I’m definitely not one of those girls who has been blessed with big luscious lips! Of course that hasn’t stopped me from buying lipstick, but sometimes I feel like lipsticks don’t look as good on me as they do on other people. Quite often I rush out and buy lipsticks that I read good reviews about, and I’m always excited to get my hands on a new product launch. However, I often end up feeling disappointed when I try them on myself.
I think it is really difficult to find a lipstick which ticks ALL the boxes. For me, a good lipstick is not just about how it looks on my lips but it’s a whole package. I want to love the formula and how it feels on my lips, I want the colour to last all day, I want the packaging to be attractive and luxurious, I want it to make my teeth look whiter and lastly, I don’t want to pay a fortune for it. This may seem like a lot to ask for, but I have found a few favourites that for me tick most of if not all of my boxes. I have reviewed each of my favourites below and have given them a rating based on the following factors which are important to me:
- The formulation and how it feels on my lips
- Lasting power
- Packaging
- Price
- How it makes my teeth look (teeth whiteness)
Mac Velvet Teddy – Matte – £16.50
Like all of us, I have tried a lot of Mac lipsticks, but Velvet Teddy (matte) is by far my favourite. I know that usually Mac lipsticks are a pretty safe bet, but I have definitely had a few that have been incredibly disappointing! Velvet Teddy, however, is an absolute winner from Mac in my eyes. It’s a very warm taupe nude (it’s closer to brown than nude really). The formulation is very nice, and even though it is a matte lipstick it glides on nicely and doesn’t leave my lips feeling unbearably dry like most mattes. I find that lipstick in general doesn’t last very well on my lips throughout the day but this one is pretty good. It definitely lasts much better when I completely line my lips before applying it too. The packaging is standard Mac packaging which I have never absolutely loved, but it does the job. It’s simple and classic, and has quite a nice satisfying click when I put the lid back on! At £16.50 this is a bit on the pricey side for a Mac lipstick these days. Whilst it is a pretty good all-rounder, there are so many other brands on the market that do a very similar job for a better price. Even though this is marketed as a ‘nude’ lipstick it does quite a good job of keeping your teeth looking white, which is where a lot of nudes fail for me!
| Formulation | Lasting Power | Packaging | Price | Teeth Whiteness | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 40/50 |
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YSL Rouge Voluptè Shine – Rose Rive Gauche (43) – £27
I absolutely love the peachy pink colour of Rose Rive Gauche and it is great for both day and night. The formulation of this is BEAUTIFUL!! It glides on soooo smoothly and is incredibly moisturising! (I think it includes something like 6 essential oils). As it is quite a sheer to medium lipstick I find that I need to reapply it quite often throughout the day, but it makes my lips feel so hydrated and nourished that I’m very happy to reapply. YSL absolutely nail it with their packaging – this one is so gorgeous. It is a really heavy gold bullet and has a strip of the product colour around the middle beneath the silver YSL logo which goes all the way around the lipstick. At £27 I know it seems like a lot for a lipstick, but I think it is definitely worth it based on the quality of the formulation and the packaging. I find that most peach toned lipsticks can make teeth look very dull but this one doesn’t! They have done an amazing job with the undertones in this lipstick and I find that it leaves my teeth looking pearly white.
| Formulation | Lasting Power | Packaging | Price | Teeth Whiteness | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 44/50 |
Tanya Burr – Birthday Cake – £6.99
Tanya Burr’s Birthday Cake lipstick is a really pretty pink nude (I would say more pink than nude). It is a sheer lipstick which is very buildable. The formulation is extremely smooth and creamy and it applies quite well. The lipstick feels very comfortable on the lips and is also really moisturising. Because the formula is quite sheer, it does tend to wear off quite quickly during the day, however. The packing of these lipsticks is absolutely beautiful. It is a gorgeous gold bullet and lid, giving the lipsticks a really expensive feel. That leads me on to the price of this lipstick!! These sell for £6.99! Given the quality of the formulation and the beautiful packaging I think these are an absolute steal! I actually bought a few of these when they were on offer in Superdrug over Christmas time – I think It was buy 2 and get one free or something like that which was even better! As this is a pinky nude colour, it definitely doesn’t make my teeth look super white but it doesn’t make them look particularly dull either.
| Formulation | Lasting Power | Packaging | Price | Teeth Whiteness | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 43/50 |
Giorgio Armani Rouge D`Armani – Alba (510) -£28
I absolutely love this Giorgio Armani Alba lipstick. I have had it for a couple of years now and it is one of those lipsticks that I keep going back to. It’s like an old reliable. The formulation is my favourite lipstick formulation ever! It is incredibly creamy and hydrating but lasts very long on the lips. This particular colour is a peachy pink but with very warm undertones. This colour is very easy to wear and I think it would suits all skin tones. The packaging is the most satisfying packaging I have ever seen on a lipstick. It is in a shiny black lacquered case and clicks closed with a magnetic seal! AMAZING! It feels so elegant and chic. The lipsticks sell for £28 each, which again seems like a lot of money for a lipstick, but I can see why it is sold for this price. It really is beautiful. Even though this is a peachy pink lipstick, which usually make your teeth look quite yellow, the warm undertones in this one help to make teeth look nice and white.
| Formulation | Lasting Power | Packaging | Price | Teeth Whiteness | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 45/50 |
Paul and Joe – French Toffee (308) -£12.50
The Paul and Joe lipstick collection is one of the more fun and interesting lipsticks I have ever tired. I didn’t even know that Paul and Joe had a makeup range until I was in Hong Kong a few years ago, and stumbled across their counter in one of the department stores. The idea behind their lipstick range is that everyone can find the ‘perfect’ lipstick. You first choose your preferred colour and texture and then they offer a selection of the cutest little cases to put your refill bullet into. As soon as I saw this I was sold! I am SUCH a sucker for packaging!! Not only is the packaging adorable but the formula is really good too. French Toffee is a really deep peachy nude, and it gives such a nice natural colour to the lips. This is one of my favourite every day shades. It is incredibly comfortable on the lips and lasts quite well. Rating the price of these lipsticks is quite difficult because they sell the lipstick refill and case individually. The refill is £12.50 which I think is a reasonable price for a lipstick of this quality, but the catch is that you can’t buy the refill without buying the case initially. The case is an extra £5 so really your first lipstick with Paul and Joe will cost £17.50. The nice thing about it though, is that once you buy the case, you will have it forever, and next time you will only have to purchase the refill. Let’s not forget that the case is so bloody cute too! My teeth don’t ‘love’ this lipstick on me! It’s okay on days where I am a bit more tanned, but on pale days it does make my teeth look a bit duller.
P.s Yes I do have lipstick on my teeth in this photo! lol
| Formulation | Lasting Power | Packaging | Price | Teeth Whiteness | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 43/50 |
Tanya Burr – Wild Safari – £6.99
Wild Safari is another one of Tanya Burr’s lipsticks. Like Birthday Cake (discussed above) this has an amazing smooth formulation. Wild Safari is HIGHLY pigmented so it is a little bit tricky to apply. The colour is a gorgeous orangey red which is really bright, vibrant and summery. Even though the formula is very pigmented, it is so smooth and creamy that I find it wears off throughout the day a little bit sooner than I was expecting. As with Birthday Cake, the packaging is absolutely stunning and at £6.99 it’s really good value for a product of this quality. This colour is AMAZING for making my teeth look super white too!
| Formulation | Lasting Power | Packaging | Price | Teeth Whiteness | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 44/50 |
Mac Please Me – Matt – £16.50
Mac Please Me is a bit of a muted ‘Barbie’ pink, if that makes sense. It’s a very girly and pretty colour, but not really one for wearing every day. I feel like it is a nice option for a summer holiday or a day party, but I always feel like the rest of my makeup has to be really minimalist when I wear Please Me. Like with Velvet Teddy, the formulation is very nice. It has a really velvety feel, is highly pigmented and long lasting. Even though it is a matte lipstick it has a really nice creamy and moisturising feel. The packaging is the same as all of Mac’s lipsticks which is pretty simple but works well. Like I said about Velvet Teddy, £16.50 is a bit more than I want to pay for a Mac lipstick these days. This lipstick also passes the teeth colour test. It makes them look pretty good.
| Formulation | Lasting Power | Packaging | Price | Teeth Whiteness | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 41/50 |
Kat Von D, Studded Kisses, Underage Red – £17
I received this Kat Von D lipstick from her Studded Kisses collection at a Sephora event a few months ago. This was the first time I have tried her lip products. I know that they have gotten really good reviews and I love other products which I have tried from her line so I was expecting big things. As someone who doesn’t wear red lipstick all that often, I was unsure how I would feel about this one, but OMG I absolutely LOVE it! It is a gorgeous deep cherry red and is surprisingly easy to wear. I found that the formulation was quite powdery when I first applied it, but it blends out to be a nice velvety consistency and it lasts incredibly well on the lips. It is highly pigmented so I really have to take my time applying it! It comes in her famous studded black case which looks quite cool, but personally I am more a fan of gold and rose gold metal packaging rather than black plastic, which I think can feel a bit cheap. The price of these lipsticks at £17 each is quite good given the excellent quality of the lipstick itself. This colour also makes teeth look amazingly white!! It has blue undertones which I absolutely love in a red lipstick. Unfortunately I only have a little mini version as it was a freebie. This is super cute but I will definitely purchase the full size when this one runs out!
| Formulation | Lasting Power | Packaging | Price | Teeth Whiteness | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 42/50 |
Charlotte Tilbury, K.I.S.S.I.N.G Penelope Pink – £24
Last on my list, but certainly by no means least, is Penelope Pink from the Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G range. I know there has been SO MUCH hype about her products this year, and to be honest, those are usually the products which I end up feeling let down by. However, I have to admit that these lipsticks really are gorgeous. I picked up Penelope Pink and Sexy Siena. Penelope Pink is definitely my favourite out of the two of these. While I feel like the name is a bit misleading (I was expecting it to be a pinky nude) I still love the colour. It is more of a peachy brown nude (sorry, I’m so bad at describing colours!) but it is a perfect natural nude for daytime wear. The formulation is really gorgeous. It’s very thick and creamy and I can wear this on days where my lips are feeling dry without it looking disgusting. Despite being such a creamy formula, it lasts quite well on the lips throughout the day. The packaging of these lipsticks is everything I would want. It is in a gorgeous heavy rose gold case with matching lid and the infamous CT embossed on the top. I think it looks so classy and feels very luxurious. This lipstick sells for £24 which is about what I would expect to pay for a product of this quality with beautiful packaging. Given the colour of this lipstick I was expecting it to make my teeth look quite dull but it really doesn’t.
| Formulation | Lasting Power | Packaging | Price | Teeth Whiteness | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 45/50 |
As these are all slightly different colours and I wear them for different reasons/occasions, I can’t really pick one favourite from the list. I love them all for different reasons. I am constantly trying out new lip products so this list is likely to change at some point, but I will keep you updated if and when it does!
I would love to here what your favourite lipsticks are or if you have tried any of these.
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