The Lips Have It: Luxury Lip Product Favorites

I just turned in my last paper and started packing up my beauty products for my trip home, which I always save for last! I realized that especially in winter, lip products become more important to me. Not only will we need the perfect color for the numerous winter holidays, but the dry, cool air will also render lips rough and chapped if left uncared for, so I’ve edited down the products I’ll be taking home with me to survive the numerous demands of the winter Holiday season. 

For my base and overall lip treatment, I’ve been using YULI’s Cellular Lip Conditioner which reminds me of Aesop’s Lip Heal which has been a favorite of mine (featured in my July Must Haves post, here). After using both, I have to flat out say, I prefer Cellular Lip Conditioner. The formula is cleaner (all pure plant technology, food-grade, edible, safe for pregnant women), the botanical actives are more high-end and loaded with antioxidants, and the texture is more serum-gel like so it is more nourishing (Aesops is a thinner watery consistency which sometimes tended to dry my lips). The scent uses vanilla as a base and has a exotic ginger lily which is really nice and addicting. It also retails for less than Aesop’s Lip Heal, so I’ve decided to repurchase this when it runs out. You might be wondering why I would bring this over a lip balm – other than the fact that it looks chicer. 

Up until recently I believed only lip balms could offer that level of nourishment and hydration but Cellular Lip Conditioner is performing really well. I usually wake up with chapped, bleeding lips if I do not apply a lip balm before I go to bed, but Cellular Lip Conditioner has left my lip very soft and plump each time I used it, and it doesn’t have the heavy feel of a balm. The conditioner also really “heals” and replenishes my skin which I find lip balms don’t really do, they tend to just sit at the surface to prevent more damage due to dehydration but don’t really address the damage already done.

This is particularly important because I find that I am unable to layer products over lip balms since they’re very heavy and greasy and don’t get rid of damaged, rough skin. With Cellular Lip Conditioner, you can tell YULI truly worked with Make-up artists and stylists on this product because it absorbs fast and makes lips conditioned for flawless application of lip stains and lipsticks that often might accentuate vulnerable dry/rough areas. Anyone who has applied Tom Ford’s pigment heavy lipstick knows what I’m talking about, the rich colors often dry out the skin, so having this conditioner as a base is so important. I’m really in love with YULI’s thoughtfully made products and Cellular Lip Conditioner has me hooked.

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If I’m not going to a party and just want to add some color, I’ve been in love with Juice Beauty’s reflecting lip glosses. They have some sheen but ultimately are very subtle (contrary to the name, this isn’t a super-shiny gloss). There is a very lovely scent – similar to how some lip glosses on the market have a candy/fruity scent, but because this is a very cleanly formulated product I feel safer enjoying this since I know it is nontoxic. The lip glosses come in 4 colors: Champagne, Pink, Fig, and Guava, I have used Pink and Guava. Pink really helps the colors stand out which is cool if you want to brighten up your look, the rest of the colors are more subtle and skin-toned which is what I prefer. 

Beside just the colors, because it is all natural – a lot of the actives are also good for your lips! For example this contains grape seed oil, strawberry oil, etc. which really nourish skin. And the sweetness to this gloss is added by natural agave leaf extract.

One note: for people sensitive to Titanium Dioxide and Citrus oils, you may want to pass this up since it is in the ingredients. However, I really enjoyed using this and did not have any sensitivities.  

At just $15, I truly believe this is a wonderfully priced product that offers a safer alternative to more expensive glosses from Hourglass and YSL. The YSL gloss in particular sometimes gets me with the smell and gives me a headache. 

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Finally, if I’m going to an event, my current favorite lipstick is Dior’s Rouge Dior Lip Color. In the world of lipsticks, you either have creamy, nourishing lip colors that are subtle and light or you have drying, striking lip colors that are pigment heavy. The Rouge Dior line offers a “manageable” medium for me between color saturation, wear time, and drying capacity. 

On the driest lips, this will accentuate roughness, edges, chapped skin. But on well moisturized and conditioned skin, the colors look gorgeous and creamy. You can increase wear time by making sure your lips are perfectly hydrated before, which YULI’s Cellular Lip Conditioner really helps with. I really love this combo as I am now able to pull off the heaviest pigmented lip colors/stains with their conditioner. 

Despite the description, don’t rely on this lipcolor to actually nourish lips, you really need to make sure your lips are doing fine to get the most performance. The staying power is decent and the fade is very even which I loved.

The colors themselves are brilliant. Not only do they look incredibly high-end, but they manage to find the balance between being striking without being garrish. The last time I was at Barneys, I noticed a girl shop for lipstick with really gorgeous lips and this beautiful red-orange color, so I had to ask her what she was using. And her answer? Rouge Dior Andalouse. That really affirmed for me that this line is superb. Sometimes you have to see products on someone else before you realize how it works on you. 

I currently have this in Rare Amber (pictured), and Ara Red. The two colors could not be more different representations of the line: Rare Amber is subtle and has some sheen, very much representing the nourishing soft colors of this line. The Ara Red is the lipstick equivalent of the little red dress: vibrant, striking, and with color saturation for miles. At times it feels like these two colors should be different lines but I love both of them. 

I know the formula is clean at all, but honestly I love the performance and I don’t wear makeup THAT much so it’s about everything in moderation. I like the performance which is think is more important for makeup products especially since I don’t really live in them and will only wear for about 2-3 hours.

What are your favorite products?