Lip combos are like fingerprints—no two are alike. Okay, yes, I’m hyperbolic, but finding your perfect liner-balm-gloss lineup is a personal quest of sorts. Once you discover your all-time favorite pairing, you hardly ever change course (well, unless you come across a shiny new launch just begging to be worn), and people seldom overlap. Take it from our very own editors!
I polled the WWW team on their go-to lip combos, and not one beauty-obsessed staffer had the same exact collection—rest assured this roundup is buzzing with inspiration. And because the new crop of lip launches are just *so good* (Glossier, Summer Fridays, Eadem, and the list goes on), I also asked them to share the recent finds they declare hotter than the impending heatwave. (NYC residents… you know.) Take a peek at these editor-favorites ahead, and I’d wager you’ll find your newest desert-island beauty grab.
“I’m all about light, minimal lip looks for summer that don’t require a lot of touch-ups. That being said, I definitely want some fun color, definition, and glossiness. My go-to lip combo lately has been to start with a matte lip liner (my favorite is Laura Mercier’s Pink Peony, but it’s sold out, so this Huda Beauty shade is a great dupe!). I’ll then top it with the viral Gisou lip oil to add juicy hydration and shine.”
Shop Emma’s Combo
Huda Beauty
Lip Contour 2.0 Automatic Matte Lip Pencil in Muted Pink
Gisou
Honey Infused Hydrating Lip Oil
Shawna Hudson, Associate Beauty Editor
“I’m not really a huge lip liner person, but I do love wearing the Fresh Sugar Lip Balm underneath a gloss or lipstick (my current favorite is Charlotte Tilbury’s Icon Lipstick in Pizzaz). It keeps my lips super hydrated if I’m wearing a lipstick for longer periods of time.
“The weather is already super dry in California, but during the summer, it seems to get worse for me. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with Experiment’s Softwear Smoothing Lip Treatment. It’s one of the best gloss/balms I’ve used that’s hydrating, keeps your lips juicy, and lightly exfoliates them so your lips don’t get as sandpaper-y. Honestly, it’s so glossy I don’t even have to wear anything over it! I like to keep it light during the summer.”
Shop Shawna’s Combo
Fresh
Sugar Lip Balm Hydrating Treatment
Charlotte Tilbury
Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pizzazz
Experiment Beauty
Softwear Smoothing Lip Treatment
Natalie Gray Herder, Fashion Editor, Branded Content
“Charlotte Tilbury’s Iconic Nude and Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in Iced Latte is already my most used lip combo of summer. In the winter, I find that cool-toned pink shades are more flattering, but as soon as my summer tan hits, it’s all nude all the time.”
Shop Natalie’s Combo
Charlotte Tilbury
Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Iconic Nude
Summer Fridays
Lip Butter Balm in Iced Coffee
Emma Walsh, Associate Beauty Editor, Branded Content
“Nine times out of ten, you’ll catch me wearing nothing but a simple baby pink gloss on my lips (Rhode’s Peptide Lip Tint in Ribbon is my go-to.) But for summer, I’m spicing it up a little bit and swapping in a red lip oil. First, I line my lips with a rosy-mauve lip liner from Catrice. Then I swipe on the Gisou tinted lip oil in Strawberry Sorbet—this sweet and delicious flavor gives that adorable popsicle-like tint and is just so perfect for summer.”
Shop Emma’s Combo
Rhode
Peptide Lip Tint in Ribbon
Catrice Cosmetics
Plumping Lip Liner in Starring Role
Gisou
Honey Infused Hydrating Lip Oil in Strawberry Sorbet
Aniyah Morinia, Editor, Branded Content
“No lip combo is complete for me without a dark brown lip liner. I am loyal to Make Up For Ever’s pencil lip liner in Dimensional Dark Brown all year round, but the competition is getting stiff these days. I love to add a pinky nude gloss at the center to accentuate my dual-toned lips during the summer. I tend to go for darker lipsticks in the fall and winter (I’m looking at you, Makeup By Mario) but these days, I’m opting for the Lawless Forget The Filler Lip Plumper Line Smoothing Gloss in Cherry Vanilla. I’ve gone through about three tubes of this in the past few months, which is a testament to how often I do this combo.”
Shop Aniyah’s Combo
Make Up For Ever
Artist Color Eye Lip & Brow Pencil in Dimensional Dark Brown
Lawless
Forget the Filler Lip Plumper Line Smoothing Gloss in Cherry Vanilla
Kaitlyn McLintock, Associate Beauty Editor
“I’m not feeling matte, highly-pigmented lip products right now. In fact, I only want to wear lip tints, glosses, and oils. My favorite combo is the Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil Longwear Lip Liner in Wherever Walnut and the Haus Labs PhD Hybrid Lip Glaze in Macaron. I recently wore this combo to a wedding and three people complimented me and asked for the details. I’ve been wearing it on repeat ever since. The warm rose color of the lip liner balances the cool pink color of the lip glaze. It gives my otherwise thin lips a full and plump look without looking too overlined or obvious.”
Shop Kaitlyn’s Combo
Make Up For Ever
Artist Color Pencil Longwear Lip Liner in Wherever Walnut
Haus Labs
PhD Hybrid Lip Glaze Plumping Gloss in Macaron
Maya Thomas, Assistant Beauty Editor
“I’ve always been partial to burnt orange and berry tones for my lip combo year-round, but this summer I’m leaning towards shades of coral and cherry red for an extra punch of color. Recently, I’ve been lining my lips with Charlotte Tilbury’s Lip Cheat Liner in Iconic Nude and then swipe on the Dior Lip Glow Oil in Coral. If I’m feeling really bold, I’ll switch out the lip oil for Hourglass’s Phantom Volumizing Glossy Lip Balm in Lucid.”
Shop Maya’s Combo
Charlotte Tilbury
Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Iconic Nude
Dior
Lip Glow Oil in Coral
Hourglass
Phantom Volumizing Glossy Lip Balm in Lucid
Jamie Schneider, Senior Beauty Editor
A swipe of mauve liner is my makeup safety net, and Tower 28’s OneLiner has a special place in my heart. (I’m in good company: Hailey Bieber also counts herself a fan.) I’ll use that to outline my lips before tapping on Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk. Next, I’ll glob on Saie’s GlossyBounce in Play or the Tinx + U Beauty’s The Plasma Lip Compound in Rom Com; both deposit high shine and juicy color without making my lips feel too sticky (hair caught in lip gloss is a major pet peeve).
This summer’s latest lip launches did not mess around, though, and I feel spoiled for choice these days! I still gravitate towards a pinky-brown liner, and I’ve been alternating between Kosas’s Hotliner in Max and Glossier’s Lip Line in Bit. For balm, I’ve been loving Sisley Paris’s Phyto Lip Balm in shade 2 (the prettiest petal pink), and I cannot get enough of Eadem’s Le Chouchou. Fig Sauce is my favorite shade, and it matches perfectly with the warm mauve Glossier liner. The color payoff and shine are so good that I don’t even need an underlying lippie. It’s currently sold out (sob—I need, like, six more), but Refy’s Lip Gloss in Fawn is a very close second!
Shop My Combo
Tower 28
OneLiner in Work Of Art
Charlotte Tilbury
Matte Revolution Hydrating Lipstick in Pillow Talk
Saie
Glossybounce in Play
U Beauty
Tinx + U Beauty Plasma Lip Compound in Rom Com
Sisley Paris
Refillable Phyto-Lip Balm in 2 Pink Glow
Eadem
Le Chouchou in Fig Sauce
