Your lips have to do a lot at parties this holiday season: eating Christmas cookies, sipping a festive beverage, giving gam-gam a reluctant smooch, updating your distant relatives on life events, and more. If you’re wearing a bright-colored lip, that’ll be a problem—you don’t want to have awkward fading or smudged edges. So here are six lip products with quality ingredients that’ll hold up all night long.
Dior’s Ultra Rouge checks all the boxes. Formulated with camelina oil, it’s non-drying, smooth, pigmented, and has incredible staying power. Shade 999, Iconic Red, is the perfect festive color, too. You can sip drinks for hours without worrying about any fade whatsoever.
This lip pigment from Rihanna’s cruelty-free brand Fenty Beauty has a paint-like consistency. Apply it with the doe-foot applicator, give it a minute to dry, and you’ll be set for the whole party. One woman even told Cosmopolitan that the shade is “so perfect that I’m wondering if the soul of Queen Riri herself is mixed into this formula.”
Similar to the Fenty option, this lip stain from the Sephora brand is definitely more reminiscent of paint rather than a traditional waxy lipstick. It’s very matte, despite being infused with avocado oil, so make sure your lips are well-hydrated before you apply. Still, I’m always amazed at how much color and staying power this affordable little stain delivers. It’s even worth grabbing one on the way to the function if you forgot your usual option at home.
If you enjoy a lip pencil as opposed to a stain or a stick, this NARS option is a surefire winner. The shade Dolce Vita is a lovely warm nude that looks good on everyone. You might have to reapply this more often than the holy grail Dior lipstick, but it never fades unevenly or noticeably. Just one mid-party touch up should do the trick.
If the Dior doesn’t do it for you, this YSL lipstick is an excellent alternative. The formula is really smooth and creamy, and I haven’t found many others that stay put as well as this one. Plus, the tube has a unique rectangular design that makes it easy to find in your bag and fun to apply.
This product lands somewhere between a lipstick and a lip stain, but it’s extremely sheer. It’s formulated with blue agave and safflower oil to help lock in moisture, and like many of Glossier’s products, its vegan and cruelty-free. Apply a little for a natural vibe, or build it up with a few layers for a cute blotted look. Either way, it’s best paired with a bold brow or festive eye moment.
