Today we're recapping all we've learned this year on the topic of lips, arguably—no, definitely the sexiest part of the face.

Joséphine de La Baume: “A red lip pencil is great because it’s dry and you can make out and not ruin it; you look like shit if you make out in lipstick.” [The Top Shelf: Joséphine de La Baume]

Garance Doré: “For me it’s all about a balance. Like, if I wear a men’s shirt, I will always try to wear more makeup, maybe do a nice lip or something, because I think it gets sexy when there is contrast.” [The Top Shelf: Garance Doré]

Camilla Blackett: “I learned from my mom, who was a theatrical makeup artist, and my grandmother, who was a model, that if you wear bright lipstick, people won’t really notice the rest of your complexion.” [The Top Shelf: Camilla Blackett, Writer, 'New Girl']

Garance Doré: “What I used to do when I had a very long night the night before and I was really tired is do a coral or pinky red lip, so that people don’t even look at your face, they look at your mouth. [Laughs] It’s like a decoy.” [The Top Shelf: Garance Doré]

Poppy King: “It’s just about the kind of mood I’m in or want to evoke. An orange-red is an alert wow, but a blue-red is more seductive and sexier. Clear red is elegant. My lipstick rule is that everyone can wear red lipstick—don’t think you can’t. There’s definitely something in red for everybody, even if it’s not an opaque red.” [The Top Shelf: Poppy King, Lipstick Queen]

Julia Restoin Roitfeld: “If I don’t have time for eyeshadow, a great trick for a night out is to just do a red lip. I never use lip liner. Chanel used to make this amazing red called Rouge New York, but a makeup artist gave me this one by Max Factor called Ruby Tuesday. It’s kind of the perfect red—not too orange, not too blue, and not too shiny. It’s super hard to find a good red. Dior Addict Lipstick in #454 is also nice.” [The Top Shelf: Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Founder, Romy And The Bunnies]

Liv Tyler: “My favorite red lipstick is Rio Rio by Topshop. It’s this amazing orange-y red. It was Alexa Chung’s suggestion, actually! I saw her once and I said, ‘Chunginator, what’s your lip color?’ She told me it was from Topshop and I was like, ‘Get out of town!’' [The Top Shelf: Liv Tyler]

Victoire de Castellane: “To me, lipstick is like jewelry or an accessory—the lipstick is just a vehicle for playing with color. Like, I don’t have a red bag, so I play with my red lips… I think you can play with strong colors in makeup. What I like is a red mouth that is like a flower, a coquelicot—a poppy… I’m not wearing my lipstick during the day much right now. I do it when I go out, for photos. It gives you a nice glow, an energy. People are happy to see you. In a way, it seems thoughtful, or polite, that you’re making an effort to look nice. [Laughs]' [The Top Shelf: Victoire de Castellane, Jewelry Designer]

Tom Pecheux: “For the lip, I mixed three products: a bit of gloss, dabbing with a pretty strong stain right in the center of the lip, and then right in the center of that, a touch of black Shadow Paint. They all work together: it's a black and brown and burgundy lip; it's a little '90s. To apply it, you use your finger again... It's sexy to dab on lipstick with your finger. It's much better to dab it; the heat of your lips and the heat of your finger helps the texture, it just melts in.” [Derek Lam Fall 2013]