My mother is the kind of naturally glamorous woman who believes lipstick is an all-occasion cosmetic. Trip to the grocery store? Put on some lipstick. Breakfast with the grandkids? Slide on some lipstick. TV movie in the living room? Don’t forget the lipstick. I spent my childhood traipsing about the house collecting coffee cups and wine glasses marked with her signature rosy-lipped tint and have spent most of my adulthood attempting to find the lip shade that would give me even a smidgen of her easy, delicate beauty. Along the way I’ve learned that lipstick has to be moisturizing before anything else and that natural and organic shades are slowly carving out space in a sea of conventional sticks laden with synthetic fragrance and color.
Big night out? Organizing your underwear drawer? Whether you’re unstoppably high fashion or super low key, you’ll be ready for anything with one of these sticks tucked in your jeans pocket or stashed in your sequined purse.
Good old Burt delivers again with this trusty lip shimmer ($4). I’ve been a dedicated fan of Rhubarb (a shade that seems to be red wine crossed with black cherry crossed with watermelon) for years and am now pretty much addicted to the creamy moisturizing feel and the minty zing—thanks to a hefty helping of peppermint oil. The color remains vibrant and long-lasting while sunflower oil, lanolin, comfrey root extract and vitamin E work together to keep lips soft and smoochable.
There’s nothing like sliding on a shiny coating of Paint Me Strong ($11.20) before a meeting with your cranky boss or a questionable blind date. Peacekeeper is all about female empowerment—post-tax profits support women’s issues—and natural beauty. And the boldly named lipstick shades—perhaps you have a friend who could benefit from Paint Me Open-Minded?—are also made from gentle, soothing ingredients like grape seed and jojoba oils.
Cargo gets serious do-gooder multi-tasking points for its Plant Love line of cosmetics. The 20-shade lipstick collection ($20)—which comes in varying degrees of glossiness—is formulated with moisturizing ingredients like meadowfoam seed oil, jojoba and shea butter (and without parabens or anything synthetic) and is packaged in a biodegradable tube made from corn. On top of that, each stick’s outer package is constructed from flower paper that will produce wild flowers when planted. And if that’s not enough—Cargo donates two dollars from every lipstick sale to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Phew. That’s a crazy amount of good in one tube.
