Best Lipstick Formulas 2019

In the past five years or so, I've owned at least one dark lipstick in almost every color family: red, purple, pink, plum, brown, even blue and gray. Until this year, though, I had never bought a true black lipstick. Black lips were a little too predictably goth, too Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way . A dark brown or dark red was arty, my hipster brain told me. It was historical, because I could point to the same colors in illustrations from the '20s. Dark shades of traditional lipstick colors made me feel more mature: that is, as mature as an overeducated, underemployed, indebted millennial could feel. By contrast, black lipstick evoked nothing so much as a My Chemical Romance concert in 2006. But my prejudices vanished one late-September Sunday in the beauty section of Target, when I came upon Wet n Wild's Halloween collection and spotted a sparkly black liquid lipstick . I had resisted non-sparkly black lipsticks by dozens of brands, but I was powerless against b...

If there's one thing I've learned from living in central New Jersey for the better part of a decade, it's how to choose humidity-resistant makeup. (I would say "humidity-proof," but nothing is truly humidity-proof except mosquitoes.) In a part of the world where the humidity index routinely hovers above 90% and occasionally creeps up to 100%, it's essential to know which formulas won't slide off my face before I even leave the house—or, at least, will look semi-decent as they slide off. In addition to living in the muggy armpit of the United States, I'm also a person who sweats a lot, particularly on my face and scalp. After my 20-minute walk to work, my face is dripping and my hair is as wet as if I've just showered. All this is to say that if I vouch for the tenacity of a formula, believe me: it's tenacious. When choosing my makeup on particularly humid mornings, I look for formulas that a) stain the skin, b) dry down completely, or c) fade g...

The only makeup store close to where I live is an especially snobby Bluemercury, so when I visit my mom in San Francisco, I tend to spend more time than strictly necessary in Sephora and Ulta. During this particular visit, I was excited to check out the NYX Liquid Suede Metallic Matte lipsticks, which debuted online in early July but didn't come to Ulta stores until July 30. The original Liquid Suede formula works well for me (I own Amethyst , Stone Fox , and Brooklyn Thorn ), so I couldn't wait to try the metallic version, which allegedly delivers "high-impact metallic color" in "a shockingly creamy" formula. Spoiler: I was disappointed. But, in the spirit of a Kimberly Clark anti-haul, I might as well share my experience on my blog. I was of two minds whether to write this review: I swatched all the shades but wore  only one, and for only a couple of hours, and I didn't get a great photo of myself wearing it, and blah blah blah. But entire presidentia...

Most makeup collectors have their color kryptonite, particularly when it comes to lipstick: pinky nudes, corals, blue-based reds. For me that color is, and has pretty much always been, magenta. Or whatever you want to call it: bright plum, dark fuchsia, anything that walks the line between purple and deep pink. I just did a lazy Google search for "magenta," and here's the image that comes closest to my Platonic ideal: Magenta isn't a particularly trendy color these days. It evokes 1980s excess, and can read especially '80s if paired with blue or green. For proof, here's my own vintage '80s dress, which I can't wear in public because I'm a somewhat self-respecting adult, but also can't get rid of because look at it : Detail of the pattern: There is something tacky and hedonistic about magenta, but my natal decade was not the only tacky, hedonistic one in history (though it sure came close). In fact, magenta is a nineteenth-century color, a produ...

I never paid much attention to Wet n Wild until recently. They've truly stepped up their game in the past couple of years, and perhaps the best evidence for that is their new line of "Liquid Catsuit" lipsticks ($4.99 each). By the time Wet n Wild got around to creating liquid matte lipsticks, every sane variation on the phrase "liquid matte" had already been taken, but I appreciate their creativity and  their commitment: there's even a sexy lady in a catsuit on the tubes. Personally, though, I think of catsuits as shiny instead of matte. Am I wrong? The word "catsuit" makes me imagine a Bond girl from the Age of Aquarius, clad in gold lame or black patent leather. Regardless, kudos to Wet n Wild for coming up with a cute and memorable, and only slightly objectifying, name. There are 13 Liquid Catsuit shades, most of them pretty basic: you've got your beige nude, peach, cool red, warm red, fuchsia, etc. I picked up two shades at my local Rite Ai...