If there’s anything in life that makes me feel a bit more glam while I pour Maxi Cheerios and rub snot off the sweats I slept in, it’s lipstick. I’m one to throw lipstick on even when I am sans makeup, because, there’s an inner Southern mother in me always saying, “Put your lips on!” I’d say it’s a bad habit, but I quite enjoy my lipstick obsession. If you’ve been a COF girl for more than a season, you know I go through phases of lipstick. There was my mauve phase. Then my hot pink phase. Then my nude phase. Then, once again, an uncomfortably long season of mauve. I get so passionate about one formula or hue that it’s all I apply for months on end. In order to get out of that rut, I try to come up with 3 combinations a season that will work with whatever I’m wearing. Plus, it’s a nice way to mix up formulas so you aren’t constantly drying out your lips or getting it too used to one formulation or another. Today, I’m partnering with Nordstrom to talk all about summer lipstick combinations using 3 shades.

So before we talk about combinations, let’s talk about formulation. It’s summer and it’s hot and it’s humid. That’s a given. I want something matte enough to not melt off in the blistering afternoons, but soft enough so my lips stay hydrated. If I don’t want to apply a lipstick cocktail- a balm, a liner, a lipstick, and a gloss, I need a lipstick that does it all. Enter, Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips. In the past few years, this is probably the lipstick formula I have repurchased the most. With this blog post, I’ve repurchased one shade four times, one shade twice, and another three times. Coming from a girl that always needs to try a new brand or product, I call that a win. Let’s break down the formula.

Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips is a long-lasting soft matte. Meaning you get the pigmentation of a liquid lipstick, with the softness and oil-infused ingredients of something more creamy. It’s conditioning, but the pigment doesn’t play around. As a girl that loves to either be “done up” or totally fresh-faced, I am not one for middle-of-the-road lipstick pigmentation. Give me an opaque color or give me nothing.  It’s also enriched with the “Lipstick Tree” which is an anti-oxidant secret ingredient that naturally protects lips from UV damage and external pollution- something we all WANT and need in the summer.

This product also creates the illusion of wider & fuller lips with 3D glowing pigments- something I learned all about at my last CT class I took. This way you aren’t having to add a plumping gloss or base if you don’t want to layer excess products in the summer. There are currently 12 shades that were made in collaboration with 12 of Charlotte Tilbury’s friends. Think Kate Bosworth, Kim Kardashian, etc. And at the end of the month on June 27th, there will be 11 new shades online and in select Nordstrom Stores. There new 11 will feature Olivia Palermo, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jennifer Aniston, Sofia Vergara, Amal Clooney, and more. I feel like I’m spilling makeup bag contents and secrets, which is what I’m here for. It’s what WE are here for.

Let’s get to my shades! From left to right:

Kim K.W, Liv It Up, Bosworth’S Beauty

Kim K.W– I have repurchased this four times. FOUR. I don’t know the last time I finished a bottle of nail polish, so this is something I’m proud of- maybe?! This is a pinky-nude with just a *slight* warm undertone- if even that. I love a nude with a purely neutral undertone and I really gravitate towards this.

Liv It Up– This is a medium pink, or what I would call an “office pink.” It swatches a little more punchy but applies in a moderate hue. I’ll show it photographed on the blog below and I think you’ll find this an agreeable shade for a daytime look!

Bosworth’S Beauty– This is a bright pink that always makes me feel like I have a bit more warmth to my cheeks when I wear it. This is my date-night shade for summer, but also makes a great lip combination blended with Kim K.W. and Liv It Up.

Keep in mind, these swatch a bit more baby pink. I think it’s due in part to a poor self-tanner I was testing out, as you can see in evidence on my hand. But you’ll see the color in blog posts below.

You don’t have to wear a lip liner with these shades, but if you wanted one {I’m a lip liner girl, too!} Charlotte’s liner in “Iconic Nude” plays nicely with Kim K.W. and Liv It Up. You could even use it with Bosworth’S Beauty {I have!} and just blend in the pink. I love the Iconic Nude liner because it doesn’t lean too warm or too cool, and I feel that nude lip liners hardly master that! This one does.

Zero lipstick so you can compare a starting point. Zilch product.  A rare sight to see for me. 😉

This is Bosworth’S Beauty applied with a light hand to show you don’t have to have it be an “in-your-face” pink if you don’t want it to be. To me, this feels like a  great summer pink with just a BB Cream and mascara and a high ponytail!

Kim K.W. with no lip liner.

Bosworth’s Beauty mixed with Kim K.W

I love to blend these shades together whenever I want to tone up or tone down a pink.

Kim K.W with Iconic Nude liner

floral dress

Liv It Up with no lip liner

My next purchase from this line will be Electric Poppy. I always, always, always pick it up when I’m at the counter at Nordstrom. Then I go back to the usual of repurchasing Kim K.W. since I have typically run out of that. ha.

SO, protect your lips from damage, fake a fuller pout, and enjoy insane pigmentation without cracking the mess out of your skin with a drying formula. Let me know if you’ve tried the Hot Lips line and what your go-to summer lipstick combination is!