All Editorials

Pillow Talk Lipstick in Every Finish, and Pink Nudes Like It

Pillow Talk Lipstick in Every Finish, and Pink Nudes Like It

Pillow Talk lipstick is the nude pink Charlotte Tilbury calls everyone's perfect shade, and it now comes in matte, satin, balm and blur. Here is how I would choose a finish, what to pair it with, and pink nudes from other brands that sit close by.

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How to Prep Lips Before a Matte Lipstick

How to Prep Lips Before a Matte Lipstick

Lip prep before lipstick is two steps: a gentle sugar scrub, then a rich balm that fills the tiny lines the scrub reveals. I pick scrubs, balms and comfortable matte lipsticks that reward the prep, all in about two minutes.

Friendship Gifts for Women: Dunbar’s Map of the Friend Group

Friendship Gifts for Women: Dunbar’s Map of the Friend Group

These friendship gifts for women move from message-bearing bracelets to lip sets, cozy layers, candles, small bags, and hair accessories. I would choose by how she wears her affection, then keep the note short.

Benefit Lip Tint: Benetint vs Plushtint Compared

Benefit Lip Tint: Benetint vs Plushtint Compared

A Benefit lip tint comes as sheer Benetint, dewy Splashtint or matte Plushtint. Benetint is the original, a waterproof stain that is smudge-proof and transfer-resistant once it sets, so it is where I would start.

Charlotte Tilbury Lip Liner: The Lip Cheat Shades I Reach For

Charlotte Tilbury Lip Liner: The Lip Cheat Shades I Reach For

The Charlotte Tilbury lip liner called Lip Cheat is the pencil that started the brand's lip story. I sort the shades by undertone, cover the Pillow Talk and Super Nudes options, and add liners from other brands for comparison.

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream and the Glow Creams Beside It

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream and the Glow Creams Beside It

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream is the fragrance-free gel moisturizer built to continue the Magic Cream story. Here is the rest of the Charlotte Tilbury skin care line, plus glow creams, illuminators and hyaluronic serums that work in the same hydrated, dewy spirit.

Lancôme Mascara Guide: Lash Idôle, Hypnôse, Monsieur Big And Definicils

Lancôme Mascara Guide: Lash Idôle, Hypnôse, Monsieur Big And Definicils

Lancôme mascara comes in more wand shapes than most people realize, and choosing by wand beats choosing by hype. Here is what Lash Idôle, Hypnôse, Monsieur Big and Définicils are each good at, plus the primers, curlers and gentle removers I would keep beside them.

Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer and the Base Makeup Around It

Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer and the Base Makeup Around It

Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer is a fragrance-free, full-coverage 2-in-1 that the brand says wears for 24 hours. Here is the rest of the Clinique base line, the longwear foundations worth comparing, and the concealers, powders and sponges that finish it.

Makeup For Hooded Eyes: What Actually Stays Put

Makeup For Hooded Eyes: What Actually Stays Put

Makeup for hooded eyes stays put when shadow and liner sit above the fold, crease resistant layers stay thin, and mascara is kept clean at the roots.

Fenty Beauty Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint: the Light Base

Fenty Beauty Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint: the Light Base

The Fenty Beauty Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint arrived in March 2021 in 25 shades, and it is Fenty's lightest take on a base. Here is the tint and its Fenty siblings, other blurring tints I like, and the liquid blushes that go over any of them.

Chanel Rouge Coco Flash: Shades and How It Wears

Chanel Rouge Coco Flash: Shades and How It Wears

Chanel Rouge Coco Flash is the house's shine lip colour, launched in 2019 with a melt-on texture and hydration the brand says lasts up to 8 hours. Here is the rest of the Chanel lip shelf, sheer shine lipsticks from other houses and the prep that goes under it.

Laura Mercier Setting Powder, the 1996 Powder Made for Close-Ups

Laura Mercier Setting Powder, the 1996 Powder Made for Close-Ups

Laura Mercier setting powder was one of the brand's four launch products in 1996, made to set skin without showing on camera. Here are eight Laura Mercier powders and tools, and eight more setting powders I compared them with.

The Ordinary Lash Curl Finisher: Using It With Mascara

The Ordinary Lash Curl Finisher: Using It With Mascara

The Ordinary's directions never mention using Lash Curl Finisher with mascara, because the gel is designed to replace it. Curl your lashes, comb it on from root to tip, and start with lashes that have no mascara on them.

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Wedding Makeup That Lasts, and the Royal Bride Who Did Her Own

Wedding Makeup That Lasts, and the Royal Bride Who Did Her Own

Wedding makeup has to last through tears, hugs and flash photos and still look like you. Here are sixteen long-wear picks, from gripping primers and waterproof foundations to kiss-proof lip stains.

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Best Rare Beauty Highlighter Shade: Positive Light Picks

Best Rare Beauty Highlighter Shade: Positive Light Picks

The best Rare Beauty highlighter shade depends on undertone: Flaunt, Reveal or Mesmerize for warm skin, Enlighten or Transcend for cooler skin. I go through every Positive Light liquid and Silky Touch shade, the rest of the glow kit and eight highlighters from other brands.

Powder Foundation That Looks Like Skin, Not a Mask

Powder Foundation That Looks Like Skin, Not a Mask

Powder foundation looks like skin, not a mask, when the prep and the brush are right. I cover loose, pressed and baked formulas, plus primers, setting sprays and buffing brushes.

What Was Benetint Originally Made For? The Benetint Story

What Was Benetint Originally Made For? The Benetint Story

What was Benetint originally used for? The story behind Benefit's rose stain, how to wear it on lips and cheeks, and tints that followed.

Contour Makeup Went From a Kevyn Aucoin Sketchbook to a Stick in Your Bag

Contour Makeup Went From a Kevyn Aucoin Sketchbook to a Stick in Your Bag

Contour sticks grew out of Kevyn Aucoin's backstage craft, and the products have gotten easier ever since. I start with four sticks, then wands, liquids and a duo, and finish with bronzers that warm and shape.

Holiday Gift Sets: The Beauty Box Has a Long Memory

Holiday Gift Sets: The Beauty Box Has a Long Memory

Holiday gift sets have a long memory, from Coty's powder box to the skin, scent, makeup, hair, and candle collections I would choose now. I start with what the recipient already likes, then choose the box that gives her a natural next step.

Best Stick for Lips and Cheeks: Blush Sticks, Peach to Cherry

Best Stick for Lips and Cheeks: Blush Sticks, Peach to Cherry

The best stick for lips and cheeks is a multi-use cream blush stick, like Fenty Beauty Match Stix or Bobbi Brown Skin Enhancer. I sort cream sticks, multi-use sticks and longer wearing ones, then say how I pick a shade.

Prime Prometics Pro-Age Makeup: What to Wear

Prime Prometics Pro-Age Makeup: What to Wear

The top Prime Prometics pro-age makeup and skincare products start with the PrimeLash Mascara and the PrimeEyes Glide Eyeliner. Here is what to wear with them, from hydrating tints to tubing mascaras and lash serums.

Darker Brows Without the 1930s Drama: My Eyebrow Tint Shortlist

Darker Brows Without the 1930s Drama: My Eyebrow Tint Shortlist

People have been darkening their lashes and brows for a very long time, and the modern eyebrow tint is a much gentler business than it used to be. Here are the tinted gels I brush through every morning, the waterproof pomade and pencils that stay put, and the fine-tipped pencils for filling gaps.

Charlotte Tilbury Blush: The Powders, Wands and Sticks to Know

Charlotte Tilbury Blush: The Powders, Wands and Sticks to Know

Charlotte Tilbury blush comes in powders, palettes, liquid wands and hydrating sticks, all built around a makeup artist's idea of a flush. Here is how I would pick between them, plus a few nude pink cousins from other brands.

Ogee Makeup: Certified Organic Color from Vermont

Ogee Makeup: Certified Organic Color from Vermont

Ogee makeup comes from a Vermont brand that certifies its formulas as organic, and it is named after a curve. Here is how I would wear the face sticks, serum foundation and lip oil, plus the cream blushes, bronzers and face oils that sit well beside them.

Urban Decay Setting Spray: The Spritz That Outlasts the Party

Urban Decay Setting Spray: The Spritz That Outlasts the Party

The best setting spray for glowy party makeup is Urban Decay's All Nighter Hydrating and Glowy formula, which is waterproof with 24HR wear. I also go through the other All Nighter formulas, the base layer underneath and sprays from other brands.

Rare Beauty Blush Names: Every Soft Pinch Liquid Blush Shade

Rare Beauty Blush Names: Every Soft Pinch Liquid Blush Shade

Rare Beauty blush names: every Soft Pinch Liquid Blush shade, from Happy to Adore, sorted by undertone and compared with other liquid blushes.

Cream and Powder Blush: Balms, Sticks and Powders

Cream and Powder Blush: Balms, Sticks and Powders

A makeup edit centered on cream and powder blush, from balms and sticks to soft-focus powders.

Gloss Over Lipstick: The Layering Trick for Fall

Gloss Over Lipstick: The Layering Trick for Fall

Shimmer lip gloss over matte lipstick without breaking it down: the layering trick, plus satin lipsticks, clear glosses and plumpers.