Photo: Jonathan Skow

Q: What's the best way to keep my lipstick from feathering? 

A: I e-mailed makeup artist Sonia Kashuk, who I'm sure has never had a feathered lip in her life, to ask her how she prevents it.

"HELLO DEAR!" she said. (She always writes her e-mails in caps and uses lots of exclamation points. If you didn't know her, you'd think she was very loud and excitable. She's just the opposite.) "I ALWAYS USE A FOUNDATION OVER THE ENTIRE LIP," she wrote. "THEN I LINE THE MOUTH WITH A NEUTRAL OR COLORLESS PENCIL."

Sonia, of course, prefers her own no-feather pencil ($8); Bourjois Transparent Lip Liner ($12) and Shu Uemura Drawing Lip Pencil ($18) are also good ones.

Bottom line: A colorless lip liner will prevent bleeding and will work with any lipstick shade.