Today I’m sharing the absolute best lipstick formulas I’ve found. Be it cream, lustre, matte, luxury or budget formulas you’re after, I’ve got you covered!
With liquid lipsticks being popular right now, I feel like the bullet lipstick is being forgotten. I never warmed to liquid lipsticks and have stayed true to my bullet lippies, so today I’m sharing the best formulas I’ve found.
Now… I have about 75 lipsticks. I have a few brands that I continually go back to; MAC, Charlotte Tilbury, Tom Ford, Hourglass. I do love a luxe lipstick and I have a myriad of different finishes too, so here’s my definitive guide of the best lipstick formulas!
DISCLAIMER: PRODUCT LINKS ARE AFFILIATE. ALL PRODUCTS PURCHASED BY ME
CHARLOTTE TILBURY MATTE REVOLUTION – £24 from Space NK or Charlotte Tilbury
Until these lipsticks were launched, I was adamant that I hated matte lipsticks. They were all so drying and sunk into every line I had on my lips. When these beauties launched I fell in love with the shade Between the Sheets and I was desperate to try it.
I gave in, ordered it and have never looked back. These lipsticks are somehow creamy while being matte. They glide onto the lips, last pretty well and don’t sink into any lines. I would own 100 shades of these if they made that many colours!
MAC LUSTRE – £17.50 from MAC
I’m relatively new to the lustre formula, but it’s one of those formulas that you can throw on without a mirror and it just gives your lips a lovely healthy sheen and a hint of colour.
They’re not the longest wearing, but if you’re going for a lustre, that’s probably not what you’re after. These and the Sephora Collection lipstick I’ll talk about in a minute are great picks for a lustre formula lover!
MAC CREMESHEEN – £17.50 from MAC
No matter how many lipstick formulas I try, I always find myself going back to MAC Cremesheen. They never fail me, the colour selection is fantastic, they’re pigmented, smooth, wear evenly on the lips and they make your lips look healthy. I find them to add a little hydration too. If I forget lip balm, it’s not the end of the world with this formula.
I don’t think I could ever not be with a MAC Cremesheen. At one point I think I had about 15, but a few were very old, so I parted with them… it was a struggle!!
MARC JACOBS LE MARC LIP CREME AND THE NEW NUDES SHEER GEL – £25 from Net-A-Porter (New Nudes available here)
I’ve lumped the Le Marc Lip Creme and the New Nudes Sheer Gel lipsticks together because they’re not a million miles apart. The sheer gel is meant to be like a lustre I gather, but it’s the same consistency/pigmentation as a MAC Cremesheen in my opinion.
The Le Marc Lip Creme’s are super creamy, not quite matte, but not glossy either. I would say they have the same consistency as the sheer gel, but the sheer gel look more glossy. They both glide onto the lips. Sonic Truth is my favourite colour and it’s one of those lipsticks you can throw on no matter what your eye/cheek colour is.
TOO FACED NATURAL NUDES – £18 from Selfridge’s
Apart from the fact these lipsticks are amazing, they smell DIVINE! Do you remember baby dolls as a kid and how they smelt a bit like baby powder? These lipsticks smell like a coconut baby doll.
Anyway, this formula is fantastic, it’s pigmented, smooth and I feel like it almost nourishes the lips. This formula has a slight sheen and wears for a pretty decent amount of time. The only con is the shape of the bullet can make it tricky to apply if you have a pronounced cupid’s bow like I do.
TOM FORD LIP COLOR – £40 from Net-A-Porter
This is my luxury choice. For years I was like “Nope, there’s no way I’m ever going to spend that much on a lipstick. They can’t be that good”
I stand by the “they can’t be that good” because, yes, they are really beautiful, but they’re not the most life changing formula ever. They are creamy, pigmented, smooth and they wear well, but so do Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks and they’re only £24.
However, they are my pick if you want a luxury lipstick and are willing to part with £40 for one lipstick. I do warn you though… they get addictive. When you have one, you want more. Now I keep an eye out for when John Lewis has 10% off as that brings them down to £36.
I have the colours Fucking Fabulous (sorry limited edition) and Indian Rose from the normal range and Oh River from the Boys and Girl’s range. Effing Fabulous is my favourite red as it is so easy to apply considering how bright it is. It wears for a pretty long time too, I managed to have 2 drinks and a light meal before touching up.
SEPHORA COLLETION ROUGE SHINE – €10.99 from Sephora France
Sephora US banned all EU traffic with the whole GDPR thing, so if you can access the US site I’m sure you’ll find these lipsticks.
I got this lipstick when we were on our honeymoon in Paris. It was my first time in Sephora and I was just like “TRY EVERYTHING” – I spent an insane amount of money in one week and my husband banned me from ever going into Sephora again.
Anyway, these lipsticks are hidden gems and they’re under £10! I don’t hear people talk about them, but these Rouge Brilliance lipsticks are a gorgeous lustre formula. Not as pigmented as a creamy lipstick, but enough colour to see on your lips. Gorgeous and glossy, I keep this in my handbag for when I need a little colour on the go.
COLOURPOP LUX MATTE AND CREME – $7.50/£5.90 from Colourpop
This is my budget pick. These lipsticks are gorgeous!! The matte lipsticks are super pigmented, not as creamy as Charlotte Tilbury, but not drying either. The creme formula is fantastic too. It’s incredible how amazing these lipsticks are for so little £££!
I have tonnes of these, but a lot of them are limited edition so I didn’t bother taking photos as you can’t get them anymore.
My only gripe with these is that they often arrive looking nothing like the colour on the website. There have been times I’ve seen a pinky nude and it arrives and it’s straight up orangey beige. However, they do have a great colour selection and some super fun colours, so if you can get your shades, then I’d advise stocking up!
HOURGLASS CONFESSION ULTRA SLIM REFILLABLE LIPSTICK – £31 from Selfridge’s
I was late to the game with these lipsticks, but oh my goodness they are FANTASTIC! They are the longest wearing normal lipstick I’ve ever had the pleasure of wearing and yet they manage to not be drying at all. These are incredibly pigmented and creamy and last for hours. I also love how slim they are as it makes them very easy to apply.
With these, you buy the lipstick with a gold applicator (they do different colours at Christmas, hence why mine are purple). then once the lipstick inside is finished, you buy the refills for £20.
These are stunning lipsticks and I always have one in my handbag. Partly for protection as they’re pointy 😉 😉
And there we have it, the best lipsticks I’ve ever tried. How many of these have you tried?
