The Best Lip Combos For A Fresh, Luscious Look

Serious question for everyone: When did it become mandatory to carry not just one, but two lip products? It feels like just yesterday I was breezing through life with only my Cherry Coke-flavored Lip Smacker. Now, I find myself toting around a pouch in my work bag filled with glosses, balms, jellies, oils, liners, and lipsticks. Coupled with the constant flood of product recommendations on my FYP and a moderate-to-severe Sephora addiction, I've transformed from a simple Vaseline-and-go person to a dedicated lip combo enthusiast.

A flawless nude liner paired with a your-lips-but-better satin lipstick, or a pinky-nude lipstick with a luscious pink gloss layered on top—these lip combos are the perfect finishing touch to any makeup look. 

Best Lip Combos You Should Give A Try

If you're still in the single-lip-product era and want to explore without amassing a slightly alarming collection of combos, fear not. We've got you covered with the everyday lip product combinations we swear by.

Lip Liner + Lip Butter

Until recently, I wasn't into lip liners, but eyeliner was always my thing. That's why having a Tower 28 Oneliner in my back pocket has been a game-changer—it can serve as both in a pinch. I love that I can line and fill my lips with my ever-shaky hands using this product, without worrying about it looking uneven or cakey. Plus, the shade Work of Art is the perfect my-lips-but-better color, seamlessly complementing the Vanilla Beige hue of the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm.

Speaking of the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm, in case you're wondering, yes, it lives up to the hype. Awarded Allure's Best of Beauty 2023 for the best-tinted lip balm on the market, it's genuinely the most wearable lip product I've ever used. It provides just the right hint of color while keeping my lips hydrated—a quality I adore for everyday wear. I know these are two popular lip products, but what can I say? They've earned their viral status, and I'm completely hooked on wearing them together. It's a match made in TikTok heaven.

Lip Pencil + Glossy Lip Balm

Let me start by saying that I've never been the type of person to carry more than a clear peppermint chapstick in my purse. It wasn't until a few months ago when I stumbled upon a corner of TikTok dedicated to people sharing their favorite lip liners that I found myself surprisingly intrigued, thinking, "Have I been missing out?" Realizing that I indeed was missing out on the world of lip products, I discovered the NYX Professional Long-Lasting Lip Liner in the shade Nude Beige (an almost perfect match to my natural lip color) and the Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip Balm in Clear. I love that this combo is as effortless and natural as my reliable clear chapstick but feels like a significant upgrade at the same time.

Lip Liner + Tinted Glossy Lip Balm

I must share that I've found the ideal fall lip combo, all thanks to the Rare Beauty Kind Words Lip Liner. For a neutral terracotta-like lip, their shade Fun is unbeatable. This lip liner serves as the perfect base for any lipstick or gloss and even includes a built-in sharpener.

If there's one lip product I'd buy a hundred times over, it would be the Rare Beauty Glossy Lip Balm. Arguably their most underrated product, this lip balm/gloss combo is my absolute favorite gloss ever. It's not sticky or thick but still offers rich pigmentation and hydration. Together, these two will be my go-to for the entire fall season and beyond.

Lip Liner + Lip Treatment

Despite whatever I try or how many lipsticks I purchase, I've never been enamored with the look of lipstick on myself. For years, I opted for bare lips until I discovered this lifesaving combo that I now wear daily. I outline my lips with Charlotte Tilbury's Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk, filling them in ever so slightly. Then, I finish it off with the ultra-hydrating Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment, which provides the glossy appearance but lasts much longer, leaving my lips plump and moisturized all day. It's a my-lips-but-better combo that feels natural yet adds a touch of color and vitality to my lips—a look I'm completely obsessed with.

Lip Contour Pencil + Hydrating Lip Balm

Regrettably, I'm allergic to most lip products available in the market, making many of the recommended items from my coworkers unsuitable for me (lip balms definitely shouldn't cause burning and blistering, right?). Consequently, discovering lip products that work for me involves a considerable amount of trial and error. Fortunately, I've identified a few staples that I use almost every day. The Huda Beauty Lip Contour Pencil in Terracotta is the ideal my-lips-but-better shade. I outline the outer edges of my lips with it, blending inwards for a softened appearance. Then, I apply my holy grail lip balm, the Fresh Sugar Lip Balm in Clear, to add a perfect hint of color for everyday wear, along with the added hydration benefits from the balm. If I desire more color and shine, I layer it with the Fenty Beauty Universal Lip Luminizer in Fenty Glow or the Ilia Balmy Tinted Lip Balm in Memoir for a deeper, autumnal look.

Lip Liner + Lip Plumper Gloss

While I'm not a fan of lip color myself (perhaps it's a bit paranoid, but I swear any subtle pink or red tint makes my lips appear smaller and my teeth yellow), the natural color of my lips is relatively light and lackluster, requiring a little enhancement. Additionally, I aspire to achieve fuller lips but haven't opted for actual filler yet. After numerous experiments, I've settled on the perfect combination.

Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk shade is a cult favorite for a reason: It's the ideal semi-nude with a subtle hint of pink. I prefer to slightly over-line my cupid’s bow and bottom lip, adding a vertical line from the cupid’s bow down to the bottom of the lower lip for a fuller look (a TikTok hack, naturally). Topping it all off, my favorite lip product (possibly of all time) is the Lawless Forget the Filler Lip Plumper Gloss. It genuinely surpasses any plumping gloss I've tried, effectively making my lips subtly plumper without any stinging or tingling sensation.

How To Choose The Best Lip Combos For Ourself?

Just like skin, hair, and body type, every lip is different and takes the products differently and of course they appear completely different on every lip. So, stop being so confused while choosing the best lip combos for yourself and just keep a few things in mind when buying lip combos to find the perfect fit for yourself. Ahead are some of the most important factors to consider to find the best lip combo that actually works for you.

Skin Tone 

As I have already said, and saying again that every lip and skin works differently, so the first thing you should keep in mind while buying a lip combo is choosing the colors that compliments your skin tone.

No worries if you don’t know how to do it, let me quickly make you understand the basic colors that go well with the specific undertones:

• For Warm Undertones: coral, gold, peach.
• For Cool Undertones: violet, berry, pink.

Occasion

This is another important thing to keep in mind as of course you are not going to wear a bold red lip to school or to the grocery shopping, and you would never wear only chapstick to your best friend's wedding. So, here’s a quick basics you need to know for choosing lip combos that will work for all occasions, almost. First of all, stock up on every possible lip balm out there to always have prepped and hydrated lips before you use any other lip product. Next thing, you should have lip liners in every possible shade to pair up with your lip butters and lipsticks. Lastly, get yourself lipsticks that are not too obvious and mostly in nudes so they compliment all your lip balms, whether tinted or glossy, as well as your lip liners. 

Now, about the application, pair up the lip balms and lip liners for most minimal looks and occasions. For fancy and formal events you can pair up your tinted balm and lipsticks to make the lip game standout in the crowd. For casual occasions for subtle and nude shades of lip products and for formal events opt for bold and rich shades like red, pink, mauve, and chocolaty brown (if your vibe is bold and playful).

Mix and Match

The best things are always random for me in the beauty game, for real. Whether it was a completely off shade that I thought would never go with my already tinted gloss made the best ever combo for my skintone surprisingly it becomes my signature go-to look for every occasion. Or it was a lip liner that I thought would never look good with my tinted lip balm but it made me look different and pretty. So, don’t ever hesitate to mix things up. Sometimes you will definitely, surprisingly , be going to love some random experiment and go for it forever.

Wrap Up

These are some of the best lip combos I personally tried, but this has not ended here. Mix and match your lip products to create something unique and stunning that you will be flaunting everywhere. Remember, the most important thing is to have fun and experiment with different looks until you find the perfect lip combo that makes you feel confident and beautiful.

READ MORE: Hydrating Lip Products That Hеlp With Chappеd Lips