my all time favorite lip products

I love love love lip products - balms, lip sticks, glosses, treatments, masks. I am never not within several feet of several different types of lip products - some I even keep on me at all times! For someone who wouldn't wear lipstick a few years ago, I'm definitely embracing adding a bit more color to my lips. While I still stick in the safe zone of the pink family of color, I've tried a ton of different products over the years. There are several things I'm still hesitant to try (looking at you, liquid lipstick) and others I'm currently trying out (I just got my first order of Lipsense products) but the following are my ride or die products that I've replaced countless times.

LIPBALMS

glossier // clinique // blistex // kaplan md

Living in the Midwest with our extreme seasons, and working in hospitals with dry air, means my lips are dry quite often. I've tried tons (TONS) of lip balms over the years, from the cheapest stuff to the most expensive (although I've heard nothing but good things about Dior's rose lip balm, so maybe I will have to try that too...). I always have Blistex's Lip Medex in my car - it is the only drug store chapstick I've found that actually soothes your lips and doesn't leave a waxy film. I'm obsessed with it, and have probably purchased this over ten times. In my purse, I always keep Clinique's Superbalm. It goes on so smoothly, and feels really refreshing. When I'm at work, I always keep Kaplan MD's lipbalm in the little arm pocket of my Patagonia. The packaging is small, so I don't even notice it in the little pocket, and you only need a tiny amount to moisturize your lips - as you can see by the fading of the print, I use this all the time. It comes in a kit with a lip mask, and both have made a huge difference in how my lips feel. Lastly, I use Glossier's balm dotcom at night after brushing my teeth and washing my face. Even with a humidifier in our room, my lips get really dry because my retainers (#sexy) make me sometimes sleep with my mouth open. This stuff really lasts, and it's like a little treat putting it on at night. Plus the packaging is just so pretty - Glossier seems to do no wrong!

SUBTLE COLOR

dior // covergirl 

On days I'm not wearing a lot of makeup, I don't really like to wear lipstick either - it's all or nothing for me! But I do like a bit of color, so I got to these two sheer lipbalm-ish products. The first is Dior's Lip Glow - this supposedly works with your own pH to create a custom color. No idea how true that is - I just think it smells nice and adds a bit of brightness to my face. I also really like Covergirl's Oh Sugar! in Candy - this is EXACTLY like Fresh's lipbalm (same color, same flavor, same everything) but for like a fifth of the price. It smells soooooo good. 

LIPSTICKS

nars // lancome // bare minerals // ysl

As you can see, I don't really venture too much outside of the soft pink, "your lips but better" colors. The brightest of the bunch is Nar's Roman Holiday - this is my third tube, and I'm basically in need of ordering my fourth as that little nub you see is all that's left. This is a soft hot pink, if that makes sense - it's bright and fun without being super over powering and in your face. The next two colors are pretty similar. Lancome's Love It! is a little more subdued, while Bare Mineral's Tutu has a bit more punch to it. Last is my favorite lip product - it's YSL's Oil-in-stick in Nude Lavalliere - this is the epitome of the "your lips but better" color combined with a product that hydrates your lips (since it's 65% oil). It's such a pretty color in such a hydrating formula - definitely the priciest of all the products, which is why it continues to be a "special occasion" lip product, but one I can't help but love.

LIPGLOSSES

bare minerals // urban decay // clinique

I used to be a lipgloss queen - since I was a bit afraid of the heavy color that lipsticks have, I used them to add color. Now that I'm more comfortable with lipsticks, I only keep a couple of lip glosses around. My favorites are from Bare Minerals (that I'm just now realizing is discontinued! WTF), Urban Decay's Naked in Lovechild, and a Clinique gloss that was a free with purchase item that I feel in love with (in the color First Date). As you can see, they are all pretty similar in color, which is why  kind of just interchange them all!

And that's it! Nothing super crazy - I always play it a bit more safe with lip color. Like I said, I'd really like to find a liquid lipstick, but I haven't found one yet where I love the color and formula. I hope you guys have some suggestions!

ps. I posted on instagram stories yesterday about the make-up storage I use, and had so many people ask about it that I just wanted to discuss it quickly. I bought acrylic make-up organizers on Amazon, and it has made the world of difference when it comes to organzing make-up. I finally go see where everything is! Mine is two parts - the top part is this set, and I just added these drawers.