If you want to nail a strong lip, don't you dare skip these steps

Pouts prepped to perfection...

Welcome to our Marie Claire Masters series, a regular beauty franchise that celebrates and utilizes the expertise of women who are bossing it in their fields. Each month these Masters will educate, demonstrate and impart some of their industry wisdom to you the dedicated Marie Claire reader. From current trends and hot topics to how tos and how not tos, these beauty whizz kids are at our beckon call. So get reading, you never know what you tips you might pick up. KT – Digital Beauty Editor

Hi, I'm Cher Webb, Pro Makeup Artist and Beauty Influencer. Passionate about all things beauty and taking inspiration from my experience working at Red Carpet events, VIP clients and backstage at Fashion Weeks globally. In my new role as Marie Claire Makeup Master I will be sharing quick and achievable everyday looks, hot Makeup topics and trends!

Healthy, hydrated lips are the key to full colour. We spend so much time and money on the latest products for our face and the body, yet lip care often gets forgotten. Here are some beauty game changers to prep your pout for long-lasting lip colour.

Prep your lips

Exfoliating your lips is just as important as exfoliating the skin, especially as we move into colder months and we ramp the heating up. It's essential that you don't overdo the exfoliating, as it can have an adverse effect. You can try the old fashioned way of gently brushing your lips with a soft toothbrush in circular motions, or go for something sugar based like a lip scrub. These two are my favourites - a blow the budget buy and a more purse friendly option.

E.L.F Studio Lip Exfoliator, Superdrug

E.L.F Studio Lip Exfoliator is gentle and effective, great for those of you trying a scrub for the first time. It's s super handy as it twists up in a lipstick shape form and costs.

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Dior Addict Lip Glow Sugar Scrub, John Lewis

Another popular choice is the Dior Addict Lip Sugar Scrub Exfoliating Lip balm for £26. This has the unique double benefit of a sugar scrub combined with a balm to exfoliate and soften lips at the same time, it also leaves a gorgeous subtle rosey tint.

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Hydrate your lips

It feels like I've tried every lip balms, salve and chapstick that ever existed. But I recently discovered the Liz Earle SuperSkin Superlip Balm and its now my No.1. It's hands down, the best lip balm. It's packed full of natural ingredients and has a really lovely flavour; my lips look visibly more plump and healthy and it's now a staple part of my skin/makeup regime.

Liz Earle SuperSkin Superlip Balm

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Another hot beauty buy is the By Terry Baume de Rose, £39 Cult Beauty. This is an all-round winning product and loved by so many people I work with. The signature rose wax formula is a magic multi-purpose hybrid that can be used on any dry skin areas such as cuticles and finger tips.

Prime your lips

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is how to apply matte lipsticks, with no slide to it, and make them look gorgeous and luxe instead of dry. I recommend trying the MAC Prep and Prime Lip - it even looks amazing worn on its own - the unique colour free wax formula adds moisture, smooths out any chapped or dry areas and refines the lips before application.

MAC Prep and Prime Lip, John Lewis

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NYX Professional Makeup Lip Primer, Cult Beauty

If you want a super smooth base, then there's nothing better than the NYX Professional Makeup Lip Primer. You can easily create a perfect canvas with this crayon shaped pencil before lipstick application.

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It's all in the technique

One simple and incredibly effective technique that you should all take note of is: apply your lip pencil all over your lips before lipstick/gloss application. Not only will this help with the longevity of the lipstick, but it also means your lip liner and lipstick wear off at the same time. Therefore, you're able to steer clear of dodgy lip lines.

Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Pencils, John Lewis

If you have dry lips and normally avoid using lip liners, I'm here to convince you otherwise with Charlotte Tilbury's Lip Cheat Pencils. They are matte, but are also super creamy, so won't dry your lips out. They even look fab worn as lipstick.

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It's all in the texture

There are now so many different lipstick textures to choose from and you probably have your favourite lipstick that you use everyday (if not we've compiled a list of the best lipsticks in every formula).

But if you are looking for a kiss-proof lipstick that will lasts for hours of snogging, go for matte or satin textures.

Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick, Cult Beauty

The Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick has a luxury lip conditioning smooth matte texture that lasts for up to 14 hours, with zero flaking or drying.

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For 24hour-long wear and coming in at under £10, the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet, £8.49 Look Fantastic, range is a dream. Each one is lightweight and long-wearing, and the liquid formula sets as a stain. It's one of the best liquid lipsticks I've ever used.

Blot your lips

When you have applied your perfect pout with your favourite lipstick, grab a tissue and blot off any excess, then go in with another layer. This way you are locking in the shade and this instantly increases the long wear.

Set your lips

If you want to improve the staying power of any of your lippies, then let me introduce you to one of the industry's secret weapons: Lipcote, the original lip sealer.

Lipcote, Boots

Blot your lips, then apply a layer of Lipcote on top your lipstick for longer-lasting colour.

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If you stick to these steps, then your lips will take on a whole new lease of life.

Don't skip any of them. Print this off and stick it up next to you mirror.