Fine Lines | Nude Lip Liners.

Let's talk boring for a bit, yeah? Okay, I'm not gonna lie I love lip liners and think they're great - I use them every day. I will admit though, they're probably not as exciting to buy as a lipstick or aesthetically pleasing to look at, but they're a really important part of perfecting any makeup look for me so I wanted to share with you some of my favourites. I'd be here all day if I were to talk about all of my favourite colours and brands, so I thought I'd share some of my top nude/brown/neutral pencils since I use them the most, and I'm sure they're what most people wear on a daily basis too. I'm gonna go through my top shades, formulas and just some of my favourite lipsticks to pair with them for gorgeous combinations. Let me know if you find this useful and if ye would like me to do another post for other colour in the future!

Let's start off with that cheap cheap. This has been talked about a-plenty all over the internet and with good reason. These Primark/Penneys lip liners are brilliant for the €1.50 price tag. The number 6 is a great brown nude with pink undertones, similar to Spice by MAC. The formula is creamy and works really nicely all over the lips on its own and is really long lasting, particularly considering the price. I honestly can't recommend this one enough, it's easily one of my most used lip liners - I have about 5 on me at any given time in every handbag and makeup bag, and it's rare I go into Penneys and don't pick one up "just to have". Cause it's so creamy I love this on its own and with most brown or pink toned nudes (light or dark), but it looks particularly great with Sleek's Birthday Suit, MAC Viva Glam II and Kat Von D Lolita lipstick(s).

No. 7 Nude lipliner is the reason Lisa Eldridge deserves canonization. I've been using this lip liner for years now, when it came in slightly different packaging and I could easily get it with a No. 7 voucher. I've found it a little bit more difficult recently, as it becomes even more popular but if you have a voucher and see this then don't hesitate to buy it, just do it - it works out at like €3 or something with the voucher. This is the most peachy toned nude liner I'll be featuring, I'm not normally a massive fan of these shades but it has the right amount of brown in it to make it a peachy nude rather than a straight up peach. I think this suits me more when I have a tan, and it works best on warmer skintones but it is a great formula. Even though it's a retractable it still stays quite precise, and it's another one of those that's creamy enough to be used all over the lip and smooth over any dry patches. I like pairing this with MAC's Kinda Sexy or Patisserie, Urban Decay Naked, Wet n Wild Just Peachy.

Another affordable option is the NYX lipliner in Pale Pink. This is definitely a lighter liner in terms of the colour, a slightly grey toned light nude pink. I don't really use this for defining and overdrawing the lips because it is light but rather just to correct the shape of my lips and go underneath any lighter pink nude lipstick. The NYX liners on a whole are really great for the price, they're probably most similar to MAC in terms of budget brands that I've tried and they come in SO many shades it's really impressive. I love pairing this liner with MAC Creme Cup, Native by Urban Decay, Sleek Petal Matte Me. 

This is a bit of an underdog, but I was recently in a pinch, needed a lip liner and had forgotten to pack one with me. I tried Whiskey eyeliner by Urban Decay and was so pleasantly surprised. I shouldn't have been surprised to be honest, they're some of my favourite eyeliner formulas and although I have no nude shades in their lip liners, I do enjoy the red shades that I have. Whiskey is a medium warm brown that can get real dark and chocolatey real quick if you want, but I prefer to use a super light hand to overdraw my lips with this. When used lightly it makes a great and relatively natural looking shadow that plumps up the lips. Sometimes I go in a little bit heavier and darken it, filling in the outer corners too for a more dimensional nude lip. Since it can get quite dark quite quickly, I like to pair this with something opaque lipstick wise, so I can easily blend it over the liner and have it look really nice. This goes great again with Sleek Birthday Suit when I want a darker nude lip!

Okay, so I had to end this post with the liners that started it all. While I don't think it's necessary to own every single MAC lip liner, I do think they do some of the best ones on the market if you don't mind spending a bit more or want to invest in one or two. They pretty much have you covered on all basis for nudes in particular, and the Kylie Jenner Whirl/Spice bandwagon definitely relaunched them into every Irish girl's makeup bag across the country. I think their formula is great, it's a traditional wooden pencil so not as creamy as a lot of formulas but it means you can really use them successfuly to carve out a lip line you don't have, cheat a fuller shape and have it last a really long time on the lips. A lot of their nude toned liners are very similar, but I thought I'd show just a few of my favourite ones that I own and a MAC lipstick I love to pair it with... just, cause, yano.  

Whirl is the one that began the love affair - Whirl. This was actually my mothers from year ago, but I stole it straight from her makeup bag in a bid to try a 90's brown lip a few years ago and never looked back. I've purchased like 2 of these since and it's one I always go back to. I think this one looks great on everyone and has the right amount of pink in it to stop it from looking too brown or flat. If you were going to pick one nude MAC liner up I would suggest this one! I pair this with almost anything, obviously the Whirl lipstick is a good option (although it's worth nothing that they're actually slightly different in tone!), MAC Myth or Fleshpot if I want a lighter nude lip or Faux.

Dervish is a beautiful shade, it's ever so slightly lighter than Whirl and with less brown, more obvious pink tones but definitely still a neutral shade. This is a great bridal or debs colour but I mean I wear this quite often and lord knows I'm not getting married any time soon (I also don't fit into my debs dress anymore either so... that's upsetting). Viva Glam V, Brave and Blankety go great with this one.

Soar was more difficult to find than the holy grail. I went to 3 or 4 different MAC counters (in 2 different countries...) over the space of 2 weeks to track this down but it finally came home with me in my suitcase. This is darker than Dervish and has even more distinctively pink tones in it, it's a neutral colour but a deep rose. Another really beautiful prom or bridal colour, and can be played with in lots of ways to look more brown, lighter or true to the nude rose tones. I like using this with Mehr, Twig and Hug Me (plus all of the above MAC lipsticks mentioned, actually!)

I thought it would be worth mentioning that if the traditional pencils aren't your thing, MAC also do a Pro Longwear formula in a couple of shades. These are often overlooked, I didn't really know about them until I rummaged through my friends collection and saw a few. I picked up Staunchly Stylish upon her recommendation (and will be going back for Morning Coffee soon!). Anyway, these are pretty lovely. They're much creamier than the original formula but actually set pretty well and last just as long, maybe even a little longer than the originals. I don't think you get quite as sharp of a line with these, but it's sort of give and take with the creaminess. Staunchly stylish is a warm brown, with very very slight peach undertones (it's probably more neutral in tone than anything, it isn't as peachy as the No. 7 one but there's definitely no pink in this) so if Dervish or Whirl isn't your thing then this is a good one. Of course, Oak, Stripdown, Boldly Bare, Subculture and Spice are great options if you're looking for more true brown or beige nudes!

Who knew I could make such an essay out of lip liners? I hope this wasn't too boring, I love a good lipliner and lip combo so if you'd like any more of these in the future (for pinks, reds, wine shades...) let me know! :)