7 Lipsticks That Won’t Rub Off on Your Face Mask
Updated: Mar. 25, 2021
A lipstick collection that's guaranteed to work for pandemic life.
Best lipsticks for under masks
Nobody wants to be the lady with the clown-lipstick-face, but with mask-wearing now a fact of daily life, I’ve found myself in that exact place, one too many times. I’m one of the lip-colour devotees who’s refusing to give up my favourite beauty pick-me-up, especially since in Toronto, where I live, you currently only have to wear face-coverings indoors, which means my mask comes on and off all day long. So I’ve traded my collection, of, oh, over 100 cream lipsticks and sticky glosses for a tightly edited makeup bag of mask-approved liquid lipsticks that don’t budge.
Before we get to the list, remember: The downside to most long-wear formulas is that they’re usually pretty drying, so you’ll want to use a clear balm or gloss on top (make sure you let your colour set for at least 30 seconds first). I also find pairing stay-on lip colour with a long wear lip liner can help if you don’t want the fine lines around your mouth accentuated—I like KVD Vegan Beauty Everlasting Lip Liner, Revlon ColorStay Lipliner and Fenty Flypencil Longwear Pencil Eyeliner, which is technically an eyeliner but comes in shades like red, coral, and pink. I accidentally used it as a lip liner one day and now I swear by it!
Here are my fave liquid lipsticks to wear under a face mask:
Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick
I always recommend this affordable drugstore pick to anyone who’s looking to try a long-wear lipstick for the first time. It seriously stays on (up to 16 hours) and doesn’t make your lips feel like the Sahara desert. You can do a virtual try-on on maybelline.ca.
Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick, $12.50 at shoppersdrugmart.ca
(Related: New standout beauty products you need to know about.)
KVD Vegan Beauty Everlasting Liquid Lipstick
This liquid lipstick comes with a matte finish and lots of shades, including bright blue! (Because why not?) Vitamin E and sunflower seed wax work to counteract dryness.
KVD Vegan Beauty Everlasting Liquid Lipstick, $28 at sephora.com
Benefit Love Tint Lip & Cheek Stain
Not be confused with Benetint (Benefit’s original, sheer, rose-tinted stain), this super-saturated red leaves you with I-just-ate-a-popsicle lips with one swipe. You don’t need much and it dries quickly, so if you’re also using it for your cheeks make sure you start with a small dot and blend, blend, blend. The only sad thing is they currently only make it in one shade.
Benefit Love Tint Lip & Cheek Stain, $24, sephora.com
(Related: Here’s how to choose the most flattering blush for your skin tone.)
NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment
This mega-pigmented (be careful, a little goes a l-o-o-o-o-n-g way) matte lipstick dries down instantly, doesn’t feel crusty and has a delicious range of shades that’s heavy on rich, plummy tones. Pro tip: Give it a little shake like you would do to a nail polish bottle before you apply; the texture is lighter and more watery than most.
NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment, $34 at sephora.com
Maybelline New York SuperStay 24 R Liquid Lipstick
The 24 in this name stands for 24 hours and they are not playing! Make sure you like the colour before you do a full application (you can do a virtual try-on at maybelline.ca) because it dries down in about four seconds, adhering to your lips like some sort of shrink wrap. It feels drier than SuperStay Matte Ink but lasts even longer.
Maybelline New York SuperStay 24 R Liquid Lipstick , $12.49 at shoppersdrugmart.ca
(Related: Here’s how to find your perfect red lip shade.)
Chanel Le Rouge Duo Ultra Tenue
It’s hard to find a long-wear lip colour with a shimmery finish, but Chanel manages it with their popular “ultra wear” liquid lipsticks in Le Rouge Duo Ultra Tenue collection. It’s definitely not cheap, but it’s the only stay-on, non-matte formula I’ve tried that works. It doesn’t look cake-y and they’ve just added eight more shades to the existing 20. It’s also a two-in-one with the colour on one end and a clear gloss to layer over it on the other. You can do a virtual try-on at chanel.com before you commit.
Chanel Le Rouge Duo Ultra Tenue, $48 at chanel.com
Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick
Stay-All-Day is has been a bestseller since forever, and while it’s hard to beat for the shade range (32 shades, be still my heart!) and the fact that it has both matte and shimmer finishes, it’s on the drier side for look and feel on the lips.
Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick, $29 at sephora.com
Next: The best ways to avoid face-mask acne.
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