm it up by applying a few strokes on your hand, says Nars. Liner can be within a shade or two of the lipstick, but only ever use lighter. Dark liner with light lipstick is illegal, as far as I'm concerned. And I don't care if your lips are dark and you think you can get away with it, either - you can't, not ever.
As for making colour last, Nars recommends that you "first outline your lips carefully with the pencil. Then fill in the rest. Apply your lipstick on top. Blot with a tissue. Re-apply another coat of lipstick and/or a touch of gloss. Blotting gets rid of excess lipstick, sets the colour, and helps the application last longer."
Simple, really, and though you've probably heard versions of the same advice before, take it from a woman who used to rub red and pink Smarties on her lips before she was allowed the real thing: this trick works.
