14 lip balms, lip glosses and lipsticks I can’t live without

Our old handbag died a few weeks ago and when we were unloading the contents we were taken back by the amount of lip products I had stashed in every pocket and compartment available. Every girl loves a good lip, so I wasn’t shocked that there were 14 lip products. Ever since a bold lip became popular (and an instant pop of colour to a dull day) every girls beauty haul grew and we were no different.

Since every other person thought we were crazy to have a ‘lucky dip’ collection of lip products in our bag, we had to share our collection and why we need them. And maybe why you need them too.

LIP BALM’S WITH SPF

It’s not just your skin that need SPF protection your lips need a SPF too. Especially when you live in Australia and the sun does more damage in 20 minutes than it does in any other part of the world. I try to use one of these every day as a base before I touch up with lipstick.

• Bonne Bell Therapy Lip Maintenance SPF30
  We love this because it’s a drug store/supermarket pick up that kicks almost every other brand out there on the market in terms of price and SPF protection. And I have a soft spot for Bonne Bell – they were one of the first beauty products I was allowed to use as a child.
• Bobbi Brown Lip Balm SPF15
  I love this tin! I also love the formulation and how it’s not too shiny – perfect for teaming up with a lipstick.
• MAC Cosmetics Lip Conditioner SPF15
  This is one of my personal favourites with its slight vanilla flavour, moisture and shine. It also comes in a tinted version – which I will pick up when I run out of some of the other tinted products I own.

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MOISTURISING LIP BALMS

Sometimes my lips get really dry if I’m sitting in an air conditioned room all day. So we always have a few super moisturising lip balms on hand at ALL times – we even have doubles of some just so we always have one on hand. We have to make a special mention of one product that isn’t seen in this list – Lanolips 101 Ointment, only because I haven’t restocked since I ran out. But the tinted one (in another list below) is almost as good.

• Lucas Papaw Ointment
  This iconic Australian lip balm is one of my all-time favourites. It’s a great natural product that doesn’t cost more than $6 for a tube and lasts forever. It’s moisturising and great to rub on your cuticles when you have a bit extra on your fingers after application.
• Endota Spa Organic Lip Balm Cinnamon & Honey
  When my friend started working at Endota she couldn’t stop raving about their lip balm, so when one arrived in the mail we cracked it open as quickly as possible. It smooths on nicely and to add cream to the pie, it’s organic!
• Comvita Nourishing Lip Treatment
  Recently launched in Australia, this New Zeland beauty brand invited us to a product briefing about their all-new-and-wonderful HuniXA (pronounced honey-x-a) formula in a whole new product line (based on the healing properties of Manuka honey). Naturally we couldn’t wait to try their lip treatment. It perfect for light touch ups during the day with no greasy feelings.

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LIP GLOSS & BALMS WITH COLOUR

Let me let you in one a secret, sometimes I get lazy when it comes to lip colour and lip balm, which is where all-in-ones come in handy. I’ve set the Juicy Tube slightly outside of this group because it’s glossier than the other three and the shade I’m currently using doesn’t have a tint. I know gloss goes in and out of beauty, but it’s nice to have one in the handbag anyway.

• Lancome Juicy Tubes in Spring Fling
  I’ve been obsessed with Juicy Tubes for almost a decade now and we still have a few tubes lying around thanks to a crazed visit to Sephora this one time in Hawaii. You can’t beat em for gloss and a bit of moisture, as well as a good tint (though not in this shade). But steer clear of the glitter shades, they dry out my lips every time I use them. Then again, who uses a glitter lip gloss anymore?
• Lanolips Lip Ointment with colour SPF15 in Rhubarb
  When Lanolips sent me one of their Lanolips Lip Ointment with colour and SPF I was in love. It’s not as amazingly moisturising as its non-tinted sister, but it does the trick when my day lipstick is fading and I don’t want to keep reapplying lip balm and lipstick.
• Smashbox O-Gloss
  Smashbox are just so clever with their O range of products. This little darling is clear in the tube, and clear when it comes out. But when you put it on the lip, it slowly turns a nice shade of pink. The Goji Berry-C Complex is seemingly activated by heat. What amazes me is that it goes the perfect shade of pink on everyone. Honestly!
• Korres Cherry Full Colour Gloss in Natural Purple
  Now this is another one for lazy days – it’s super moisturising thanks to the cherry and jojoba oil, while giving you natural looking lip colour. Ok when you call a shade ‘natural purple’ it doesn’t sound natural (purple is actually code for plum in Korres world) but the product is paraben, sulphate, petro-chemical and GMO-free. I’ve already convince two friends it’s a fantastic product, and we definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a tinted lip product.

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LIPSTICKS FOR EVERY OCCASION

Last but not least, lipstick. We have four favourites right now; it used to be three until we were introduced to a fabulous Estee Lauder shade from their Pure Colour range. Why do we need four on a regular basis (not counting the stash we have in our makeup ‘box’ we use occasionally)?

• Clinique High Impact lipstick in Rose Spectrum
  This is my all-time favourite day lipstick and shade. It’s not drying on the lips, the colour has amazing consistency and is only a few shades darker than my natural lip colour – making it a perfect day shade for when I have meetings or just want a slightly more polished day look.
• Estee Lauder Pure Colour Crystal lipstick in Rose Envy
  This is a fun pop of colour for day time. I tried bright coloured lipsticks before and because my lips are naturally dark, most shades looked ghastly. But this one goes on semi-sheer but with enough colour to give me a light punch. I love how it’s moisturising and smells like “Estee Lauder” – some beauty brands just have a scent that makes me think of the days when I would try on my mother’s lipsticks when I was playing dress-ups and Lauder was definitely one of them. Ah sentimental brands.
• Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick in Sexy
  Now this is a long-time favourite (a long time being 4 years plus). I was first introduced to Chanel’s Rouge Allure lipsticks when a friend thrusted this shade in my face and asked me to try it on. Who was I to say no? It was love at first sight and we haven’t been apart since. The red is a lovely berry shade that is a strong red lip for the day, or something sassy but sexy for the night. And we love that the tube ‘pops’ out with a touch of our finger. We love it so much we may even have purchased ‘backup’ tubes just in case we run out or it goes missing.
• Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Colour in Smoke Red
  This was a welcome addition to my lipstick line up. Added late last year because we wanted to try a bold red lip – something darker than the Chanel but still a berry red. And it was perfect. We’d love to team it with an amazing Tom Ford tuxedo, stiletto heels and a walk down a red carpet, pouting like Megan Fox as we strutted.

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We’re currently trailing a few new lip ‘sticks’ which we’re actually considering throwing it into our new handbag – a Proenza Schouler PS1 if you must ask – but we wouldn’t know what to cull. That’s a thought for another day!

Now you know what lip products we love, tell us about yours.

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Disclaimer: We were gifted the following brands for editorial consideration –
Bobbi Brown, MAC, Endota, Comvita, Lanolips, Smashbox, Korres, Estee Lauder and Tom Ford.
We intend to purchase them again when they run out. We purchased the other brands.