There’s nothing like a good swipe of lipstick to put the wind in your sails.
The right shade can be revitalising and transformative, helping your features come alive and adding a pop of colour to an otherwise pared-back look.
And yet, many shy away from the wonder that is lipstick. For some, the issue is that many formulas feel too waxy, will feather or smudge, or simply don’t have the staying power to last the whole day. While occasional reapplication can be glamorous in the right setting (after enjoying Champagne, say, or while waiting for the traffic lights to change), having to do it constantly quickly becomes a chore.
But since I’m a self-proclaimed lippie obsessive, I’m here to prove that enjoying great colour is possible, even if you think you’re not a lipstick fan.
As the child of a bridal makeup artist, I’ve been playing with lipsticks - when my mum wasn’t looking, natch - since I was tall enough to slip a roving hand into her makeup trolley. From college onwards, I wouldn’t leave the house without decorating my face with some colour. Even now, a quick check of my bag confirms that, yep, there are currently three lip products rolling around in there, offering varying degrees of opacity.
I can’t be the only one who has cultivated an obsession. According to GlobalData, as of 2023, lipstick had the lion’s share of the bigger lip makeup market with 51.21 per cent, with gloss following in its wake with 37.83 per cent of the market.
They’re a quick way to change your look without spending hours in a stuffy changing room, and they’re purse-friendly too. You may not feel as guilty about splurging on a new lip bullet in the way you might with new shoes or an expensive haircut.
Full-on, richly pigmented colour isn’t for the faint-hearted, and nor is it for the everyday.
To that end, I’ve drawn up a list of the best lip colours everyone can wear. You’ll find easy-to-apply tinted lip balms and long-lasting stains in my list, alongside lightweight formulas that look better slightly worn in than freshly applied.
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Wonderskin Wonder Blading One Step Lip Stain Masque
This long-lasting lip stain from Wonderskin is incredible, offering transfer-proof results paired with a vibrancy that sticks around for most of the day - even through eating and drinking.
Simply swipe on, leave for 30 seconds and remove with a damp tissue. It comes in a selection of fun pink, red and berry hues. Once tried, it’s impossible to go back.
Buy now £18.00, Amazon
Bobbi Brown Extra Lip Tint 2.3g in Bare Raspberry
Bobbi Brown's Extra Lip Tint on more than one occasion - it wraps lips in glossy, but not sticky, moisture, while giving them a little colour.
This is down to several oils - olive, avocado and jojoba - working to deliver a long-lasting, healthy sheen. The shade for me? Bare Raspberry imparts a gentle hint of healthy colour without looking too ‘done’.
Buy now £19.20, Sephora
Clinique Pink Honey & Black Honey Lipstick Duo
Loved in the 1990s and still a cult favourite today, all hail the comeback of Clinique’s Almost Lipstick in the suits-everyone Black Honey shade.
Sheer, glossy and buildable, the slim stick formula hydrates while coating your kisser with light, non-staining colour. Clinique has a Pink Honey version for a lighter, brighter look too, and has just released Nude Honey too, offering a happy middle ground.
Get the double at Sephora to stash in handbags and pockets.
Buy now £49.00, Sephora
Jones Road Beauty The Lip Tint
Bobbi Brown created Jones Road Beauty to offer foolproof products that strip makeup application back to basics - a feat perfectly encapsulated by The Lip Tint.
The 13 shades on offer provide an instant swipe of colour, but they are also buildable, so you can glide a coat on during the day, and add more for an amped-up evening look. Nude rose is perfectly suited to laidback weekend looks or to wear to the office.
Buy now £26.00, Jones Road Beauty
Glossier Ultralip
Billed by the brand as 'the (cashmere) sweatpants of lipstick', you understand immediately that Glossier's Ultralip is a low-key kind of lip colour.
It comes in 13 natural-looking shades, from a pale pink to deep mauve. All are high in moisture, buildable and deliver the sheen of a gloss with the weight of a balm.
If you're part of the less-is-more makeup brigade, this is your new hero.
Buy now £22.00, Glossier
Benefit Benetint Dark Cherry 6ml
My beauty obsession as a teen has had a glow-up with this Dark Cherry shade. This dries onto skin quickly - cheeks or lips - so you need a sure and steady hand that knows exactly where it's deploying this wash of colour.
There's no shine, though, so if you're not after a matte finish, add some lip balm afterwards.
Buy now £22.50, Cult Beauty
Milk Makeup Balmade Electrolyte Lip Balm
Summer weather can dry out lips: pump them back to life with Milk, whose Electrolyte Lip Balm is here to do the heavy lifting.
The formula comes in seven sunshine-ready shades, but colour plays second fiddle to the hydration hit, which involves magnesium, copper, and zinc to soothe lips and condition them too.
A summer holiday essential.
Buy now £14.40, Space NK
Supergoop! Lipshdes 100 per cent Mineral SPF30
Shine, colour and protection in one handy tube? Supergoop! has earned its place in my holiday wardrobe thanks to its trifecta of benefits. The lip SPF comes in three fun shades, dressing them while also shielding them from UV rays. Perfect for beach days.
Buy now £17.60, Space NK
