Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk Review

When I hear that a nude lipstick is “universally flattering” I just about roll my eyes and do a spit-take all at once. It’s just not possible. Absolutely no. With the range of skin tones out there, no nude can claim the iron throne of universal flattery! Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution Lipstick kept coming up in this conversation however as the ONE nude that not only was best-selling among the makeup-wearing people of the world, as well as the makeup artists and celebrities. OK, I’m listening.

I have an olive skin tone that tans easily and seems to morph depending on what type of lighting I’m in. I can partially blame this on the fact that I also have bleached platinum-blonde hair. It’s a tricky combo, and it makes nude makeup even trickier. That said, I tried Pillow Talk and I did not hate it.

I normally never wear nude lip colors for the aforementioned reasons (hard to find one that flatters my skin tone, platinum hair, iron throne, etc). I do however really like that plush, juicy-natural lip look that I’d normally get from a brick-red stain, but sometimes I don’t want to have to rely on red for the juice. Sometimes I want to do a dramatic eye look and balance it with an understated juicy lip.

That’s where Pillow Talk comes in. As far as nudes go, it’s on the lighter side of medium. It’s a rosy beige with a soft matte finish. I should note that my natural lip color is on the beige side of pink, so having something to add some flush to my lips helps. And that’s exactly what this nude did. It didn’t scream “I’m wearing nude lipstick” the way many liquid matte formulas do, nor did it look like concealer on my mouth. It just made my lips look full, flushed and juicy.

The Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk is a 2020 Allure Readers’ Choice Winner. See the complete list of this year’s winners here.