The Best Lip Primer

Buying Guide

Lipstick is perhaps the most challenging beauty product: You apply it only to find it’s faded or gone completely after just a couple of hours. Drinking and eating will remove lipstick, but even if you go hours between meals and snacks, you’ll likely find the color still somehow fades.

But the biggest issue with lipstick duration is the surface beneath it. Your lips serve as the canvas for the cosmetics you put on them, and if that canvas isn’t smooth and clean, the lipstick layer won’t be able to attach properly. Exfoliating your lips before using lipstick can help create the surface you need for long-lasting lip color.

There are a couple of tools for your makeup kit that can help lengthen your lipstick’s duration. One is lip liner, which has long been used to create a barrier between the lips and the skin surrounding the mouth. When applied correctly, lip liner can also help provide a base for your lipstick, extending its life.

But another tool that has increased in popularity in recent years is lip primer. This tool is similar to the foundation you use to provide a base for your makeup. A primer base will help smooth out the surface, keeping your lipstick from sinking into the lip’s wrinkles or bleeding into the area surrounding your lips.

The right lip products also make a difference, though. You’ll want a primer that builds in moisturizers to keep your lips soft but that doesn’t make the surface of your lips so oily that lip color will become slippery and less resilient. It’s also important to avoid lipsticks that promise to be long-lasting, as some products make those promises without delivering. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that sometimes the best-performing lipsticks are the least expensive.

• Unlike lip liners, most lip primers feature a roll-up design with no sharpening required. For that reason, they’ll be sensitive to temperatures just like your other liquid cosmetics.
• Some primers have plumpers built in. They typically use mild irritants to create a reaction in your lips, leading them to swell slightly. Unfortunately, with regular use, these products can become less effective as your lips adapt. Products that use hyaluronic acid to create the plumping effect won’t have that issue, but the effects are more subtle than what you’d get with the traditional type of lip plumper.
• Lipstick longevity isn’t the only benefit you can get from a lip primer. They also can help reduce the risk of feathering and smudging. When combined with a good lip liner, you can create a smoother, more polished look with the right primer.
• Some lipstick comes with the primer built in. These can be better than not using a primer at all, but you won’t have the smooth canvas when you apply your first coat of lipstick as you would if you used a separate primer first.
• The type of lipstick you buy also contributes to its longevity. Matte is best if you’re looking for something that will last all day. Cream formulas won’t last as long as matte, but they’re better than liquid lipsticks or lip glosses.
• Lip primer can be a great gift item if you’re looking for something small. Look for one with high-quality packaging.
• Primer can dry out the lips with regular use. Some come with oils built in that can soften your lips while you’re wearing them.
• If you use lip balm between lipstick applications, make sure to completely wash it off before applying primer or lipstick. Lip balm can create a greasy surface that makes it tough for lip color to stick.
• Vegans or those who are concerned with animal testing can look around to find products that deliberately avoid it. They’re often marked vegan friendly or cruelty free. Vegan cosmetics are also manufactured with no animal ingredients.