Prepping Lips For Lipstick

by POPSUGAR Beauty AU 1

"I love wearing lipstick at the moment. I also love the look of matte, which I’ve been wearing, but my lips have been getting dry as the day goes on. When I put lip balm on in the morning, it’s harder for me to get the right coverage. What should I do?" — Jessica

Good question, Jessica! I'm guessing if you've applied lip balm and then tried to do a matte lip straight afterwards that the colour is going everywhere and looking patchy, right? Because of lip balm's waxy texture, it doesn't make a good match for matte lipstick unless the balm has sunk in. The best way to avoid having to wait is to ensure that your lips aren't dry to begin with.

Keep reading . . .Every day, just before I brush my teeth, I give my lips a gentle scrub with my toothbrush to remove any dead skin cells, then I use a rich balm such as Lanolips 101 Ointment ($17.95) all day on the occasions when I'm not wearing lipstick. I also make sure that when I'm cleansing my face at night, that I cleanse my lips using Ella Baché Eye and Lip Cleanser ($39). I follow up with a little eye moisturiser and then a slick of Lanolips again. Getting yourself into a routine like this will ensure that your lips are in really good condition and ready to take on lipstick.

I'd also recommend looking for non-drying lip products — be aware that ingredients such as menthol, camphor and salicylic acid in lip balms can be drying. And, although I wouldn't normally recommend skipping lip liner, when you're wearing a matte lipstick I would avoid it because liners themselves can be drying, too. Here are some of my top non-drying picks:

• Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick, $50
• Revlon Matte Lipstick, $21.95
• Innoxa Couleurs D’ete Summer Matte Collection, $14.95
• MAC Matte, $36. Add this over the top of your favourite lipstick for an instant matte effect.

Image by Willy Vanderperre for Vogue China Collections F/W 2011