My Lip Liner Collection

I don't tend to wear lip liner very often these days. It's a speed thing but I certainly think they have their place and I have some particular favourites. Most of the ones I own are quite natural colours. Not beige nude but a colour similar to my natural lip shade. I find them useful for definition and also for using under lipgloss. When I do wear lip liner I tend to apply it all over the lip rather than just on the lip line.

From the top left of the image down: Left to right: NYX Mauve, Rimmel Exaggerate Addiction, Kevyn Aucoin Minimal, MAC Subculture, Bourjois Enjoleuse

Left to right: NYX Mauve, Rimmel Exaggerate Addiction, Kevyn Aucoin Minimal, MAC Subculture, Bourjois Enjoleuse

The liners shown above are NYX Mauve, Rimmel Exaggerate Addiction, Kevyn Aucoin Minimal, MAC Subculture and Bourjois Enjoleuse. NYX Mauve is a pinky mauve with a touch of brown. It's a bit darker than my natural lip colour. NYX is a cheaper brand but I find this stands up well to the other more expensive pencils. Rimmel Exaggerate in Addiction in one of the lighter colours that I own. It's a beige pink and it mutes my lip colour a little (though not as much as Subculture). I've had it a very long time and I find it a versatile colour. I've had success using this to make lighter pinks more wearable.

Kevyn Aucoin lip liner in Minimal is a touch darker than NYX Mauve. It's still only a bit darker than my lip colour and it's good for getting a nice shape. I like pairing it with my many 'my lips but better' and rosy lip colours. It has a nice creamy, easy to apply formula though not too slippy that it moves around. MAC Subculture is a good staple colour to own. Like Rimmel Addiction, this mutes my lip colour whilst providing a sharper lip line. It is the most beige of my 'natural' colours, I think it has the driest texture too. Bourjois Enjoleuse is rosy pink and is one of my older items of makeup. This was a favourite alongside Bourjois Cannelle rosée lipstick from my pre-makeup junkie days.

From the top left down: Rimmel Exaggerate 005 Pure, Le Metier de Beaute Rose, MAC Cherry

Top to bottom: Rimmel Exaggerate 005 Pure, Le Metier de Beaute Rose, MAC Cherry

I use red lip liners as base under red lipstick particularly to avoid the 'ring of doom' as the colour fades. For those of you that are not confident wearing red lipstick, Caroline Barnes recommends using a lip liner instead to create a red lip. Apparently this is something she did herself to get used to the colour without the fear that the colour might be roaming! I think red lip liner can also help you draw in the shape you want before reaching for the lipstick. Red lipstick shows up a wonky line like no other colour. I speak from personal experience of course!

The reds I have are Le Métier de Beauté Rose and MAC Cherry. I think the colours are more different than they may appear in the swatches above. Le Métier de Beauté Rose is the lighter of the two and has some subtle shimmer. It appears more orange when compared to MAC Cherry which is quite a dark red.

The odd one out in this line up is the Rimmel Exaggerate Pencil in 005 Pure. It's a bright pink which I bought a long time ago. Again, it's a confidence booster if I want to go out on a special occasion wearing a bright pink as it lengthens the time between touch up. Whereas non-sharpening packaging for eye liners can have it's drawbacks, I like for a lip liner as it's something I'm more likely to need to re-apply when out and about.

Something that I don't currently own but have always wanted to try is a dark purpley shade like MAC Currant or Magenta. I have admired looks that other people have created with these but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to go so bold. Maybe it's time to take another trip out of my comfort zone.

Are you a lip liner devotee? Do you have a favourite trusty pencil?



Disclosure: These liners came from a mixture of sources. The Kevyn Aucoin, Le Metier de Beaute and MAC Cherry were all PR Samples. The rest were purchased by me, some are practically antique....