Current Favourite (And Flattering) Lip Products

I’m a sucker for lip products. Who isn’t? (Probably a lot of people, really.) But honestly, when it comes to beauty products, there is nothing easier to pick up and accidentally slip into your basket like a lipstick/gloss/balm thing. They’re small, they’re harmless, and they’re oh-so-pretty.

The thing that sometimes gets my goat about them, however, is that they can be a tad high maintenance. Like, if something requires me to actually check up on it in the mirror every hour, then that is just not gonna fly. No way. I like my lip products to be supremely unfussy — but flattering at the same time.

Which is why I wanted to do a mini rave about three lovely lip products that I’m loving at the mo’.

First up, it has to be the NYX Butter Gloss in Angel Food Cake. Let’s talk about that name for a minute: Angel Food Cake? I think it was pretty obvious that I was immediately going to succumb to this one. As an avid reader/watcher of beauty blogs/vlogs, I’ve heard a lot about these babies, but hadn’t yet made the leap — until I picked up a couple in CVS while we were in LA.

Any beauty blogger worth her salt has talked about these — and for good reason. First of all, they smell amazing. Potentially like Angel Food Cake. Seriously though, they’re sweetly scented, and sort of feels like you’re applying dessert on your lips (only ever a good thing).

Next, the formula. These are called butter glosses for a reason: they really glide on smooth as budda’. So divine. I had a bit of an aversion to lip glosses for a number of years, with scarring memories of sticky ’00s glosses burned into my brain. But there’s none of this here: the formula is creamy, smooth, non-sticky, and super flattering.

Last up, the colour. Again, I hadn’t really jumped on the brown lip bandwagon, partly because it was perpetual summer in Malaysia, and also because wearing a brown lip is a risky move that I’m just not prepared for. However, I thought this was a good compromise: a slightly browner deep pink that was actually wearable and flattering on my skin tone.

I’ve been loving this butter gloss when I want to just throw on some lip colour, but not have to look in the mirror whilst doing so… that’s pretty much my definition of winning!

Next up is a bit of an old fave: the Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector in 01 Rose Shimmer. I found out about these from The Anna Edit, and promptly picked up a travel set in Melbourne airport. As Anna mentioned, these are another easy-to-wear lip product that requires minimal maintenance. This is a must for me (as you’ve probably figured out by now).

The thing about these is that they give a beautiful touch of light to the lips. As the name would suggest, really. But honestly, these are a perfect summer addition: lightweight, glowy and nourishing.

Honestly, it feels almost like more of a balm, in that my lips feel protected, but it also looks great. Perfect combination!

Here’s a little example with swatches from each (top to bottom: NYX, Clarins, and Nature Republic):

Last up, the Nature Republic By Flower Vivid Tint Bar in 02 Strawberry Bar. I obviously am a little bit obsessed with Nature Republic, and used to repeatedly haul their stuff back in Korea. It’s cheap and cheerful, but also great and fun and amazing. Yep.

So anyway, I picked this up on a whim, as I was curious as to what a “vivid tint bar” was, and how it could improve my life. Well, let me count the ways! In all honesty, this bar looks pretty intimidating in the tube, but I use it when I want a nostalgic gradient lip (which was a huge trend when I was in Korea).

Looking like a doll is always a plus, and this slightly more matte formula really lends itself to staying put where you want it to. I only use a tint bit in the centre of my lips, and then blend it out — and voila! Doll-like gradient lips in one step.

These three beauties have been in high rotation in my purse — how about you? Are you as obsessed with lip products as I am? Let me know in the comments (and enable me)!

Steph x