The average person (aka non-crazy, functional) only needs five basic lipsticks. At least, in my opinion. Here are my picks for the five lipsticks you need in your minimal lipstick wardrobe.
An everyday neutral
Also known as “office appropriate” or “easy to wear.” This lipstick should be easy to throw on and makes you feel like you can forget about it and be able to go about your day without thinking twice about it because you can rely on it to look good no matter what.
My personal picks for “everyday neutral” are MAC’s Mehr and Jubilee, THREE’s Love Like Heaven, Happy Skin’s Crushing on You and The Morning After, and KATE Rouge HG Lipstick in PK-17.
A red that suits you
There are many different kinds of red, it’s kind of insane. And a little confusing. Sometimes you feel like you can’t wear red, and though that’s true for a lot of people, for most of us, it’s more likely that we just haven’t found the right red for us. I like orange-y reds occasionally but it’s not the best one for me. I like blue-toned reds that are a little muted and lean purple or vampy.
My personal picks for red are NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Mascate, Le Métier de Beauté Hydra-Crème Lipstick in Signature, and Guerlain Rouge G L’Extrait in Orgueil.
Your Lips But Better
Or in Beauty Blogger Vernacular, “my lips but better.” The MLBB caters to one person and one person alone—you. Similar to the “red lipstick dilemma,” and MLBB for one person may not necessarily be an MLBB for you. Because we all have different skin tones and we all have different shades of natural lip pigmentation, we all have different MLBBs.
My personal picks for my MLBBs are NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Montego Bay and Happy Skin’s Crushing on You.
A fun color
I don’t think you necessarily need an orange or a purple lipstick—I know I can live without those! However, I think you should have a bit of fun with your makeup wardrobe, and I have a couple of bright colors that I like to wear from time to time. My adventurous lipstick shades are often corals, berries or pinks (I know, yawn). It’s important to pick a colour family that you think is fun. I personally would not wear a purple lipstick—it’s just not fun for me—but you might enjoy one or two of those.
My personal fun picks are MAC x Archie’s Girls Satin Lipstick in Betty Bright, Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in La Favorite, Tom Ford’s Flamingo, NARS Satin Lipstick in Niagara, and an OCC Lip Tar in Annika.
Your favorite color
Obviously—you have to have one in your favorite color. Again, this varies from person to person. I do not care for nudes as much as I love wearing vampy lip colors. You may not share my love for dark lipsticks but love wearing nudes. It all depends, of course!
My personal favurites are NARS Sheer Lipstick in Vendanges, Addiction by Ayako’s Lady of the Lake, THREE’s Edith’s Whisper, and an OCC Lip Tar in Anita.
So, those are my picks! What would your 5 Lip Wardrobe look like?
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Softly Sometimes 
I’m definitely looking forward to trying the fourth one! This is such an interesting post xx
Zoe
http://thatszoe.blogspot.com
Thanks, Zoe!
Oh, this is fun! I should give it some thought. I don’t think I could narrow it down to just one per category at all, though!
Haha, true true. I had a few selections, but I think I could be happy with just this five! For a while, at least.
Gorgeous lippies and your fun color is my favorite 🙂 I tagged you on my blog so come and take a look 🙂 https://mammulikes.wordpress.com/2014/07/18/the-i-%E2%99%A5-drugstorecheap-makeup-tag/
Thank you! I think I’ve done that tag way back, though. 🙂
I love the lipstick swatches you did in the first picture!
Currently, the colors that I have that would suit this wardrobe would be:
Everyday neutral: MUFE Rouge Artist Natural N9 (from this year’s Sephora birthday gift)
Red: The Body Shop Colourglide in Garnet (I don’t remember the color number and it’s been discontinued, boo! It’s my perfect red: it has a touch of brown/wine and it lights up my whole face. I love it.)
MLBB: It was Urban Decay’s Naked (the old one), but I’ve since ran out (RAN OUT, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT) and I have yet to pick up or look for a new one.
Fun color: Wet n Wild’s Sugar Plum Fairy! It looks super intimidating in the tube, but it’s the prettiest berry shade you can imagine.
Favorite color: My current favorite is The Body Shop’s Colour Crush Shine in 18. It’s a hint of coral, and it’s great for non-fussy makeup days.
This was a fun post!
Yay! 🙂
I hope you find a really good replacement red, but congratulations on finishing a lipstick! That will be a great day when I finally do, though this NARS lipstick I have looks really, really close to being done. 😀
AHHH, I have a lot of WnW lipstick wants (to try, mostly) and that shade is def. on my list!
Well, the nice thing about Wet n Wild, is that it isn’t expensive at all to try! When it goes on sale here, the lipsticks are $1. 🙂
Your everyday neutral is my kind of neutral! My lips are super pigmented so I go for the purply lipsticks. Thanks for the recommendations 🙂
xo, Pau
http://bookshelvesandvanities.blogspot.com/
Yay! I am too scared to wear purple, haha.
My minimal lip wardrobe will probably be consisted of at least 3 corals LOL And maybe a pink!
Ha, I would expect nothing less than three corals for you. 🙂 Curious as to what they might be!
For the moment I have 3 lippies in my bag, including Dior Spring Ball Addict Extreme, Dior Aventure Addict Extreme, and Guerlain Nahema Smack Gloss d’Enfer 🙂 Those are my no-brainer everyday shades!
Ahhh they look awesome! 🙂
This is almost exactly what I imagine I’d keep if I can only keep 5: red, dark plum, neutral, orange, and purple. 😛
That’s because we’re kindred spirits 😀
I’m loving that MAC and Chanel colours! 🙂
Thanks, they’re great!