10 Ways To Help Your Make-Up Last Longer

When you’ve spent time applying your make-up, you want it to last the distance. With Megan Bedford’s tips, you’ll look your beautiful best all day or night.

- Megan Bedford

It’s long been a goal of the beauty industry to achieve make-up products that require minimal, if any, touch ups – lasting from the moment you put them on in the morning until they disappear down the sink at night.

The degree of success depends on what you’re after. Many items claim eight, 16 and even 24 hours of wear, but whether you’d like the state of your face after wearing them for a full day and night is another story. Many long-wear products feel thick and uncomfortable, look chalky and settle in lines well before their expected “expiry” on your skin.

There are some winners however – products and approaches that extend the life of your look and, if they do start to migrate, wear off evenly, rather than leaving drop-down, smudges and that dreaded “ring-fence” perimeter of colour around your lips.

The following tips are useful when you’re putting your face on for a big event where you know you won’t have time to touch up, or for everyday wear if you’re averse to monitoring your make-up.

1 SKINCARE IS KEY

One of the most common complaints about long-wear make-up is that it emphasises and exacerbates dry skin. Ensure they work for you by following a mantra of cleanse, exfoliate and hydrate prior to picking up any make-up, so you’re starting with an ideal canvas. Get rid of any flakes and unwanted texture by using a gentle AHA or physical exfoliant at least once or twice a week, or try giving face (and lips!) a gentle massage with a facecloth in the shower, which will have a similar effect.

A few minutes before you’re ready to do your make-up, apply a nourishing moisturiser to lock in hydration and plump out fine lines. Glow Lab Brightening Exfoliator, $15. Shiseido Benefiance Day Emulsion, $111.

2 PRIMER PAYS OFF