Credit: Heo Ran/Reuters

Do you still wear lipstick when no one can see your mouth?

There’s nothing more irritating than going to the trouble of putting something on your face (makeup, skin cream, etc.), only to smudge it all over the place by accident. One time, I got a sunburn on my face and needed to leave aloe cream on it without touching it, but then I smudged it with my own hands completely unconsciously while I was watching TV. Even if you’re one of those magic few who can keep their hands away from their face, in the current climate of mask-to-skin contact, some cosmetics can feel like an eternally losing battle. The answer should be clear: ignore the mouth and focus efforts elsewhere.

Instead of the space beneath your nose, use your makeup to put greater emphasis on your eyes and above. Maybe I’m weird for thinking this, but I think a cool solid-color face mask combined with an eye-catching eye shadow creates a really fascinating, almost mysterious look. Use an eyebrow pencil to shape your brows into striking shapes, then accentuate your eyes with contrasting colored shadow and, if you’re feeling gutsy, colored lenses. With eyes that striking, no one will even notice that your mouth is covered.

Credit: Melina Basnight

If you have a skin care regimen or regularly employ toner or cover-up, you can still use those on your cheeks and forehead, while saving the stuff you’d normally use around your mouth. It’s economical; unless you’re frequently taking off your mask for social situations or whatever (which, let’s be real here, you really shouldn’t be doing), then just save the stuff for the rest of your face.

Of course, if you absolutely, positively have to have tint on your lips, well, you could always get ’em tattooed. It costs a lot and it hurts just as much, but it doesn’t smudge. Gotta decide how much that’s worth to you, I guess.