How To Make Lip Gloss Last Longer in 2022

You know it, you love it, but why oh why can’t your favorite lip gloss last longer than half an hour after you’ve applied it? Lip gloss is a fan favorite but it doesn’t have a track record of durability. It’s not uncommon to find yourself reapplying multiple times per day, or even having it on monthly auto-ship from your favorite retailer.

It’s 2022, and the team at RMS Beauty thinks we can do better. Lip gloss is definitely a product we aren’t willing to part with, so we hit the lab (aka our studio) to figure out how to make this elusive lip-shining product stay on… and on, and on.

Why You Need a Great Gloss

Lipstick purists might not be convinced they need a gloss in their arsenal, but trust us — it’s worth having for that extra shine. A high-quality lip gloss can become a multi-use product that you can use with or without your favorite lipstick.

Here are three reasons why you should definitely be packing a great quality gloss in your makeup bag.

1. Lip Glosses Are Easy To Use

Unlike lipstick, which requires a little skill to apply, applying lip gloss is incredibly simple. In most cases, you can simply swipe or dab a little on your lips, press your lips together, and get great shine and subtle color that can finish a simple makeup look.

2. Lip Glosses Are Hydrating

Day after day of daily lipstick wear can leave your lips chapped, dry, and peeling. Many ingredients in traditional lipsticks cause lips to crack and peel. Lipstick relies on waxes more than oils — waxes seal color to your lips, but don’t offer the same moisturizing properties as natural oils.

3. Lip Glosses Are Versatile

Bored with your current lipstick shade? Try it with a gloss! Using a lip gloss by itself or over another lipstick can create a completely new shade and texture that helps you change up your look. You can also mix lip glosses together to create different shades, or pop a little luminizer in the center of your lips after you’ve applied your lip gloss to create an even more lustrous shade of color.

Bottom line: If you’ve resisted a lip gloss, now’s the time to dive in. Lip glosses are a tool every lippy connoisseur person needs in their beauty bag. However, that still leaves the problem of how to make it stay on your lips longer.

Why Doesn’t Lip Gloss Last?

It seems futile when you apply gloss because you know within minutes half of it will be absorbed deep into the layers of your lip skin. Lip gloss can leave you frustrated or annoyed, especially if you hate having to reapply once you’ve already done your makeup for the day.

If your lip gloss does manage to stay put, you can bet it might be uncomfortable. Most glosses that are longer wearing rely on thickening agents and petroleum jelly to keep them plastered to your lips. This isn’t only uncomfortable — the ingredients are dangerous.

Here’s the secret behind why your lip glosses just seem to disappear.

Oil vs. Wax

In addition to having more pigment than lip gloss, your lipstick also has more wax. Wax doesn’t absorb into your lips like oils do. They create a barrier on your lips that helps the pigment stay in place.

Wax is also why lipstick isn’t usually quite as hydrating as lip gloss. There are caveats to this rule, however. Natural beeswax, for instance, provides hydration and creates a seal on the lips. Carnauba wax also offers protecting and moisturizing properties that other, synthetic waxes don’t have.

It Gets Wiped Off

Lip gloss doesn’t contain the ingredients that lipstick does that help it grip your lips. As such, it is much easier for lipgloss to get wiped off, brushed away, or licked from your lips. Just a simple conversation can cause the gloss to disappear and slide right off your lips.

If your lipgloss is particularly thick and sticky, you’ll end up removing stray hairs and food particles from it continually, which can cause you to lose more and more lip color.

Long-Wear Gloss Is Rare

It’s hard to find a true long-wearing lip gloss. This is because the ingredient in traditional lipsticks that create lasting color and wearability is silicone oil (aka dimethicone). This oil isn’t like a natural, plant-based oil that hydrates and heals your lips. Silicone oil dehydrates the lips and causes the pigments in the lipstick to seal to their surface.

Because silicone oil has a dehydrating factor, you’ll find it in a lot of matte finish lipsticks. It’s hard to make a product that is made to shine like lip gloss with a dehydrating ingredient that sucks the shine away.

How To Make Lip Gloss Last

We love gloss, we know why it isn’t staying, and now we can learn how to hack the system and get our lip gloss to stay in place. Here are five easy tips developed by professionals that you can use to keep your gloss locked on your lips.

1. Use Lip Liner

Using a lip liner allows your lip gloss to find the edges of your lips, and go no further. In addition to preventing bleeding and feathering, you can use a liner all over your lips to give your lip gloss a foundation to stick to. Be careful, though, as some liners can be dehydrating. Look for liners that are oil-based to ensure you don’t dry out your lips.

Pro tip: Avoid outlining your lips in an obvious shade and filling in with clear gloss. This is a tired trend that will make you look more Spice Girl than sophisticated.

2. Try A Powder

Hear us out: using a light dusting of powder on your lips can give your gloss more grip and ensure it has staying power. The trick here is to use a nourishing, natural powder that doesn’t dehydrate your lips and cause your lip gloss to absorb the moment you put it on.

Talc, for instance, will dehydrate your lips and can be toxic to your body. Instead, opt for a powder that is made from natural ingredients that will sit on top of your lips and provide a base without adding a tint of color.

Pro Tip: You might be tempted to use a lip primer, but these can often hide ingredients that aren’t good for your lips and can even cause them to chap and crack. Instead, use raw coconut oil to prep your lips without causing damage.

3. Use It Over a Grippy Lipstick

Your favorite grippy lipstick might be the best option for making your lip gloss stay. A natural lipstick infused with stay-put ingredients will help your lip gloss hold on longer than wearing it by itself.

If you love your original lipstick, try covering it with a clear gloss. You can also try mixing shades by adding a complimentary color gloss color to your lipstick.

4. Use a Balm Before You Gloss

Before you attempt to get glossy lips, ensure your lips are well-hydrated and in the healthiest shape possible. If not, your gloss will absorb into your lips as soon as you apply it.

A lip balm that includes coconut oil and beeswax is the perfect solution for application prior to lip gloss. The coconut oil deeply hydrates, and the beeswax acts as a sealant on your lips, sealing in hydration and preventing the gloss from being absorbed.

Because beeswax is originally used in a beehive to seal in honey, it also has protective

antimicrobial properties that are beneficial for your lips.

5. Use a High-Quality Gloss

You’re not going to get very far with your lip gloss application or its wearability if you don’t start with a high-quality formula. Drug store brands rely on cheap, mass-produced ingredients that can feel goopy and sticky.

Instead, try a natural, plant-based gloss that contains hydrating ingredients that are intentional and good for your lips. RMS Beauty’s Lip Shine is made with castor seed oil, coconut oil, buriti oil, and sustainably and responsibly sourced beeswax. Just one swipe and your pout is perfectly hydrated, kissed with subtle color, and sealed for hours of long-lasting wear.

Get Glossy!

Lip gloss is a great product that creates shine and adds versatility to your existing lip products. Unfortunately, it’s not known for sticking around very long.

You can increase your lip gloss’s ability to grip your lips by ensuring your lips are hydrated and healthy, and starting with a quality, plant-based gloss that has nourishing ingredients.

It’s 2022 — don’t waste your time on lip glosses that refuse to stay put. The RMS Beauty arsenal is your go-to for long-lasting products that never contain scary chemicals or ingredients that could dry out your lips or harm your body.

Sources:

WHAT'S THAT STUFF? - LIPSTICK|PubsApp.Acs.org

EWG Skin Deep® | What is DIMETHICONE

Beeswax Benefits for Lips - DIY Beeswax Lip Balm - Complete Beehives