i love lipstick! i tend to go for brighter reds myself. for drugstore brands i like maybelline color sensational, they have a lot of shades. i have let me pink, which is really pretty and subtle, plum perfect, red revival and red revolution. i also have fuchsia fever which is like a REALLY intense pink which is true to what's in the tube so i'd say the pigmentation on it is rly good for a drug store brand?
the revlon super lustrous lipstick in cherry blossom has a cult following, apparently it works on everyone and i personally use mine a lot. i like their formula a lot bc it keeps my lips moist ◡‿◡✿ and it's creamy, not dry or like weird and goopy. i also have a few other shades in this but mostly nudes or corals and they seem to be ok
obviously mac is rly good but u can almost always find dupes bc they're so popular. here u go!!
i hear really good things about the ysl lip stains too but i've never used them myself.
as for application, i don't usually use a pencil because i suck but i always blot and reapply does that count