One interesting trait that I’ve noticed as of late is the industrial standard claim of “long-wearing” or “long-wear” makeup. As in, the makeup lasts so long, I don’t need to bring my makeup kit for touch ups.

It sounds convenient at first – I wouldn’t have to worry about checking myself with my compact mirror every X amount of hours to see if my face is still on point with makeup, but lately I’ve been developing a minor aversion to long-wear makeup and prefer to bring my makeup kit for touch ups (the only thing I don’t bring is the primer). I don’t know if it’s an age thing, but I find myself disliking long-wear makeup, unless you’re performing or doing a lengthy theatrical.

There are times when I’ve done makeup in the morning and do everything under the sun to make sure it’s long-wearing, only to reach an hour or two before the main event where I just wanna wipe off my entire glam face and go natural for the night, imperfections and all. The makeup would feel so heavy on my face, I could feel my skin struggling to breathe underneath.

Not only that, I find myself having to exert a lot more effort with moving carefully if I want to keep my makeup on my face and not anywhere else. Instead of being in-the-now and practicing mindfulness, I’m focused on trying not to look like Yzma.

But I do see and understand the appeal of long-wear makeup: I don’t have to carry everything I used to do my makeup for touch ups and I can focus more on what’s happening around me. It would certainly make my bag lighter to carry around too!

For people who do performances, long-wearing makeup would be a godsend – it’s one less thing for them to focus on. However, I see some snippets of behind-the-scenes of “live” tv shows where makeup artists do some touch-ups on the hosts/stars/personalities that are on the tube, which leads me to believe that the key to long-lasting makeup is touch-ups, not a specific ingredient or two added to increase longevity.

I could be wrong, but there seems to be a big push for makeup brands to release makeup products that are long-wearing or long-lasting: after all, this is what boosted liquid lipsticks to become all the rage.

Speaking of liquid lipsticks, the idea of re-applying lip products serves as a trigger for some Netizens. I’m not sure why the thought of re-applying lipstick seems to bug them out, but it’s certainly a preferable route to smearing a lip product all over your face when you eat food that happens to be oily or greasy. Plus, carrying lip products for re-application is not as cumbersome as it may seem, unless the packaging is terrible (looking at you, NYX Butter Lipstick!).

Do you like long-wearing or touch-up, on-the-go makeup? What do you think about long-wearing makeup in general?