A Lip Product for Every Scenario

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A nude lip liner. That was one of the first makeup products I remember falling in love with as a teenage girl. I remember seeing my mom and her friends getting ready to go out to dinner and realized just how magical a lipstick can be. Long before the world knew who Kylie Jenner is, I saw one of my mom’s friends instantly make her rather thin lips look fuller, just by using a nude lip liner and a tinted lip balm. I was so intrigued and curious, she actually ended up buying me my very own, first lip liner.

A lipstick itself though was what I found a bit more intimidating at first. Now, it’s one of my favorite things about makeup- applying lipstick. It’s always that final touch, that step that just puts everything together and it not only can change the way you look but also the way you feel.

Lip balms… we all hoard them, don’t we? I mean, as someone who suffers from chronically dry lips, I actually do use a prescription ointment, but you know… A girl needs to have some options in that department.

Lano Lips and Agave Lip Mask from Bite Beauty both helped me deal with bleeding, cracking skin during my acne treatment. Dior’s Lip Glow, along with Creme de Rose, has been a favorite for many years. Anything that comes in a pot, like the Laneige Sleeping Lip Mask and these beautiful Emile Cordon balms, usually stay on my nightstand. I don’t like the idea of dipping my fingers (or even the spatulas most of them come with) in the product throughout the day. Doesn’t mean I like them any less, but they generally work best as overnight treatments.

Patchology’s Lip Service is my favorite to use in the morning while I do my skincare routine because it’s thick, creamy and it acts like a great, quick lip mask. Context Skin’s Lip Balm is also a great simple product with SPF 30 that Mark actually really likes, too.

Urban Decay’s Hi-Fi Shine in Obsessed, MAC’s Retro Matte in Burnt Spice, Glossier’s Generation G in Zip, Urban Decay’s Hi-Fi Shine in Candy Flip, Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk, Urban Decay’s Hi-Fi Shine in Fuel, Burberry Liquid Lip Velvet in Oxblood, Urban Decay’s Hi-Fi Shine in 1993, Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk and Bond Girl.

I’ve almost always been a matte-lip kind of girl, but surprisingly, I have found a new love for lip glosses. Urban Decay’s new Hi-Fi shine glosses* are probably some of the most comfortable lip glosses I’ve ever used. You get everything you like- like shine, a tint of color, hydrating formula- and nothing you don’t like- like tackiness and stickiness. These wear incredibly comfortable. Certain shades are more tinted than others so they work great for no makeup days, light makeup days, or you can even use them on top of your lipstick.

Glossier’s Lip Gloss is also nice on those “minimal-makeup days” but it is a bit thicker and slightly sticky. While I do love this gloss, I just don’t get the $14 price tag for a product as simple as a clear gloss. Don’t get me wrong- it really is nice, but… it is just clear lip gloss.

You may have noticed that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Glossier. There’s a bunch of their products that I constantly repurchase (like the Milky Jelly Cleanser or Boy Brow) but their whole “cool girl” marketing sometimes just puts me off and their prices don’t always seem justified. Take their Generation G sheer lippies. The shade “Zip” is honestly one of the best “everyday” lip products I own, I love how comfortable it feels, how it’s not an intimidating shade and works well with my fair complexion. But holy shit does the packaging suck. It’s cute and all, but it just feels so… cheap, and for 18 bucks a pop, it should feel a bit more sturdy and the lipstick shouldn’t be breaking off mid-application. Still, if you’re not a “lipstick kind of girl” but want to try adding some color, I really, really love these.

No secret here that I also love CT’s Pillow Talk– both the lip cheat and the lipstick. It’s one of those nude, creamy lipsticks that is universally flattering- I’ve used it on my sister who has a deeper skin tone, my mom who has blonde hair, and it always looks beautiful. Whenever I can’t decide which lipstick to go with, I end up reaching for Pillow Talk. I also love Bond Girl, which is a deeper plum-ish, berry shade that just like Pillow Talk, has a matte, yet hydrating and very comfortable and long-lasting formula.

I never really liked dark and intense lip colors, until I cut my hair short. I just find them so much easier to pull off now. Whenever I want to go for a more intense, “statement” lip color, I always grab Burberry’s Liquid Lip Velvet in Oxblood. When they called it “liquid lip velvet” they meant it. These have such a cushion soft formula that dries completely matte and lasts the entire day or night.

Regardless of how long-lasting each formula is, I always use MAC’s Prep + Prime Lip. It’s a color-free base that stops your lipstick for feathering out, bleeding, and also helps it last much longer. Seriously, this stuff is amazing and if you’re a fellow lipstick lover, you need this!