Hip-hip hooray, it’s party season!
We all deserve a knees-up, and for beauty lovers it provides the welcome opportunity to relish getting ready and feeling great.
For some that means applying a face or eye mask while choosing and outfit or drying your hair.
For others that means selecting just the right makeup to compliment what you’re planning to wear.
Then there’s those of us rushing from the office to said soirée, or organising childcare or, if you’re the host with the most, it may mean preparing a meal, drinks or platters before guests arrive.
In any case, the perfect budge-proof lipstick is the ideal choice to help set the glamourous mood and help you feel fab, not frazzled.
This season there’s a plethora of one-swipe wonders that deliver what we like to call a power pout. That is, intense, full-coverage pigment in a fresh, modern hue that goes on smoothly and looks fantastic without requiring a lip pencil or brush to apply it perfectly, nor a mirror to check it’s still in place.
These go-tos give a perfect matte finish that doesn’t look or feel too dry and lasts well without flaking or drying out your lips.
You can’t go past the on-trend nature of every single hue this lipstick has to offer. They go on beautifully and are easy to achieve a sharp edge without a liner, and fit easily in a purse or clutch. It also can’t be underestimated how useful the outer packaging that represents each shade is. It means you can instantly see what colour you’re reaching for in your vanity drawer or bag.
L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Volume Matte Lipstick
We love the chic and slim look of this lipstick and the formula is just as good – no, better! It performs in the manner of a product twice its price and again, comes in bold, modern hues including the perfect red and a number of perfect pink and pinky-nude shades. The finish is matte, but a creamy matte rather than a powdery or velvety look. One of the best lipstick arrivals of the year and coming right before we head into a season of parties is a Godsend.
Stila Stay All Day Matte Lip Color
Frankly Stila as a brand is underrated and we think this deserves to be a product that puts them back on top. A plush lip colour that is easy to wear, providing a veil of colour that you wont notice you’re wearing, but everyone else will. It contains Cupuaçu butter known to help protect and moisturise dry and damaged lips, and promises to be long-lasting, transfer-proof, mask-proof, and waterproof. So if you’re planning to jump in the pool at the end of the night, be our guest!
MAC Powder Kiss Velvet Blur Slim Stick
A versatile option, this lipstick can go on as a subtle veil of colour blotted out with a finger, or as a full-colour swatch of pigment. Again hydration has been prioritised so they feel good on and lips remain in great shape even after the colour has been removed. The shade range includes some of MAC’s classics reinvented like Ruby New, a take on iconic lipstick Ruby Woo, and Nice Spice, not too far from the brand’s popular Spice lip pencil. There are some great brights in the range too, perfect for summer.
Dior Rouge Dior Forever Lipstick
Dior’s development is prolific but even so, this is a stand-out. A glamourous long-wear lipstick that comes in 17 shades with a smooth finish that doesn’t amplify lip creases and contains floral extracts for hydration and care. It lasts well through a night of drinks and dancing!
