Expensive lipsticks

[hfuiweo]

I'm thinking of treating myself to a high brand lipstick.

Can anyone recommend any brands - and are they actually much better than the high street/drug store brands? I usually use Maybelline or No7.

They are much of a muchness, really. You are often paying for an iconic colour, like MAC's Ruby Woo etc (which, incidentally, is ridiculously drying).

Having tried many high street lipsticks and many high end brands the best lipstick I have found is Maxfactor colour elixir lipstick.

Charlotte tilbury

I like Clarins and YSL

MAC. Every time. I'm not keen on their Matt colours though, find they dry my lips out. As it's much longer lasting i think it's better value as the whole tube lasts ages!

High end tend to have denser pigments and a better range of colours. I've got just as many high end lipsticks as high street, but a lot of the ones where the colour is more nuanced ( see for example Lipstick Queen or Illamasqua) are high end. A lot of high street lipsticks look chalky or are too pearly for me. L'Oreal are the exception there - I'd say theirs are the best on the high street.

For the sheer range of colours I'd say MAC have the best range. Tom Ford have some gorgeous glamorous nudey colours. Personally I can't get on with Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks at all, I suspect they are a Cheaper formulation than they are letting on ( Paddington stare.)

Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier have the best selection of neutrals, Chanel do ' brighter than neutral but not scary' very well and I'd avoid Estee Lauder lipsticks as the smell is overpowering.

Ultimately there's no one brand to recommend- I'd go to a big department store and take a load of baby wipes with you so you can try everything on and properly remove it between swatches. There's nothing worse than swatching a lipstick over an existing one only to find it looks awful on its own ( bitter voice of experience!)

I love MAC, Charlotte Tilbury is V good too. If it’s a liquid lip you’re after I love the Anastasia Beverly Hills ones! They last all day, minimal transfer and they feel light on the lips, no stickiness.

NARS Tolede is the most perfect rich neutral shade, I didn't wear lipstick until I got this.

I don't wear lipsticks much myself but for me it starts with the case - it must feel solid and it must 'click'when it shuts.

My favourite is an M&S Autograph in Mulberry that you push the bottom to click it up/down

DD who is a lipstick user likes Urban Decay (about £15) Too Faced and KatVonD

Out of these , the KvD has the best staying power , UD has the best colour choice(and cases )

Sisley for darker colours (long lasting type) they're £38 but last for years and wear much more evenly than Mac or nars (for me).

I've got plenty of cheap lipsticks and they're ok, but there is something quite luxurious about a high end lipstick. I tend to use my cheaper lipsticks a few times then they get put to one side because I never quite get the colour right. Probably because you can't try them on your lips (I've got quite pigmented lips so colours can look quite different in). I love all of my high end ones because the colours are right for me. There is someone who can help you try them on and advise you. I like Bobbi brown the best, followed by ysl. Mac are good too, but their lipsticks have quite a strong vanilla scent to them.

I like some of the Tom Ford nude shades, a very rich formula but the last one I bought wears away really unevenly and I end up with just a beautiful lipline!
Charlotte tilbury are really drying on me
The thing is though, you can find dupes for virtually all of the high end ones on the high street (same for most makeup really) so I tend to go for the colour I really want rather than the brand.

I love my Hourglass lipstick (got it from Space NK), it’s in a thinner ‘bullet’ than most which makes it easy to apply and it lasts better than any other lipstick I’ve tried, including NARS, MAC etc. The pigment is really dense too. The case is lovely and you can get refills to put in the same case, I don’t know how much cheaper they are though. Think the lipstick is about £25.