Beauty Bible Loves… Valentino Spike Ultimatte Refillable Lipstick

We’ve always bought into the idea of the ‘Lipstick Index’: the notion that when times are tough, we treat ourselves to something small and relatively affordable, but which is a huge, huge treat – like a lipstick.

So, if you’re looking for a small but glamorous fillip to counter any New Year gloom, we point you in the direction of this spiky and yes, refillable lipstick from Valentino’s make-up range. (The case design borrows from a Valentino icon, the ‘rockstud’ design – which also makes their fragrance bottles so wonderfully tactile.)

You can switch out the bullets of Valentino Spike Ultimatte Lipstick, depending on whether you fancy a pretty rosewood like 115a (top left) or a showstopping red (top right), identified as 410a. (Our only beef with this range is that shade NAMES are so much more helpful than numbers, which in this case sound like part of an address).

Semi-matte rather than dry-matte, these are super-comfy on lips, gliding on beautifully to deliver a rich colour pay-off, with pigments at a stonking 12% – definitely a ‘Mess With Me In 2025 At Your Peril’, power lipstick choice.

£38 – buy here

Prize Draws