Happy Thanksgiving, if you celebrate it! My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is getting to spend time with my family, as well as eating my weight in delicious food (isn't that everyone's favorite thing, though?). But I've been wracking my brain all week about how to make sure my lipstick doesn't end up all over my mashed potatoes or something, and I've come up with a few tips for making sure it stays put.
STICK WITH NUDES & NEUTRALS
This isn't really a tip for longevity per se, but nudes are not as high maintenance as a bold lip color. When a nude shade close to your natural lip color starts to fade, it's not super noticeable. But if you're wearing a bolder color, it might smudge outside your lip line or fade unevenly. Using a color closer to your natural lip color ensures you won't need to run to the bathroom to touch up your lipstick after every bite of turkey.
USE A LIP LINER
Lip liners are meant to make your lipstick last longer, so I'd highly recommend taking advantage of that. Drier/waxier formulas like the MAC Lip Pencils or the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheats last forever, so keep an eye out for those. I like to pick a shade that matches the lipstick I'm going to be using, and I'll not only line the outer edges of my lips, but I'll also fill in my entire lip with the liner. This ensures that if the lipstick does begin to fade, you still have an even color underneath, so the fading won't be noticeable. But the liner gives the lipstick something to grab and hold onto, so fading should be minimal.
USE YOUR FAVORITE MATTES
It's pretty much a universally-known fact that matte formulas last much longer on the lips than creamier options. They can be a little more drying, but as long as you prep your lips with a scrub and a good balm, you should be fine. I'm starting to feel like lipstick formula longevity is kind of a personal thing, like mascara - something that works well on me may not on you. But one of my favorite matte, long-lasting options is the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipsticks (the little disclaimer was specifically for these, as I've heard people say these don't last on them, but they stick around for ages on me) for a traditional bullet lipstick. I'd also really recommend a liquid lipstick - these typically stick around forever until you remove them with an oil-based remover/cleanser (so definitely not a good choice if you're eating anything really oily). Some of my favorite long lasting formulas are the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks (review), the Jouer Lip Cremes (review), and the OFRA Long Lasting Liquid Lipsticks (review).
SET WITH TRANSLUCENT POWDER
If you don't want to take my advice and want to use a creamy lipstick rather than a matte one, you can always set it with a little bit of translucent powder. This will mattify it, but it doesn't feel as drying as a typical matte lipstick. I use a small brush like the Real Techniques Setting Brush lightly loaded with a loose powder, lay a tissue over my freshly-lipstick-ed lips, and lightly tap the brush over the tissue to filter a tiny amount onto my lips. This seems like a super old school tip, but it really does work.
What are your favorite long-lasting lipsticks, and what are your tips for making your lipstick last longer? What's your favorite Thanksgiving food?