Matte lipsticks seem to be getting better and better; softer, more moisturising formulas with great longevity and vibrant, non-chalky colours. I love the edgy, modern look that a matte lipstick gives but I hate having dry lips so any kind of scientific advance in this particular beauty sector is going to rouse my interest! I actually don’t know anything about the science behind Tom Ford’s Matte Lip Colour and Charlotte Tilbury’s new Matte Revolution lipsticks, if indeed there is any, but the colours are beautiful, the finishes look very “high fashion” and the formulas are very comfortable indeed. The pigments are intense, but there’s a kind of glow or radiance to them, too – very clever.

In the picture above I’m wearing Tom Ford’s matte lipstick in First Time, which is quite an unlikely shade choice for me, it being rather pink! But the matte finish makes it milkshakey and cool and I’ve actually been wearing this quite a lot. I also love Flame, which is pictured front middle in the still life shot (top). It’s an unfeasibly bright orange-red that I can imagine will take summer by storm, when summer winds its way around to us. These matte lipsticks have an incredibly sumptuous and buttery texture and there’s a slight luminosity to the finish that stops the colour from looking completely flat. Truly luxe, with a price tag to match, you can find these at Selfridges online for £37.

Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution lipsticks come in at a less wince-inducing price, £23 each, and have the same kind of highly-pigmented, velvet-finish attributes. Though (dare I say it) the Tom Ford lippies are a little more buttery and comfortable. I also find the Tilbury shade range to be on the darker side, with lots of deep plums and sophisticated browns, but not so much in the way of nudes or milky pastels. The collection is very Old Hollywood, which on one hand is a breath of fresh air and rather brave, but it didn’t give this nude-lover much in the way of choice. My pick was Very Victoria, but it’s still quite dark on me. (Lots of people have commented that it comes up far paler on them, I’m wondering whether my lipstick has been labelled incorrectly!) At any rate, those who like to wear proper, grown-up lipstick will have fun with these shades – you can find them all and buy online here.

(I’m wearing Very Victoria in the picture above; can you see how it’s quite a dark nude on me? I really like it though, it’s quite chic, a bit more polished and ladylike than a sixties pale nude.) In other Tilbury news, I hear there’s a skincare line coming out. I shall investigate more – it seems everything that Tilbury touches turns to gold so I’m interested to see how she’s done with expanding into a new sector. There are so many truly fabulous products in the makeup range, I’m hoping I’ll find a few “Holy Grail” things for skin, too…