LANGUAGE OR THE KISS

Clinique pretty much invented the "sheer lipstick" category, and for a while their Almost Lipsticks were the only way you could experiment with a red or purple pout without going all the way into vamp territory. Then several summers ago, they rolled out a new line of "Chubby Sticks," tinted balms in pencil form that add small streaks of shine and color to your lips. Our ode to Black Honey lipstick. The products were so successful that the company decided to roll out eight more colors, including "voluptuous violet" (a deep purple), "oversized orange" (a slightly shimmery tangerine), and "pudgy peony," a bright fuchsia that's somewhere between hot pink and lilac. These would go really well with The Lemonade Jean. (The shades join eight original colors, including Super Strawberry, a reddish pink that's the most popular shade in the US, and Mega Melon, a golden peach that's a cult favorite in Japan.) My road test is below. Most colors added just a subtle tint, but the "Pudgy Peony" gave a more opaque pink pop (even if the name's kind of sad). And yes, all those lip prints on the graphic are my actual lipstick kisses, on white paper! Clinique Chubby Sticks, $16 online and in stores

The new colors

Pudgy Peony on paper