From top left clockwise: Charming Cockatoo’s Pout from the L’Oreal Colour Riche Project Runway Collection, lined with Jordana Easyliner for Lips in Cabernet; MAC’s All Fired Up, lined with Jordana’s Cabernet; MAC’s Cyber, lined with MAC’s Nightmoth, and MAC’s Fresh Brew, lined with Jordana’s Terra Kiss before application and Nicka K’s Brown after application.
As I was editing last week’s post for publication, it dawned on me that it was a bit silly (and inconsiderate) to talk so much about experimenting with color this season without giving some real places to start. So here goes! These are four lip combinations with different finishes that I’ve been wearing in rotation for the past few weeks. I’ve also swatched each lipstick/lip liner by itself so that you can get a feel for: 1) what it looks like independently and 2) how you can manipulate colors that look too bright or dark at first glance. Read up, and tell me what you like!
Lipstick swatches from left to right: Cyber by MAC, All Fired Up by MAC, Charming Cockatoo’s Pout by L’Oreal, and Fresh Brew by MAC.
Cyber: Cyber is one of those colors that people think has to be approached with caution because it’s so dark and alluring, but in the words of my best friend, Arielle, “You just have to do or die.” I have yet to see one skin tone that it doesn’t look good on. If you’re looking for a dark purple to start with, this is a great one to give a try. It has a satin finish, which means it sits somewhere between dull and shiny and glides on really easily. It also has the added bonus of looking great with or without a liner.
All Fired Up: I know I’m getting mad side eyes for having this bright pink color sitting smack dab in the middle of a post about fall colors, but bear with me. It looks almost neon in this swatch (and kinda scary on me by itself, honestly), but if you line with a plum or berry color before applying, it tones way down. All Fired Up has a retro matte finish; so far, I’m finding that lipsticks with this finish last longer than MAC’s regular matte finishes which means…I can eat, drink, and talk for more than 8 hours with no embarrassment afterwards.
Charming Cockatoo’s Pout: You can never go wrong wearing a red in the fall, but it’s always a bit of a challenge finding the right shade (I’m currently struggling with this). Charming Cockatoo’s Pout is making my journey a bit easier, though! It’s a cross between a brick shade and wine one, so the red is rich and high in shine without compromising some of the vibrancy you find in brighter shades.
Fresh Brew: I never thought I was a fan of luster finishes until I tried Fresh Brew by MAC. You can tell from the swatch that it is really sheer—barely noticeable, even—but I like it for the days when you feel like being just that! It’s really friendly to brown and natural liners and can look warmer or cooler depending on what you put underneath it. Lining it with Terra Kiss and Brown is an example of that; it looks like a pink or mauve in the picture of me wearing it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last as long as the other lipsticks in this post and calls for re-application once every 3 hours or so.
Liner swatches from left to right: Nicka K Auto Lip Liner in Brown, Jordana Easyliner for Lips in Terra Kiss, Jordana Easyliner for Lips in Mulberry Crème, Jordana Easyliner for Lips in Cabernet, Jordana Easyliner for Eyes in Eggplant, and MAC Lip Pencil in Nightmoth.
Brown: So whoever named the liners in Nicka K’s Auto Lip Liner collection was apparently just not feeling that whole process of coming up with something cute or punny for the product, but that’s okay. I’m a huge fan of retractable liners, and this is incredibly easy to get precision from. Best of all, it was less than a dollar. Which is basically $free.99 in my book.
Terra Kiss: From the packaging, I thought Terra Kiss would be a mid-tone brown, but it turned out to be closer to sienna! I didn’t have any lipstick to try it with other than Fresh Brew, but I bet it would look amazing with a range of brown neutrals.
Mulberry Crème/Nightmoth: I decided to pair these two together in the same blurb because they look exactly alike. When I began wearing Cyber, Nightmoth was the only liner I would wear it with because I couldn’t find anything comparable. When I lost it for a while, I was desperate to find a similar color that didn’t cost as much. Mulberry Crème is that color! In fact, it might have an edge over Nightmoth since I don’t have to sharpen the pencil. It’s also insanely cheap! (Nightmoth is about $16, and Mulberry Crème can be found on Amazon Prime for $0.99.)
Cabernet: Cabernet has been my favorite liner for the past few months just because of its versatility. As you’ve seen with Charming Cockatoo’s Pout and All Fired Up, it can be worn with both reds and pinks, but since the raspberry color is so rich, I plan to try it with a purple or two as well.
Eggplant: So Eggplant is for eyes, but I’ve used eyeliners as lip liners before and this seems like it would be a great color to try with purple shades or with pinks for an ombré effect. It’s a unique fusion of grey and purple that reminds me of the Smoked Purple lipstick by MAC.
Jordana Easyliners
If this post has seemed overly populated by MAC, forgive me. I’m working on finding cheaper alternatives for some of my favorites by them, and so far, one of those ways has been with liners! I included so many Jordana liners in this post because they truly do give MAC a run for their money, but they’re also cost-friendly (a Black college girl’s favorite word…especially one with natural hair)! They’re usually around $3 at Walgreens (up to $6 on websites like Amazon and eBay), but I thought I’d tell you guys that right now they’re on sale at Walgreens for half the price- $1.49. A few select colors (like Terra Kiss) are even cheaper at $0.69! Let me know if you find something you like or leave comments below to tell me your favorite lip combos for this season!