The 10 Best Lipstick Brands (Staff Picks and Favorites)

Last Updated on February 16, 2025

What are the best lipstick brands? Well, when it comes to the best lipstick brands, several of them could clinch the title. However, each brand has its history, variety of products, and points. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Best Lipstick Brands

If you’re trying to complete the ideal look, then you know that the perfect pop of lipstick is just what you need. Just as the eyes are the windows to the soul, the right shade of lipstick is an essential part of defining your style and sense of chic. Whether you’re trying to match your outfit, eyes, complexion, or even the season itself, you’ve got to have the right sticks by your side. 

MAC Cosmetics

What’s not to love about MAC Cosmetics? Their history alone is remarkable, but they also have a reputation for top-notch quality and different products for a variety of different tastes, styles, and people. They’ve continued to clinch headlines with record-breaking sales of their MAC Selena collection, as well as their social impact with the MAC AIDS Fund.

But if you’re looking to truly make a statement yourself, it’s hard to do better than MAC’s iconic red Ruby Woo lipstick. A veritable retro throwback, don’t be surprised if the rest of you also begin looking like Marilyn Monroe. If that’s not your thing, don’t worry; you’ll have over 150 shades of traditional lipsticks and over 30 shades of liquid lipstick to choose from. You just can’t miss out on this brand.

Bobbi Brown Cosmetics

Next up is Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Founded by the namesake founder and makeup guru, this company started with just ten lipsticks and blossomed from there on. What do we love about their lipsticks? Beyond the chic packaging, they do make some fantastic nudes, and their color overall has a visually creamy richness that just oozes expert formulation. While Bobbi has gone on to find other companies, her artistry and subtle aesthetic touch are still very much on display with this company’s products.

Yves Saint Laurent

What happens when one of the world’s best French fashion houses gets into cosmetics and lipsticks? True to form, they make some of the best lipsticks imaginable. Yes, they are pricey, but the gold packaging is oh-so-gorgeous – oh-so boujee. And have you seen the color and richness from their entire “Rouge” line? These lipsticks practically stay on forever! So if you’re looking for top-end lipstick, rest assured that YSL easily sits at the top among the best lipstick brands.

Charlotte Tilbury

Named after the famed British makeup artist, this brand’s products are as regal as the dame (MBE, no less) behind the name. But where does this brand excel in the range of lipsticks? Beyond the ornate packaging and overall quality, Charlotte Tilbury is a brand that excels at niche shades that it does better than anyone else. For example, if you’re looking for the best pinkish nude that money can buy, their “Pillow Talk” is an amazing candidate.

In addition, if you’re looking to go all the way with your lips, their lip kits (especially the Pillow Talk Lip Kit) are probably the closest you can get to having your looks like they were done professionally.

NARS Cosmetics

But of course, what roundup of cosmetics products is complete without NARS? And where do they stand in the list of best lipstick brands? In one word, their selling point is value. NARS is overall a very versatile company with a range of excellent products sold at excellent prices.

In this arena, NARS stands out with some especially striking lipstick shades that include some amazing reds, pinks, oranges, and purples. Another given with their lipsticks is longevity – they’re expertly formulated to stay on as long as you want them on. And for these prices, we’d easily buy a handful to make a statement with any one of our looks.

Chanel

Remember how we praised YSL as one of France’s top fashion houses? Well, meet one of the most famed, esteemed, and time-honed fashion houses of all – Chanel. Named after Coco Chanel, this brand is indisputably THE standard-bearer of class, luxury, opulence, and chic. It’s unsurprising then that their venture into cosmetics and lipsticks bears the same signature.

But is Chanel one of the best lipstick brands? Beyond the signature black and gold packaging, the company has also invested a significant amount of research and development into these lipsticks. They are formulated perfectly for optimal moisture, color, texture, and longevity. And as their product reviews indicate, Chanel is just as serious about making the best lipsticks as they are about making the best of everything else.

Fenty Beauty

We’ll preface this by saying we are RiRi’s ultimate fangirls. You heard us, Rihanna, we just can’t get enough of you. But does her cosmetics company, Fenty Beauty, merit the same popularity as the superstar behind it? While this company doesn’t even have five years to its name, our assessment is yes, yes, and 100 times yes!

Let’s put it this way: if you want to buy an innumerable number of shades of Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipstick, we wouldn’t blame you! For the absolute throwaway pricing and variety of colors, you really can have it all! But how is the quality? Well, as reviewers would tell you, it cuts! Simply put, no other lipstick brands on this list come close to offering this kind of value.

Pat McGrath Labs

It’s indisputable that Pat McGrath is one of the most talented and trendsetting makeup artists of all time. Her unique and individualistic styles focused on self-expression, have created a whole range of artistry in the makeup world that simply didn’t exist before her arrival.

But how does the brand stand among the best lipstick brands? Well, they probably make the very best matte lipsticks of anyone. What sets their MatteTrance apart is how long they stay on, especially given their lightweight texture. Better yet, these sticks glide on as easily as butter and provide fantastic moisture and hydration. Practically speaking, these are amazing lipsticks to wear day-to-day because of their easy application and second-to-none wearability.

Kosas Cosmetics

Sometimes newcomers are just what an industry needs to shake up. Kosas Cosmetics, founded just over five years ago, has not only taken the cosmetics industry by storm but has also become a standard bearer for clean beauty. Founded by Sheena Yaitanes (her background is actually in painting and music), this brand is far from conventional.

Using all-natural, clean ingredients, Kosas’ lipsticks also seem to have incredible longevity. Plus, so many reviewers agree that they feel AMAZING on their lips. While their “Weightless Lipsticks” currently only come in a handful of shades, it’s without a doubt that this brand is onto something new, exciting, and noteworthy.

Merit

Merit is a brand that has become very popular very quickly, but what makes it so catchy?

In two words, these lipsticks are consistently fabulous. Whether you’re looking at the packaging, texture, or richness of the shades, each one exudes a certain “posh” or classiness about it that will make you feel oh-so-good. Can they be outperformed by other brands at a better price? Possibly. But if you’re looking for a whole range of high-end lipsticks with a look, feel, and quality that won’t disappoint, you’re at the right place with this brand. The best part is they are cruelty-free and an incredibly clean brand!

Final Words…

So, readers, which of these lipstick brands or products did you like the best? Or did you think there were some other brands we should have included on our list? Let us know in the comments below, or find us on Instagram @offonfriday. Or if you’ve got a shade you’ve got to show us, use #SuccessibleBeauty for a chance to be reposted!