5 Ideas To Stop Your Lipstick From Bleeding

As I have gotten older, I have had to be extra careful about my lipstick bleeding out beyond my lip line.  Many will prefer matte liquid lipstick because it tends to dry and stay put better than a traditional lipstick. However if you enjoy using a regular good old fashioned lipstick, I have got some helpful ideas for you!

Today's lipstick formulas tend to be a bit more emollient and hydrating. This feels nice on the lips, but if you aren't careful it may bleed off of your lips and move into the fine lines around your mouth. 

While there are many methods for keeping your color in place, I have narrowed the list down to my tried and true steps that really make a difference. 

Here are my five favorite tips:

1. Prime your lips - Use a lip primer, or a very small amount of eye primer to coat your lips before adding any color. Apply the primer to clean, dry lips. This will really help lock in your lip color. I highly recommend this step for bridal makeup, or anytime you want your lipstick to really last for a long time.  Too Faced Lip Insurance is a longtime favorite of mine. The packaging has changed a bit from my photo above, but the formula still works wonders. If you don't want to spend extra money on a separate primer for the lips, a dab of your eye primer will do.  

2. Use a lip liner - Apply around the lips first, then fill in lips completely using feathery strokes.  Milani is the best drugstore option, while I tend to favor Urban Decay for a higher end choice.  Whichever brand you use, make sure your pencil is sharpened to a nice point. MyKitco makes the best sharpener, hands down. It is very affordable and available for purchase on Beautylish.com.  Some brands make a clear lip liner that is more waxy and acts as an extra barrier against lipstick bleeding.  Too Faced used to make one called Borderline, but I no longer see it on their site. Urban Decay made a similar product called Ozone. 

3. Use a lip brush - This will prevent you from applying too much product, and help get the lip color exactly where you need it.  There are so many good brands and styles of lip brushes available. If you don't have one, any small, flat narrow brush will do. Above, I have pictured a few of my favorites from Furless Cosmetics, Scott Barnes and Cozzette. 

4. Powder - This can be done around the lips and/or over the lips using a tissue as a barrier.  To powder around the lips, use a small flat brush and press some translucent powder around the edges of the lip line. You don't want anything super emollient or greasy up against your lip liner or lipstick. For example unpowered creamy concealer around your lips will increase your chances of a messy looking mouth. I used a small smudger brush (E20 from Sigma) intended for use under the lower eyelashes. The density of the brush picks up powder nicely and the broad shape helps me press the powder along the lip line without taking too much time. Allow the powder to sit for a bit and "bake" the way many do with under eye concealer and loose powder. While the powder is working its magic, you can work on other parts of your makeup, check email, or spot clean a brush or two.  Letting the powder sit for a few minutes makes such a big difference, so be sure not to skip this step, before gently sweeping away the excess with a fluffier brush. I used the Spectrum Brushes D05 to sweep the extra loose powder away, but any small brush with bristles that are not too dense will work.

Wearing powder over lipstick is a more commonly used trick. Simply pull apart a tissue so that you only have one very fine layer. Next, using a dry makeup sponge (I used the Beauty Blender Mini) pick up some loose face powder. Place the thin tissue over your lips, and gently pat on the powder. The tissue will allow the perfect amount of powder to adhere to your lipstick.  Apply another thin layer of lipstick, using your lip brush, before moving to step five below. Note: If you want extra help with making your lipstick stay put, you can follow up with the brush technique around your lips too, which helps create a very subtle highlighting effect around the lips. 

5. Blot - If you only use some of these tips, that is OK. Your lipstick can still look lovely as long as you apply in thin layers and remember to blot off any excess. Blotting helps press the color into the skin of your lips and removes extra product that leads to it migrating onto the surrounding skin. After blotting, try applying a tiny amount (from a good distance) of setting spray over your lipstick. I generally use a thin piece of tissue in between the lipstick and setting spray as a barrier to make sure too much is not applied. This is the same technique used in step four, but with a setting spray instead of powder.  This technique can be tricky because of the alcohol in setting sprays. It is crucial to hold the nozzle far enough away so that only a light mist is applied. You do not want little bits of tissue stuck to your lipstick, or the alcohol to break down your lipstick.

You can use all of the ideas above, or just a few. All will help with preventing your lipstick from bleeding, and combined they provide extra assurance. 

Here is the finished lip look:

I used Milani Lip Liner in the color Nude & Lipstick from the same brand in the color Teddy Bare . The lipstick was applied with a Scott Barnes #60 brush (this brush is a great multitasker - I use it on eyes, lips & face). I powered around the lips with a Sigma E20 brush, dusting the powder away with a D05 brush from Spectrum Brushes. 

*I really hope that you find these tips helpful. Please let me know which one is your favorite. Don't forget to show me your looks on Twitter @MakeupMatters1. 

This is not a sponsored post. I do not get paid to write reviews. All of the products in this post were purchased by me, and all opinions are my own.