Product Watch: The best lipsticks on the market

Lipstick is the ultimate make-up mood-booster and with autumn’s new formulas incorporating skincare and intense colour, Rachel Marie Walsh compiles six of the best new offerings you need to try now

Dubai-based Huda Beauty founded US National Lipstick Day in 2016, in what may be the most astonishing demonstration of their commercial savvy yet. This day has now been celebrated twice, mainly by US media and beauty brands. There are some 1,500 national days on the US calendar annually, for perspective, but still. Not even beauty giant Estée Lauder thought to buy the rights to it before Huda Kattan decided to generate this boost for the entire industry.

An official day may be unlikely to catch on beyond a nation of corporations but that doesn’t mean there’s a day of the year that can’t be improved by lipstick, if only a little. It is the

ultimate makeup mood-booster: less hassle to remove than mascara, more fun to test than foundation and easier to get right than blush. Autumn’s new formulas incorporate skincare and intense colour. Here are six of the best.

Tom Ford Soleil Lip Lacquer Liquid Tint, €49

Tom Ford is a self-described control freak which I’m sure makes him a nightmare to work for but also means he obsessed over anything TF you buy, from gowns to bags to lipsticks. “They [his manufacturing deals with Estée Lauder, among others] are not some licenses where I say, ‘Go and do some lipsticks.’ As silly as it sounds, I put the lipsticks on: Do I like the smell? Do I like the taste?,” he tells The Business of Fashion. Thorough. It comes in four finishes — sheer tint, metal, matte and patent — and six classic shades. There is one any woman would want, from a Ferrari-red patent to pretty matte roses to translucent nudes. It is both long-wearing and rich in softening, antioxidant plant-oils. The

applicator helps contour as well as coat lips. This product is further proof that Mr Ford knows that women do not want it all, just the best of everything.

Manasi 7 All Over Lip and Cheek Colour, €43.90 at contentbeautyandwelbeing.com

If you and are fond of organic, vegan and generally nasties-free makeup, you will love Swedish brand Manasi 7. Created by makeup artist Susanne Manasi Persson, this is both slow and clean beauty, produced in small batches through sustainable methods and with wild or organic ingredients. She is adamant about consistently silky textures, which other organic makeup so often lacks, as well as maintaining a strong colour-payoff. Susanne tells me she enhances The Cardigans front-woman Nina Persson (who natural beauties might take as an icon), with this luminous cream in ‘Chamoisee’ nude, to give her some natural polish.

Maybelline Colour Sensational Shine Compulsion Lipstick, €9.99

This super-dewy lipstick makes me think of Maybelline ads from the 90s, from which Sarah Michelle Gellar flashed a pearly smile above teeny-tiny, staple-adjacent admissions that her images were altered. In real life this is the kind of formula most likely to smear onto teeth, you really do have to watch high-shine lipstick, but the conditioning power is real and ideal for colder months. Adding to its value is the strong colour-pigment, undiluted by all the protective waxes and antioxidants on the ingredients list.

Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick, €20

Stila’s hit liquid lipstick is out in six new shades for autumn. I highly recommend it if you are still rocking Kylie Jenner-big matte lips because it is one of the few products that gives you the look without causing dehydration and peeling over time. Constant irritation promotes collagen breakdown. Further, outlining a liner that matches your lip colour with a slightly darker shade (e.g. a cranberry pencil around a flaming red like ‘Fiery’) makes lips look larger still,

painlessly. The avocado and Vitamin E oils in the formula both comfort lips and highlight them with a natural radiance that will contrast with the darker contour. Stila’s dynamic founder Jeanine Lobell, who also runs an app that helps you get over someone, recommends pairing a bold shade with loads of mascara, especially if you have time for no other makeup. ‘Vino,’ a deep red-wine and ‘Forza,’ an even darker

Burgundy, are pretty striking.

Dior Rouge Ink Lipliner, €29.50

Simply wearing liner as lipstick is a quick way to get intensely coloured, contoured lips with great precision… until the tip blunts and the

colour pigment soaks all moisture from your skin. Dior has new liquid colour in a pen that solves both problems. It is intense and long-wearing as a matte lipstick without the dryness. The pen’s felt tip aids flawless application, it works just like a great liquid eyeliner-marker. Shades include ‘999,’ the true red Natalie Portman wears.

NYX Professional Makeup Suede Matte Lipstick, €10

If you are fond of a lip so nude it is basically foundation (to be paired with smoky eyes,

naturally), you will love this lipstick in ‘Fetish.’

Yours is a super-dated look but I won’t knock it because I love it too, so Bardot. NYX based this lipstick on its always-handy Suede Matte

Lipliner, €5.50. It has the same powder-matte look and strong, classic shade-range.