Have you ever thought about how strange it is that out of all the members of Fall Out Boy, the only one you can list by name is Pete Wentz, the bassist? It’s unusual for a bassist to be a band frontman, and not the singer—just like it’s a little surprising that Charlotte Tilbury’s eponymous line leads with liner. Lip liner, to be exact. Because although it might never have occured to you that a lip liner might be life changing, the ones from Charlotte Tilbury are frequently labeled as such. Whether alone or under lipstick, worn close to the lip line or beyond, the product’s got range. Which is why we tested the whole range, just to figure out once and for all which is the best of the best. The ranking goes as follows.
15) Kiss ‘N’ Tell: Bright blue-red, even though the plastic tip on the end is distinctly orange-red. Beyond the points loss for deception, I would look so tacky in this. —Chloe Hall
14) Bad Romance: Deep eggplant purple. Ra-ra-ah-ah-ah, oma-roma-ma, gaga, ooh la-la. —Lady Gaga
13) Iconic Nude: Beige-y brown and a little off, like you borrowed your friend’s concealer and tried to use it on your lips. Difficult to pull off all over without looking kind of dead, but it’ll work as a good outlining tool with the lipstick you already love. —Ali Oshinsky
12) Pink Venus: Neon and pastel at the same time. Reminiscent of a powdery matte ’60’s lip, but given that it’s 2019, here it stands. Georgia O’Keefe would buy it for the name. —Ashley Weatherford
11) Crazy In Love: A little berry, a little red, slightly mauve-y and more cool toned than a traditional rose. What’s the wishy-washier version of in love? In like. —AO
10) Berry Naughty: Jammy berry that leans more fuchsia than purple. Definitely deep, but still a flattering fall option if red’s not your thing. The shade would lend itself beautifully to a stain, but blended out it just looks patchy. —AO
9) Foxy Brown: The perfect starter brown—deep, warm-toned, and truly ’90s. Pam Grier would be proud. —Utibe Mbagwu
8) Walk Of Shame: A pretty and flattering dusty mauve that’s surprisingly quite judgy. Might we suggest a rename to Just Got Laid Parade? —AO
7) Bond Girl: Just Got Laid Parade’s rosier sister. A perfect mauve, if anything. —AW
6) Hollywood Honey: Sephora describes this as carmel, which is not a color. I think they mean caramel? Regardless, really the ideal terracotta brick. Why isn’t this a lipstick? —UM
5) Supersize Me: Please bury me in this deep nude with a hint of pink. When I get to heaven God herself will ask me, ‘What shade are you wearing?’—CH
4) Savage Rose: Deep, berry-adjacent blue-red. Super sexy and daring. Uma Thurman wore it on her way to hunting down that Bill guy, probably. —AW
3) Love Trap: The deeper, cooler-toned version of ‘your lips but better.’ Brown enough to complement all skin tones, taupe-y enough for a little edge…may or may not be in my pocket at this very moment. —UM
2) Pillow Talk: A nude with slightly more pink tones than brown. An extremely safe color. Your mom would be proud. —AW
1) Hot Gossip: The reverse configuration of Pillow Talk—more brown, less pink. Universally flattering, no matter your skin tone—the real iconic nude. Makes sense if you think about it, because there’s no greater equalizer than quality gossip. —AW
Photos via ITG