By technique · Sub-chapter 05
Fourteen hours is a prep decision, not a product one. The full library on long-wear strategy — from primer to evening touch-up — sorted and kept specific.
121 how-to's · Updated 28 April 2026 · Avg. 4 min per piece · Edited by Nelly · Beauty & Style Director
Editor's note
Fourteen hours is a prep decision, not a product one. The long-wear formulas help, but a base that doesn't adhere because the skin underneath wasn't ready will move regardless of what it says on the tube. The variables in order of importance: skin prep, primer choice, application method, setting sequence, and only then product formulation.
Other techniques
What 'long-wear strategy' actually means
Long-wear strategy is the decision tree that determines whether your makeup is still in place fourteen hours after application. It begins before you open a product: skin prep, surface moisture level, and primer choice. The formula is the last variable, not the first.
The beginner's path
- Why makeup moves — the surface problem (3 min)
- Skin prep for long-wear — what to do the morning of (4 min)
- Primer — what it does, how much to use (4 min)
- The setting sequence for a full day (4 min)
- Touch-up without layering — the mid-day technique (4 min)
Everything we've published on long-wear strategy
- Why your base moves by noon — the prep diagnosis
- Primer — the right amount and where to put it
- The full-day face — prep to touch-up, written as a plan
- Blotting without disrupting — the mid-day technique
- Makeup in heat and humidity — the adjusted strategy
- Skin prep the night before an event
- Setting spray — why one type doesn't do everything
- Waterproof eye products — which to use and when
- Why moisturiser timing matters for longevity
- The touch-up kit — seven things, no more