With weather reaching the 70s this week (even though the wind has been hella crazy), I’m excited to announce that spring is here! Technically it started last month, but nobody told North Dakota that. So in celebration of warmer weather ahead, I’ve started thinking about ways to incorporate bold and bright colors into my wardrobe, life and, you guessed it, makeup routine!

As I teased on Instagram about a week ago, one of my favorite ways to wear bold colors is through various lip products. I like to rock a pretty neutral makeup look during the week for work, so trying out different lip colors is a fun way to be bold but still professional. In my 10 Awesome Things: April Edition post, a lot of people commented about the bold lip color I was wearing in an Instagram photo, so I wanted to share more about both that color and other amazing products that I think you’ll love to break out for the warmer temps.

Here are my top five picks (in no particular order):

Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil: Quince

This is the amazing bold lip product from that Instagram photo! I picked this up on the Sephora website last time they had their 20% off coupon or some other sale like that, and I’m so glad I did! The pigmentation of this product is seriously insane! I think this color would look beautiful on anybody, and it lasts very well throughout the day without being overly drying even though it’s matte. I’m super impressed with this product, and I also really like that all of Bite Beauty’s products are made with food-grade ingredients, so that’s an added bonus. The pencil applicator is really easy to use, but since it’s so pigmented, you need to be careful when applying so you don’t smudge it all over your face on accident (not that I would know anything about that…). A little bit definitely goes a long way!

NYX Matte Lipstick: Aria

I’ve had this lipstick for months and I just keep forgetting about it, but now that I’ve tried it out a few times, there’s no way I could forget it. I recently featured this beautiful pinky purple/fuchsia color that I just can’t get enough of lately in my March favorites. My lips get pretty dry, so I find myself having to reapply product fairly often throughout the day or apply chapstick a lot and then put color on. While this matte lipstick isn’t as creamy as the ones from Maybelline, I found it lasted quite a while on my lips (just slight fading after a four hour shift at work, where I was talking a lot), and I got a ton of compliments on it!

MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus Lipstick

This is one of the first MAC lipsticks I’ve ever tried (apart from the AMAZING RHPS Frankenfurter shade), and I’m surprised at how much I love it! It’s a pretty bright pink, so I wasn’t sure how it would look with my light complexion and blonde hair. But I think it’s just the perfect shade for spring and summer! It has an amplified finish, so it provides a nice sheen that’s not too glossy on your lips. The formula is very creamy and moisturizing, and I’ve found that I don’t need to wear a lip liner to get this to last for a while. I didn’t buy the accompanying lip gloss, as I’m just not the biggest fan of lip glosses in general, but I’m just really loving this bright pink that I think will become my go-to shade very soon.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream: Transylvania

It’s no secret how much I love NYX’s products, and their soft matte lip creams are certainly no exception. I’ve worked at Ulta since August, and we just got this Transylvania shade in stock about a month or so ago, so that should tell you something. People have been going nuts trying to find this shade, so when I was stocking one night and saw this, I grabbed it right away. And I’m so glad I did! The packaging looks a little frightening, but the shade itself is much lighter than the tube suggests. It’s a beautiful dark purple shade, and it’s different than any other lip product I own. I love how this looks on my lips once the formula dries down matte, but I’ve found there’s a bit of a learning curve when it comes to learning how to apply this. The formula is very thin, so I DEFINITELY suggest applying less than you think you need because even that will be more than you actually need. You’ll see what I mean if you pick one of these up. I’ve found it’s best to apply one stroke of the wand to my bottom lip, blot my lips together, and then use the wand for precise areas such as my cupid’s bow and the corners of my lips. It’s definitely a bit of a messy process until you get used to it, but then it’s easy peasy. This beautiful shade is definitely worth the mild frustration of accidentally smudging purple on my chin, for sure.

MAC Matte Lipstick: Lady Danger

I don’t know what I was thinking when I ordered this orange lipstick, but I’m so glad that I got it. Lady Danger is a wonderful matte reddish orange shade that is definitely unique and just so beautiful.This just screams summer to me, and I can’t wait to try this out with a variety of eye looks very soon. Even though it has a matte finish, the formula is still pretty creamy, and it’s very long-lasting. A liner helps it last a little longer, but it does well on its own, too. This color probably isn’t for everyone, but it’s just so fun and unique and, well, bold, so I had to include it! Lately I’ve been using a red liner first and then applying this on top, and I think it’s just gorg.

Swatches from top to bottom

What are your favorite bold lip products for spring?