What are the top three characteristics you want in a lip product?
Pigmentation–I like medium to full coverage, buildable is fine–that goes on smoothly (no settling into lip lines) and feels comfortable to wear.
— Christine
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29 Comments
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First, it has to be at least somewhat hydrating (I have very dry, slightly sensitive lips). Secondly, I like them to be pigmented. Third, I prefer a satin or soft matte finish, nothing metallic or glittery. If I am going to use a gloss, I like shine, but no glitter.
I want a moderate amount of slip, a color that looks expensive (a lot of pinks look cheap to me) and a fragrance/flavor that’s either pleasant or nonexistent.
Yes, SaffyTaffy, way too many pinks, especially the cooler toned bright ones, look cheap and gaudy to me, too. I never thought anyone else ever noticed it until now!
Even color, regardless of type of finish – I don’t want anything getting patchy or clumping in spots. Easy of application – I don’t want a formula that is so creamy smooth it will bleed and smear quickly nor do I want it so dry that I’m pulling the daylights out of my lips trying to get it on. And, finally, I want one that will maintain its shape. I hate when you get halfway through a lipstick and it starts breaking or shifting in the lower part of the tube. My UD Vice lipsticks are favorites, but it has a bad problem of breaking at the bottom when I’m close to the end (twice on TMI and once on Sheer Rapture) and I’ve had to melt the bottom and smoosh it together and put it in the fridge to set to try and repair it.
I love UD Vice lipsticks too, but I’ve never heard of that problem and thankfully haven’t experienced it.
1. I don’t like it to dry out my lips. It doesn’t have to be moisturizing (although that’s a plus) as long as it’s not drying.
2. I don’t want it to migrate out and into my lip lines. Many of the more creamy formulas do that, even the really pricey ones. At my age (45) I don’t want to deal with it, and I don’t want to feel like I need to use lip liner all of the time.
3. No strong scent.
I’m 31 and even in my 20s I didn’t want to deal with the need of using lip liner. 😆 Migrating into lines / feathering is one of my lipstick pet-peeves.
Huge pet peeve for me, too. I never had this problem when I was younger. I find it can sometimes happen even with lipliners. I’ve been looking for other ways to keep lipstick from feathering, including using clear eyeshadow primer around the edges of my lips. I tried it at home the other day and it appeared to work and was a lot easier to do than lip liner, but further experimentation is needed before I make any final conclusions.
Seraphine, My Mother used to sell Avon and they had a clear lip liner, I bought a few and they solve the problem of bleeding for me. I don’t know if they still sell them though.
*Pigmentation – I like good opacity, medium to full coverage, buildable and sheerable
*Good staying power and an uniform fade – I don’t like to need to retouch often and I do sip water a lot through the day
*Non-drying – I like comfortable mattes or satin formulas
Easy to apply, doesn’t fade to a pink tone, and doesn’t require a lip liner (i.e., can be easily blurred a bit along the edges).
I want it to be pigmented: sheer lipsticks clash with my natural lip colour and look strange.
Fragrance free: I love Lancome lipstick but I have to air them out a bit to use them. It would be nice not to have to do that. Even pleasant smells get to me after a while when they are too strong.
Not drying: I don’t care what finish it is so long as my lips are not drying out and burning. Moisturizing lipstick would be the best.
Limiting it to only three things isn’t easy! (1) Go on smoothly and evenly. (2) Does not venture out into the annoying feathery lines that go outside of my lips. (3) Doesn’t dry out my lips.
1. Non-toxic ingredients
2. Doesn’t migrate and reasonable wear- time
3. Comfortable
It'[s kind of odd that most of us ignore the `non-toxic ingredient` part for other cosmetic/aesthetic considerations… but you are so right in making it the first point. I mean… lipstick is on our lips, we end up ingesting some of the product when drinking or eating. Maybe it doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things (no matter how hard we try, toxins will squeeze into our bodies from various sources), but it’s a thing to think on.
I know Bite Beauty has a line of food grade lipstick formulas. 🙂
1.Absolutely cannot migrate outside my lip margins or into my lip lines.
2.Opacity based on the specific formula. If it is meant to be sheer then that is okay. I know that when I buy it but anything besides sheers should be opaque or build easily without looking like a heavy mess.
3. For me it is a forgone conclusion that it is going to wear off and relatively quickly since I worry my lips all day so where I would like to say long lasting, that just doesn’t happen for me. So my third would be scent or taste. I really am specific about what scents and tastes I can tolerate. I don’t mind mildly minty but too much of the scent or of a tingling, numbing sensation just isn’t for me. I don’t like the taste of perfume. Most of the time, if the lipstick has a perfume scent it is okay, I just don’t want to taste it. I would prefer no scent/taste or something fruity/vanilla scented.
1. Longevity: which is hard to find in the pinky-nude colours I use most, unless they are liquid lip, which brings me to number…
2. Even fading. My favourite nude matte liquid lip colours they wear in the middle of my lips and stay firmly put around the edges. Not a good look.
3. Good pigmentation: be they gloss, matte or satin.
Only three? LOL
1.) Non-drying. The one thing I truly abhor in a lip product is when it makes my lips feel dryed up, shriveled or crumbly!
2.) I LOVE me a smoothing finish! Something that doesn’t emphasize my lip lines, but instead gives them a smoother, plumper, healthy appearance.
3.) NO FEATHERING! As an ex-smoker, I do have some furrowing above my upper lip, also genetic downward expression lines on each side of my mouth (common to many Indigenous people of the North American continent). The last thing I need is to have my lipstick wander off the grid and make me look like the Joker or Sweet Baby Jane!
Honorable Mention: I want smoothly distributed pigmentation! Even if a lipstick is labeled as “sheer”, I want it to apply evenly. No patchy or splotchy looking lipsticks need apply!
1 non drying
2 strong pigmentation, full coverage
3 and above all, no feathering
Long lasting wear, creamy/hydrating feel, not smearing/ travelling outside my lips.
Once I have decided on the shade, I want my lipstick to be:
1. Creamy and hydrating on the lips
2. A little bit glossy or metallic, but no glittery effects
3. Long wearing and strong – I really dislike it when the lipstick breaks easily!
Moisturizing – I have very dry lips so drying lipsticks are a no for me.
Long-lasting – Kind of hard to find in moisturizing lipsticks, but that’s what I want!
Pigmentation – I don’t like sheer, “blotted” or stained looks. I want full opacity. Otherwise it looks like my lipstick is wearing off right after I applied it.
Stays put…no “bleeding” into my fine lip lines. I don’t mind touch ups during my day, so long wear time isnt a priority, but it must be comfortable. I rarely wear liquid lipstick because they’re so uncomfortable. And then, I would agree on pigmentation.
Pigmentation, comfort, ease of application (i don’t use lip brushes or liner).
Moistuizing or at least not drying. Light to medium coverage. Of course, flattering colors and I love a bit of sheen to sparkle.
1. High pigmentation (unless it’s supposed to be sheer, but even then I prefer it more on the side of medium-sheer)
2. Even wear
3. Nothing overly complicated
If it’s a gloss, I also don’t want it to be too sticky and act as a magnet for my hair.
*Lipstick — Pigmentation, comfortable wear, and no heavy floral or perfume scents.
*Lipgloss — No cinnamon oil (it makes my lips painfully itchy), not super-sticky, and layers without dissolving everything under it.
*Lip balm — Neither too waxy nor too oily; moisturizing; pleasant scent/taste.
*Lip pencils — Pigmentation; good texture (not too hard, waxy, or soft); easy to sharpen.
Ditto (except I never noticed about cinnamon oil)!!!
Not glossy; pigmented; texture stays smooth.
I expect lipsticks to wear off, so that doesn’t bother me, but I really dislike lipsticks that get … odd … over time; grainy, color change, etc. I odn’t expect them to be outright hydrating, but I don’t want them to dry my lips out either.
Color is irrelevant, except to the degree that I won’t wear pastels or Barbie-doll colors.