the mvps of my lipstick collection

The ones that are probably sick of seeing me looming over the drawer, looking for them.

August sipped away like a bottle of wine, to quote Ms Swift, and I just did not get the chance to follow up on my promise of a lipstick post. The last time I missed a month was July 2021, so I think it’s safe to say that summer (and especially a very busy summer like this one) distracts me. There is simply a lot going on! I mean, these two have been very demanding of my time:

Please welcome Winnie (legal name Winona, also known as Win, Winnebago, Winnifer) and Snacks (aka The Snack, Dwayne “The Snack” Johnson, Snooks, Sarah Snook), the new mascots of this newsletter. They have settled in very well, but we are still getting to know each other — for example, I am getting to know that Snacks is a demon child hellbent on climbing every wall in this house. She is coming to understand that I do not enjoy it when she does this. But we press on.

For this edition of the newsletter, I wanted to throw the spotlight on the lipsticks that consistently put in the work — the ones that either a) I reach for almost without thinking, b) go with every makeup look, or c) bring me an enormous amount of joy. The real MVPs of my lip collection.

Lisa Eldridge Insanely Saturated Lip Colour in Strawberry Shock

This is new to me, but I’m calling it an MVP after wearing it umpteen times in the space of a few weeks. To describe the shade to you correctly, let me first set the scene: A few years back, I was looking for a “neon red” lipstick. A red so bright it appears to hop off your face. So I found some bright orangey-reds, which I thought fit the bill at the time — but when I saw this colour, I realised that I was wrong and this, in fact, is neon red. 

It — and this is key — leans neither orange nor blue but pink. Not too pink! But just enough to give it that watermelon, strawberry zing. Sometimes, some very rare times, I try on a lipstick for the first time and go, “OH YEAH THIS IS IT.” And this is one of those lipsticks. Colour? Fabulous. Formula? Immaculately smooth and pigmented. It is the perfect red for every outfit. It’s a summery shade, but I’m still going to wear it into autumn and beyond. Just perfect.

Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lip Colour in Velvet Affair

Another Lisa Eldridge! It’s just my way. I don’t really go for traditional “nude” lipsticks, the Velvet Teddies and Pillow Talks of this world — they really wash me out unless I’m doing a super dark smokey eye. This lipstick is a little bit richer, a little more interesting. It’s described as a “soft caramel brown,” and to me, it’s the ideal complement to a heavier eye look. 

My lips don’t get completely lost, nor are they competing with my eyeshadow. It’s also lovely patted and blurred out for a softer vibe. Lisa Eldridge really has such a talent for creating unique and useful shades.

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in MI Kiss (formerly Bond Girl)

My other shade of “nude” is the soft pink-berry formerly known as Bond Girl. I believe this was amongst the first Charlotte Tilbury products I ever tried (please don’t judge me for it still being in rotation, it smells and performs fine and is but a nub now, so I’ll use it until it’s gone). My lips have a bit of natural pigment to them — probably why nudes don’t really suit me — and this colour is a yassified version of that. The internet beauty girlies call it a “my lips but better” shade and, perhaps unsurprisingly given how well it matches my natural lip colour, it goes with every type of makeup look. The Matte Revolution formula was once my absolute favourite, and while it’s been usurped by Lisa Eldridge, I still like how light and easy it is to wear. 

Glossier Ultralip in Trench and Villa

Funnily enough, my favourite “easy” lipsticks are in similar browny- and pinky-nude shades. I love a balmy, glossy lipstick. I have to stop myself from snapping up every brand’s iteration of this formula because, at the heart of it, they are all the exact same. Like, the Charlotte Tilbury Hyaluronic Happikiss lipsticks are basically the same as these, just slightly more pigmented and with more annoying packaging (they only twist up, so you have to be careful how much you twist and argghhh stop). 

Trench is a caramel brown that I just think looks cool, while Villa is a dusty rose that’s more sweet and girly. These are the lipsticks I reach for most on an ordinary day when I’m just slapping on some Flawless Filter, concealer, Boy Brow, and mascara. They’re extremely easy to reapply, since they are glorified tinted lip balm. No fuss! Probably Glossier’s best colour product after Cloud Paints.

Laura Mercier Velour Extreme Matte Lipstick in Fire 

Truthfully, this spot could have also gone to Lisa Eldridge’s Velvet Morning, but in the interest of variety, I’m going to give it to a more underrated lipstick formula. I wear orangey-reds more than true reds — for me, true red is an “occasion” colour, while orange-red is a “going to the pub in a boiler suit and runners” colour. It doesn’t feel too done, just cool.

Fire is a bright, rich orange-red, and the Velour Extreme Matte formula is both comfortable and long-wearing. I think I bought this because it looked so good on forever babe Bethany Rutter (hi Bethany!) and, as I said earlier, I cannot resist a red that just pops off your face. It’s very similar in tone to Velvet Morning, though to my eye, Velvet Morning is brighter and slightly more orange. Both shades are absolutely indispensable to me and extremely hardworking members of my collection. 

PS Beauty lipliner 

I’ve mentioned this, my favourite lipliner, in a few posts. It’s a nice, neutral brown nude, and I wear it with Velvet Affair, Bond Girl, the Glossier Ultralips — basically every nude or pink shade I own. But I think I cursed myself, because when I finished one, I said I’d have to look in Penneys for a few more replacements… and, of course, it no longer exists. One of the current PS lipliners, Foxy Nude, looked similar but as you can see, it is not the same. Foxy Nude is on the left, my original and beloved lipliner is on the right:

Can any of you help me identify a similar shade? I should have known the perfect €1.50 liner couldn’t stick around forever, but I’m still sad.

On that note… thanks for reading Vanity Project! I’m hoping to get back on track with posting from now on but I’m also getting married in like six months so what even is the track any more? Anyway, bye!