We’ve all been there. You apply a beautiful, bold lip colour before you leave the house, and by the time you’ve finished your morning coffee, it’s completely disappeared from the centre of your mouth. It’s frustrating, and it often leads to the assumption that the lipstick itself is to blame. But the truth is, fading lipstick is rarely a product issue. It is almost always a preparation issue.

The secret to all-day wear isn’t found in a magic formula. It’s found in what you put underneath it. Just as you wouldn’t paint a wall without priming it first, you shouldn’t apply a strong lip colour without creating a base for it to grip onto.

The technique is incredibly simple, but it changes everything. It starts with a lip pencil, but not in the way you might be used to using it.

Most of us were taught to use lip liner simply to trace the outer edge of the lips to prevent the colour from feathering or bleeding. While it certainly does that, stopping at the edge is a missed opportunity. To truly lock your colour in place, you need to use your lip pencil to fill in the entire lip.

Think of your lip pencil as a primer. Because pencils have a slightly drier, waxier texture than traditional lipsticks, they adhere to the skin much more firmly. When you colour in your entire lip with a pencil before applying your lipstick, you are giving the creamier lipstick formula something to hold onto.

If you are wearing a bold shade, like a deep red or a rich berry, choose a pencil that closely matches the lipstick. If you are wearing a softer nude or a sheer gloss, a pencil that matches your natural lip tone, like our Barely There Lip Pencil, is perfect.

The process takes less than thirty seconds. Ensure your lips are clean and dry. Trace your natural lip line, and then turn the pencil slightly on its side to shade in the rest of the lip. Once the lip is completely filled, apply your lipstick over the top.

What happens next is the real magic. As you go about your day, eating and drinking, the top layer of lipstick will naturally begin to wear away. But because you have a solid layer of identical or complementary colour underneath it, the fading is virtually imperceptible. You won’t be left with that dreaded ring of colour around the outside of your mouth. Instead, your lips will simply look like they have a beautiful, even stain.

It is a small adjustment to your routine, but it is the single most effective way to ensure your lip colour stays exactly where you put it.