This Is That “Your Lips But Better” Lip Gloss Color We’ve All Been Searching For Since Our Lips Started To Shrink

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Signature Sheer Lip Liner in Bespoke* and Shade Slick Tinted Lip Oil in Pointelle* (*gifted*)

We have also used and loved their lip oils, but for some reason, we only just discovered a color called Twin Set*, literally yesterday, and the moment was so electrifying that we threw out our editorial calendar for this week and immediately wrote about it, such was the urgency we felt to tell you about it. Ok so first. Here are the photos of it from their site:

Maybe some of you are underwhelmed. And if you are, perhaps this is not the color for you. Farewell. For the rest of us, let us unite in our shared love of this not orange, not pink, not brown sliiiiiiightly mauve, just-right Goldilocks perfection that we can absolutely feel you screaming about through this screen.

For most of us, we’re always looking for that “natural” color that gives our lips something subtle but impactful. Most of us use the wrong terminology and often ask for “nude” colors—but we’re not really looking for that because post-40, it washes us out. Of course, we all cut our teeth on images like this from the 90s, but all those models were in their 20s back then, so if we did this now (including the models themselves who are also well over 40), we’d all look like corpses:

So what we really want is “your lips but better” hues, and even though this is what nearly every woman wants in a lip color, they are so hard to come by. We won’t get in the weeds of cool-toned and warm-toned nomenclature because talking about undertones is 100% something most of us DO NOT want to discuss, but we will say that the advent of mauve tones in lip gloss is absolutely critical to wearable, “your lips the better” shades.

Case in point, here is Audie, our editor-in-chief, wearing only the Merit lip in twin set*—no lip liner, and zero other makeup. More so you can see how it totally lights up the face. Seeing how lip colors look with no other makeup is crucial since most of need to have our everyday products work for barely-there makeup days more than anything. Or in this case, literally-not-there makeup days:

It’s that kind of color that doesn’t seem like there’s any color. Like these are just our lips. It’s also the kind of color you can apply QUITE liberally, outside the natural lines of your lips, and your lips just look fuller, not fake.

Lastly, the formula. Oh, the formula. Not at all sticky, and because it’s an oil, it feels more like a shiny lip balm, not a gloopy gloss. Squalane helps to moisturize and creates that supple pillow-lip we’re all seeming to lose (is your upper lip shriveling, too?!) along with quinoa seed oil which helps our lip barrier over time—which means fewer of those deep lines of dehydration.

Truthfully, this color* is so good, we’d probably still buy it even if the formula itself wasn’t great. But how glorious that we don’t have to make such a choice.

Price: $24

*BUY ON MERIT*

At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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