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For our 26th annual Best Beauty Buys, the InStyle team worked with leading dermatologists, makeup artists, hair stylists, wellness experts, fragrance connoisseurs, and manicurists to find out which products they can't get enough of. Now, the votes are in — and you'll want to get a hold of these 229 beauty game-changers.
Victoria Beckham: Once an icon, always an icon. From the second she burst onto the scene as Posh Spice in 1994, Beckham's image as a well-heeled fashionista has been a reliable constant, paving the way for her fashion and beauty empire (important note: if you haven't seen Beckham's take on Crocs, you must). So Beckham's 2019-launched makeup line is her distilled allure — sophisticated, demure, yet flat-out gorgeous.
Which is why it's unsurprising that Victoria Beckham Beauty's Bitten Lip Tint won a place on InStyle's Best Beauty Buys list as 2021's best lip stain. Amongst luxury brands like Giorgio Armani and Charlotte Tilbury and failsafes from Maybelline and NYX Cosmetics, Beckham's Lip Tint roundly impressed this year's judges.
The formula's housed in the sleekest packaging this side of Byredo, the weighty black and tortoiseshell tube paired with a doe-foot applicator to glaze your lips with the fast-drying tint. "I love the VB lip tint because it's lightweight, non-sticky, and doesn't dry out my lips," says celebrity makeup artist Fatimot Isadare. "It gives the lip a beautiful, naturally flushed color."
Shop now: $36; violetgrey.com
Celebrity makeup artist, photographer, and Beauty Is Boring founder Robin Black seconds the thought. "Along with brow gel, a quick lash curl and mascara, Victoria Beckham's Bitten Lip Tint is my daily go-to. Super lightweight and hydrating, it gives my lips a subtle rose-colored stain. So pretty, long-lasting and easy to apply!"
Black adds that while she tends towards low-maintenance daily makeup, the Tint's satiny formula visibly plumps her lips and leaves the best flush of color in its wake. The gel goes on with the consistency of an airy serum, but dries down to a subtle stain that easily survives face masks and drinks. "Oddly enough, I really like to use [the stain] when dining out because it wears off nicely," Isadare says.
For more color, Isadare recommends topping the stain with Victoria Beckham Beauty's lip pencils for impact. With restaurants opening up amid the vaccine roll-out, call it the opposite of a "welcome home" present — a welcome back nod to other people once again seeing your lips. A $2,000 Victoria Beckham sheath might not fit the bill, but a stain that makes you feel the same way will live in your purse for years to come.