My Favorite Pink Lipsticks

From left to right: Bésame Cosmetics "Debutante Pink," MAC "Angel," MAC "Snob," Maybelline "Pink Please," Revlon "Primrose," and ELF "Classy"

As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, soft pink lips are definitely in! Although, the argument could be made that pink lips are perennially in... or at least for me, they are. I've come to adore pink lipsticks and 7 times out of 10 you'll catch me in pinky-nude lips at almost any given time of year. Incredibly, there was a very strange time, many moons ago, when I loathed pink lipsticks. I simply could not justify purchasing a natural, flesh tone lip product whose pigmentation was inferior to that of the unnatural yet flattering pinup reds I embraced. Convinced that I was a misplaced pinup myself, I restricted myself to many shades of red, under my misguided teenage doctrine which held that the "point" of makeup was to look as artificially, unattainably striking as possible, in other words: glamorous. And to some degree, this is indeed true! But there are many ways to achieve "glamour," as I would come to learn, and some would rely on the subtlety of the lips.

Around the time when I first started getting serious about eyeshadow (another former faux-pas of my post-pink lip self), I realized that, having perfected the art of the smokey eye, I needed now to perfect the art of a quiet, humble lip. I wasn't ready to go full-on MAC Myth nude but I was willing to try out a soft hushed pink. Nothing that would wash me out or make me look ill or corpse-like and frankly, I'm still not fond of that look. The first one I ever came across was Revlon's "Primrose" and to this day it is one of my all time favorite drugstore lipsticks. So dear it is to me, that I stocked up on backups for fear that it might be discontinued! I've not obsessed to the point of purchasing backups with any other lip product to date.

Without further ado, I present you with six of my favorite soft pink lipsticks.

Bésame Cosmetics Debutante Pink: a warm, frosty (but not too frosty) pink. Of the lipsticks featured in today's post, this is the most expensive, retailing at about $22.00 a tube. But the packaging on this lipstick is a beautiful nod to the elaborate detail that went into the packaging of vintage cosmetics, especially the lipsticks. This is the type of lipstick you'll just love pulling out of your clutch at a social event, not because you really need a touch up (after all, this semi-matte formula is super long-wearing!) but because you want to show off how fancy you are!

MAC Angel: A very recent favorite. Seriously, I don't know what took me so long! This color is so "up my ally." I had it pinned on my Wishlist Board on Pinterest what feels like forever ago! Finally got around to picking it up at MAC the other day and I'm so glad I did. Admittedly, it's less opaque that I expected of a MAC lipstick, but the color is nonetheless build-able and wearable. Not as long-lasting as my other MAC lipsticks but wears long enough before reapplication. Somewhere between a nude and pink, this color is so versatile that it is as perfect for smokey-eyes as it is suitable for fresher, lighter looks too.

MAC Snob: This is the most opaque pink of the bunch. It also has the most obvious tones of cool blue and even lavender. For these reasons, it is probably my least favorite on this list. Not that I don't love cool tone pinks; on the contrary, I love them. But "Snob" is just a little too blue. I find that this color builds up very fast and can be somewhat unflattering when applied too thick. I know it sounds like I don't like "Snob" and at this point, you're probably wondering why I even included this one in the first place! But I assure you that I do like it, wear it, and am happy to have it in my collection. I actually love the way it looks when applied with a lip brush or even just a light hand. This is also one of the few lipsticks I prefer after hours of long wear, as the stain it leaves is more flattering than when freshly applied.

Maybelline Pink Please: This one reminds me a lot of MAC "Angel," but perhaps peachier and more opaque. Unfortunately, this color was discontinued from the Color Sensational line a few years ago for reasons unknown. It is my understanding that this was one of Maybelline's most popular lipsticks at one time. I am very fortunate to still have a tube of this. If you never had the opportunity to pick up "Pink Please," Mayelline's "Born With It" (featured below), also from the Color Sensational line, is a very close match worth looking into.

The difference is subtle but "Born with it" leans more towards a nude and "Pink Please" leans more towards pink. I think it is a great alternative for anyone who missed out on "Pink Please."

Revlon Primrose: As I mentioned earlier in this post, this is my all time favorite drugstore lipstick. A lot of cosmetics enthusiasts praise it is as a good dupe for MAC Snob, which we discussed prior. I say that it is actually a perfected version of "Snob." This is what MAC Snob should be. While the cool blue undertones of this pink are still palpable, they are not as overwhelming as those in MAC "Snob" making "Primrose" much more wearable. I've worn it with smokey eyes and lighter eyes and I attest to its endless versatility. It is particularly flattering on light-medium skin tones with yellow or olive undertones (such as my own). Formula-wise it is creamy, well pigmented and long-wearing, as almost all Revlon lipsticks typically are, and it leaves a beautiful stain after many hours of wear, much like MAC Snob. Retailing at about $7.00 at most drugstores (that's half the price of Snob FYI), I highly recommend trying out "Primrose" before purchasing any high-end pastel pinks, especially if you are new to the whole "pinky-nude" thing.

ELF Classy: Originally, I had planned to feature only 5 lipsticks in this post but I decided to include ELF's lipstick in "Classy" as a kind of "honorable mention" because while it isn't the best formula, or the most nicely packaged, it far exceeded my expectations of a $1.00 lipstick. Yup, you read right-- $1.00. This lipstick is a part of the ELF Essentials line, in which all products generally go for about $1.00. "Classy" is a pretty Audrey pink, though you'd never be able to tell based on the ELF website's color guide. It applies very sheer at first so you will need to build up color with several applications but once applied it is surprisingly long-wearing. What I don't like about the formula is that the lipstick seems to melt in my cosmetics bag when I'm out and about. Granted, I know that Florida weather is typically unkind to all, but this is the one of the only lipsticks I own that travels so poorly.

Have you tried any of these lipsticks? What are your favorite pinks?

Hope you're having a great week so far!

Daily Tidbits:

Doesn't that look delish? Tony ordered a dessert consisting of blackberries soaked in honey and sage. We both shared assorted macaroons. I had a double-shot Dharkan, one of the latest and most intense varieties put out by Nespresso. 

• Tony and I hit up our favorite coffee bar, Nespresso, in South Beach this past weekend (as per Instagram). We have the Nespresso machine at home and we love it but it's always nice to go out and be waited on with an assortment of macarons. Have you ever been there? If you haven't, you've gotta check it out. The ambience is so fabulously avant-garde.
• I had a chocolate Kale smoothie today for lunch. Chocolate makes for a great way to start the week. 
• Report cards are finally printed. Can't wait to start posting those 2nd Quarter grades! 
• Making a chickpea hot pot tonight!