My Favorite Nude Lip Liners

I used to wear lip liner with almost every lipstick years ago, and then I stopped all together. My lip liners never got any use and I basically forgot about them. However, over the past year or so I have begun wearing them again, and have accumulated quite a collection of neutral shades to wear with all types of lip colors. These shades are my most worn and easily blend with both nude lip colors as well as bold ones. 

The one of the bunch that I wear the most has to be Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk because the formula is so smooth and the color works well with my natural lip shade. After that I wear Urban Decay Ex-Girlfriend a ton (which sadly was limited edition), but am thrilled to use the new Naked shade from the 24/7 liner collection that just launched. Both formulations are creamy and easy to blend. Rodial's Baby was a surprise because I didn't anticipate this one to be such a great shade, but with it's slight sheen, I like it as a lip color or as a liner. 

From top left to right: Urban Decay Ex-Girlfriend, Urban Decay 24/7 Lip Pencil in Naked, Rodial Liner in Baby, Marc Jacobs in Honeybun, Dior Liner in Grege, Marc Jacobs in Primrose and Charlotte Tilbury in Pillow Talk

Marc Jacobs' Honeybun and Primrose are a bit more fuller coverage with a slightly dry texture so I prefer to use as a liner unless my lips are properly moisturized prior to applying. Dior Grege is one of the best nude shades and looks amazing with neutral lip colors as well as a base to tone down a bold or bright shade. 

*pr samples included

What are some of your favorite nude lip liner shades? Leave me a comment below!

Shop some of my favorite lip formulations:

Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Lip Liners with Swatches

I go in and out of loving lip liners. Sometimes I love wearing them, and then fall out of my routine somehow and I forget about them. This recent launch from Urban Decay in collaboration with Gwen Stefani was enough to bring them back into circulation for me. Being that it was Gwen Stefani that was behind this collaboration, I knew the shades would be more bold and of course there are a couple red shades in the bunch. But even if you are not a bold lip lover, there is a gorgeous nude lip liner that is a must have! 

From left to right: Firebird, Phone Call, Ex-Girlfriend, 714, Rock Steady and Wonderland.

To be honest, I have been wearing these lip liners as full lip colors with the exception of the nude shade, Ex-Girlfriend. That has been in rotation regularly as a liner, but the other shades (mainly the 3 red ones) have looked great filled in on the entire lip with a sheer balm or gloss on top. If you are looking for a lip liner formula that glides on effortlessly and is easy to remove, these are not for you. They are slightly dry with some drag to them when applied, but that is simply because of the formula  - it is INSANELY long lasting. I am talking 12-15 hours long. Almost no lipstick I have lasts like these. Even the swatches on my arm were extremely difficult to remove. But surprisingly, even though they were intensely pigmented and lasted all day, they feel very comfortable on the lips. Rock Steady is my favorite and most classic out of all the red shades. If you are a lip liner connoisseur, these are a definitely must for your collection. And if you are not, I would advise you to give a second look to Rock Steady and Ex-Girlfriend - they are both classics.

*pr samples included

Shop more of my favorite Urban Decay products:

The Two Most Perfect Neutral Lip Liners

I never thought I would see the day when I went back to wearing lip liners, but here we are. Almost any and every look I did in my early 20's consisted of a lined lip - sometimes I would even line my lips with a darker liner and fade into a lighter shade lip. Yowza. While it can be beautiful for editorial purposes, that is not the look I am trying to achieve now. But that being said, I have been wanting to add a neutral lip liner back into my routine for a bit of a more defined lip and as a base for glosses, balms, etc. I began to do some research and found two that absolutely fit the bill and surprisingly I have gone back to wearing them regularly!

1. Dior Contour Lipliner Pencil in Grege (left swatch below) - This color is absolutely perfect and while it can give my lips the most perfect definition, it also wears well under sheer colors or more vibrant colors that I want to tone down. The formula is a tad dry so a lip balm is necessary before applying, and touching up throughout the day with a moisturizing lip formula will help keep the lips from drying out too much. But the color is just too beautiful to resist, so it's worth the high maintenance.

2. Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Lip Pencil in Pillowtalk (right swatch above) - Trying to track down this lip pencil was not easy since most of the places I looked were all sold out. Thankfully I managed to because it was definitely worth the wait. The formula is a bit creamier than the Dior and the color skews more pink, but it is stunning when on the lips. Alone, layered or just used around the edge, this lip pencil is a must have in almost every makeup bag. And once it is applied, it does last a very (very, very) long time. After wearing it for a full day, it can make the lips a tad dry, but nothing that a good lip balm (this is an all time favorite) can't fix.

Rotating In Some New Lip Colors

So many lipsticks, only one pair of lips. Amiright???? Either way, I can't turn down a chance to try a new lip color, even if it may take me 178 years to finally finish all of them. I've tried a slew of colors in the past few weeks and narrowed it down to my 7 top favorites. Some are neutral and some are bold, so clearly I am turning over a new leaf permanently because my nude to bold ratio is almost even at this point. Who am I, right? But bold lips are often the easiest to throw on in the morning when I don't want to fuss with eye makeup.

The NARS Velvet lip liners are the newest of the colors shown and I picked a vibrant orange in Playa Dorado and a bold pale peach in Anse Soleil.The texture gives a strong matte finish but I actually like wearing them as full lip colors rather than just a liner. The Playa Dorado is one that I have been pairing with my Clinique Baby Tints (read my review here) in Coming Up Rosy and Poppin Poppy. Because the NARS liner is so pigmented and the Baby Tints are so sheer, it's like a match made in heaven. They are a bit more matte in my opinion than the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils, so a balm or gloss over top is a must for me. But the color pay off is IN-TEN-SE. And that's what I love about it.

I'm new to the Lipstick Queen brand but one of my favorite nude lips is Saint Pinky Nude (seriously it's perfect), so I was anxious to try more.The Velvet Rope lipsticks in Brat Pack and Private Party are truly decadent. They are quite a splurge at $50, but you seriously get what you pay for with these. These are one of the smoothest textures I've tried and they have the softness of a nourishing lip balm with the color pay-off of an intense matte texture. You can see even in my swatches how the color looks so even and creamy. And Brat Pack is such a gorgeous elegant red that I feel like a sassy pants (I mean, more than normal) whenever I wear it. The lipstick in Saint Rose is part of the their Sinner/Saint collection, and the Saint lipsticks are always more sheer and hydrating. The color is definitely unique in that it looks quite different swatched on the arm versus on the lips. On the lips, it looks like a red/rose, whereas on the arm is reads more plum. It's different than anything I currently have in my collection (I know, I can't believe it either) and that's why I like it.

After going on and on about the Kevyn Aucoin loose shimmer shadows in Monday's post, the love continues with two lip shades from the line. I posted a pic on Instagram when I first received the Expert Lip Color in Jorjia because I couldn't believe how stunning this fuchsia looked on. And considering I wasn't wearing any makeup in that picture, yet the color still looked amazing says everything. The Matte Lip Color in "For Keeps" is a bit more muted but I actually sheered it out a bit in the picture. If applied with a heavy hand, this color is an intense vibrant coral. I prefer the way I show it in the picture because it looks like a gorgeous nude lip. Usually I throw on a clear balm or sheer gold gloss and it makes a great complement to a bronzy smokey eye.

What new lip colors are you loving? Any recent purchases that you think I should know about? Let me know if the comments below!

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