If there is one beauty product I refuse to leave the house without, it is something, anything, for my lips.

On days when I skip foundation, forget mascara and generally cannot be persuaded into a full face, I will still have a lip liner, a balm or a gloss on. It is the single step that makes me feel like a person who has her life together, even when the evidence suggests otherwise. I have always loved lip products. I am forever trying new formulas, textures and shades, and yet, over the years, I have come to accept a slightly embarrassing truth about myself: I am a creature of habit. I reach for the same things every time. Nudes, cooler undertones, soft cappuccino browns, muted pinks. The tones that actually suit me, as opposed to the ones I keep buying in a moment of optimism and never wear.

Which brings me to a distinction only beauty people will understand. To the untrained eye, two nude lip liners are identical, possibly even a waste of money. To us, they could not be more different. One runs cooler, one a touch rosier, one gives definition, another softens everything it touches. We know. We always know.

Before I get to my five favourite combinations for summer, I have to mention the category that genuinely rearranged my routine: lip stains.If your lip border is on the softer side, or your lips run pale, I cannot recommend them enough. My personal favourite is the Wonderskin Lip Stain, though the Summer Fridays lip tints have my heart too. I put one on while I do the rest of my makeup, leave it for a few minutes, and let it do its thing. It gives my lips a natural base colour and keeps the edges defined all day. The real magic is longevity. After eating, drinking and reapplying everything else, the shape still holds, which makes whatever I layer on top look better and last far longer.

With that out of the way, these are the five lip combinations I keep coming back to, and will be wearing all summer long.

I have been wearing this combination for years and still reach for it all the time. Charlotte Tilbury’s Iconic Nude is the perfect cool-toned brown nude liner, while Pat McGrath Nude Venus adds a soft pink nude gloss with the most beautiful subtle sheen.

I love keeping the edges slightly more defined and brown-toned, then adding Nude Venus to the centre of the lips for a fuller, softer look. It is one of those combinations that always works.

Make Up For Ever lip liners are definitely in my top three favourites. I especially love Endless Cacao and Anywhere Caffeine, both beautiful cool-toned caramel nude shades that work with almost everything.

I pair them most often with Prada Monochrome in Nudo, a lipstick I have probably repurchased more than any other. I genuinely have multiple tubes of it scattered between handbags and makeup bags because it is the perfect balance of nude and soft pink. Together they create the most beautiful ombré effect. Sometimes I add a lip balm on top for a little shine, but I wear this combination just as often on its own when I want a softer matte finish.

This is a combination I discovered more recently and have been loving lately. The lip liner (my shade is Retro Mauve) has a beautiful cool-toned mauve shade, while Cushion Glaze gives the lips a fresh, healthy-looking shine.

What I particularly love about Cushion Glaze is that it feels more like a lip treatment than a traditional lipstick. It hydrates, gives the lips a subtle plumping effect and leaves behind a lightweight glazed finish that looks beautiful throughout the day.

CAIA also has a fantastic shade selection, and I love that they offer curated nude lip duos on their website, making it easy to find combinations that work perfectly together.

M.PH Beauty is another brand I have been enjoying recently. Their lip liner in Skinny Deep works beautifully for creating a softly defined nude lips. I pair the liner with their lipstick in First Base, a sheer, glossy nude that feels incredibly comfortable on the lips and adds just the right amount of shine.

Together they create an effortless everyday lip that looks polished without feeling too done. I have also tried a few other products from the brand and have been really impressed so far.

NARS is probably one of my favourite beauty brands on the market right now, and this is one of my most-worn lip combinations. Unlike the deeper cool-toned brown lip liners I often reach for, Halong Bay is a softer nude with a subtle pink undertone that feels a little lighter and more effortless.

I pair it with the NARS Afterglow Lip Shine in Turkish Delight, a gloss I genuinely use with almost everything. It works beautifully as a topper over other lip combinations, but together they create the perfect neutral glossy lip that works just as well for everyday wear as it does for events, dinners and special occasions.

These are the five lip combinations I find myself reaching for most often and the ones that rarely leave my handbag for very long. While I am always testing new products and trying different formulas, these are the combinations I keep coming back to because they simply work.

As you can probably tell, I tend to stay within the same colour family of cool-toned nudes, soft browns and muted pinks. They are the shades I feel most like myself in and the ones that suit my everyday makeup style best.

I have also linked my favourite lip balms and lip stains below, as they are just as much a part of my lip routine as the liners, lipsticks and glosses themselves.

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