Plumped Lips, briefly: it is a house signature that has been redrawn several times, and most of what people recognise is the proportion rather than the mark itself. Recognition is built by repetition over decades, which is why an imitation of the mark never carries the same weight. The short version usually matters less than how the thing is used now. A shade range under 20 tones usually means the ends of the range are an afterthought. The groups below run from the decision that matters most to the ones you make afterwards.

What decides this is shade range, finish and how long it wears. Everything else is preference. Two from the first group show the range: Trish McEvoy's Easy Lip Gloss at $35, and maccosmetics.com's Frost Lipstick - Angel at $24. The first is the considered buy; the second is the one to start with. Swatch along the jaw, not the back of the hand. Finish dates a face faster than shade does. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

Pick one feature. Eyes or lip, not both. Blend past the jaw or do not go near it. From the second group, Ogee's Full Bloom Sculpted Lipstick ($23) is the one that earns its place, because it works in more than one context without being restyled. The third group is smaller and deliberately narrower, makeup, for the decisions you make after the main one. None of this needs the whole group. One piece from each is usually enough.

There are 20 makeup here from 15 brands, $9 to $55, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. elfcosmetics.com's Glow Reviver Lip Oil Glimmer at $9 is the low-risk way in, and Chantecaille's Rose de Mai Lip Balm at $55 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. On plumped lips specifically: the difference between the top and the bottom of this list is real but smaller than the price gap suggests. Nothing here is included because it is famous, and price is not used as a proxy for quality anywhere on this page. If you take one thing away: if you would not buy it at full price, you do not want it on sale.