How to Make Your Hair and Makeup Last All Day

A thing of beauty should be a joy forever—or at least until five o’clock. Here’s how to stretch the life of your makeup, hair, manicure, perfume—and more. 

Lipstick

Start by outlining and filling in your mouth with a pencil in a tone similar to your lipstick. The pencil helps anchor the color on top. Then apply the lipstick with a brush, which presses the pigment deeper into your lips than the tube or a finger does. A brush will also allow you to apply several thin layers (another key to long wear) without a gloppy result. Consider Laura Mercier Crème Lip Colour in Seduction ($24, lauramercier.com), Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bolero ($24, narscosmetics.com), and CoverGirl LipPerfection Lipcolor in Temptress ($7, drugstore.com).

A Blow-Out

Whether it’s done by a professional or at home, you can keep a blow-out sleek for up to five days, says Naeemah Carre, a stylist at Blow NY, a salon in New York City. After a home blow-out, make sure that your hair is completely dry. If there’s any moisture left, your hair will revert to its naturally flat or frizzy state. Run your fingers through it thoroughly to double-check. To seal your hair off from humidity, the archenemy of a home or salon blow-out, wear a shower cap when bathing on subsequent days. And to manage grease and revive the look of your style after showering, sprinkle a dry shampoo, such as Fekkai Au Naturel Dry Shampoo ($25, 866-514-8048), into your roots. If necessary, you can smooth your hair out further with a round brush (one to try: Kevin Murphy round brush, $69, kevinmurphy.com.au for salons) and a dryer. “And sleep with your hair in a high ponytail to maintain volume at the roots,” says Carre.

Hair Color

To make a pricey professional job last, start before you leave the salon, says Stacy Heitman, a hair colorist at the Warren-Tricomi salon in Los Angeles. She suggests asking the colorist to apply a clear gloss after she has colored your hair. (At some salons, this is included in your treatment; at others there’s an additional charge.) “The gloss helps lock in the color and adds shine,” says Heitman. At home, monitor your shower temperature. “As much as we all love a hot shower, the best way to preserve pigment is to wash your hair in cooler water,” says Vicki Casciola, a hairstylist in Las Vegas. It doesn’t need to be freezing, but keep in mind that the warmer the water, the more hair strands swell. This eventually causes their outer layers to peel up and allows color molecules to escape. Maintenance products are important, too, says Casciola, who recommends shampooing and conditioning only every two or three days (if your hair doesn’t get too greasy) and using color-preserving formulas, such as Paul Mitchell Color Protect Daily Shampoo and Conditioner (shampoo, $8.50; conditioner, $10.50: paulmitchell.com for salons). As time goes by, upgrade to a shampoo that actually deposits pigment, like Watercolors Color Maintenance Shampoo by Tressa ($15, 704-573-1001).

 

An Updo

Putting your hair up, while not costly, falls into the “too irritating to do twice” camp. To keep an updo in place, start by saturating freshly washed and dried hair with mousse. Then blow the mousse dry, says Kristan Serafino, a celebrity stylist in New York City. Next, tease the roots before sweeping your hair up. The combination of the tack of the mousse and the texture of the tease will help anchor your style. Try Kérastase Paris Mousse Substantive ($42, kerastase-usa.com).

Curls

If you want to maintain curl, your hair has to be pliable, not dry or brittle, says Ouidad, a stylist and salon owner in New York City. So whether your hair is naturally straight, wavy, or curly (and you just want more defined coils), here’s the lock-tight technique: Start by shampooing and conditioning with moisturizing formulas, then spritz a flexible-hold hair spray onto your damp hair (try Oribe Soft Lacquer Hair Spray; $33, oribe.com). This will create a slightly sticky foundation on which to set the curls. Most stylists recommend setting hair in large Velcro rollers, because they’re easy to slip in and out without damaging hair. If your hair is short, pin curls work equally well; create them by twisting small sections of hair and securing them to your scalp with bobby pins. Then air-dry or blow-dry until no moisture remains, unravel the rollers or the pin curls, and retwist the curls around the barrel of a curling iron. Consider it a worthwhile project: Done correctly, this method makes curls that last for days.