The Lipstick Tag

I had a request to talk about my lipsticks and I have indeed planned to do so for a while now, as in my mountain of post drafts, I had not one, but two lipstick inspired tags. One is called The Lipstick Tag and the other the Lip Products Addict Tag. I decided to combine them in one post as some questions were basically the same. 

1. What was the first lipstick you owned? 

I sort of answered this in my Make Up Memory Lane Tag a few months ago. The question there was about the first makeup item ever and as a true lipstick enthusiast it was of course a lipstick. It was one of L'Oreal's Color Riche ones in a my-lips-but-better rosy colour and I was 13 when I got it. I lost it within a month (this is a different Color Riche on the picture, but the packaging is still the same). 

2. What is your favourite lipstick brand? 

That's a hard one. I have so many different brands in my collection and the one thing I've learned through the years is how good drugstore lipsticks have become. On my All-time favourites page I have Catrice's Ultimate Colours under the category of regular lipsticks because they combine a great formula, affordability and lovely selection of shades. But there are so many other excellent lipsticks and the ones I have to mention are Bourjois' Rouge Edition and L'Oreal's colour Riche.

Of course if I consider liquid lipsticks here as well, then my absolute favourite are Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet.

3. What is your most worn lipstick? 

I swap colour so very often and it's not uncommon that I change it several times daily, but a couple of years ago my answer would be Catrice's Ultimate Colour 250 Matt About Pink, which I wore almost every day (it's now sadly discontinued). I guess if I have to pick one that is my default shade that I just pick up when I'm in a hurry, or I need to look good without being too made up, it would be Bourjois' Rouge Edition Velvet in 07 Nude-ist.

5. What is your favourite finish?

Matte. Especially at bright and deep shades.

6. What was the last lipstick you bought?

It's been a while, so I had to check in my New Ins and Instagram, but it was Kiko's Velvet Mat Lipstick 612 Strawberry Pink that I got back in March . That's the one I bought, but since then I got sent several lipsticks and I believe the last one was Hot Shop Lipstick 01 from Born Pretty, which turned out to be way too orange for me.

7. How many lip products do you currently have in your bag?  

Technically five, but I have two bags. In the big one, where I also have an emergency bag, I keep Catrice Pure Shine Colour Lip Balm 070 I Don't Red It for a sheer red pout, a mini H&M lipstick in Perfect Red that is a gorgeous, super glamorous red and a Burt's Bees lip balm, which I literally never use. In my other smaller bag, which I carry most often, I keep Max Factor Colour Intensifying Balm 30 Redefined Rose for a no fuss pink and I actually reach for it very often, and I also carry a dinky sample of Avon Ultra Color Indulgence lipstick in Red Tulip which Petra (Adjusting Beauty) sent me for my birthday. 

Why I have so many reds, I don't know.

8. What is your favourite red lip colour? 

L'Oreal's Color Riché Pure Reds Collection Exclusive in Blake. People you need this in your life. I think that everyone deserves one fantastic red in their collection and this one is so worth it. It blows all other reds out of the water, including the old classics from MAC, which I have four including Ruby Woo and Russian Red.

9. How do you store your lipsticks? 

Basically all my makeup fits into two smallest drawers in my Alex unit and even those are a third empty. Some lipsticks are in the two makeup/lipstick organizer units that I got from Müller, while the others are in Ferrero Rocher plastic boxes (as you can see I eat a lot of that stuff). The lip liners are in a candle holder that I got years ago in Rutar.

 10. Which lipstick are you currently lusting after?

I'm currently on a search for a perfect warm red-purple, think Mac's Rebel like. I saw a swatch of La Splash Studio Shine Lip Lustre in Aurora, but I don't buy that the colour actually looks like that. I'd like to give Wet 'n' Wild Megalast Lipstick in Sugar Plum Fairy a try, to see if it looks the way I want.

I have a few others on my wishlist, which you can see here.

11. Favourite balm/treatment? 

For several years now it's Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Swivel Stick. It's basically the only lip balm I ever use, excluding the Labello's Fruity Shine Peach Lip Balm as that one is more of a gimmicky product to me since it's a tinted lip balm with little moisturising properties. But I must confess that my lips don't even need a lip balm any more. For some reason my lips are never dry.

12. Best luxury and best drugstore?

I haven't even tried that many luxury brands when it comes to lipsticks, but my pick would be Lancome Rouge In Love Lipsticks, however Bourjois Rouge Editions feel pretty much exactly the same on the lips. 

13. Best MAC lipstick? 

Without a doubt Relentlessly Red. It's bloody gorgeous and I never found anything similar. It's a bright red-magenta pink with a matte finish. I still only have a sample that I save like crazy, but one day I hope I'll get a full size of it.

16. The most disappointing? 

Not exactly disappointing, but lacking in quality - it's Makeup Revolution's lipstick. It just feels cheap. Their Iconic Pro didn't wow me either. I'm also not a fan of Essence Longlasting lipsticks. The formula is ok, but they last a total of 15 minutes on the lips.

17. Liner, yes or no? 

Oh, yes. I also love wearing lip liners on their own, especially light colours. My favourites include Bourjois' Contour Edition Lip Liner 02 Cotton Candy, Essence's Lipliner 12 Wish Me a Rose, which is a dupe for Mac's Please Me, the űber gorgeous Catrice's Longlasting Pencil 070 I got you Babel, Essence's Longlasting Lipliner 05 Lovely Frappuccino as the 90's lip colour that actually looks like one against my pale complexion and Kiko's Smart Lip Pencil in 709 Magenta because it's a stunning red-pink shade. When it comes to reds, brights and deep shades I almost always use a lip pencil to fix the outer edges.

18. Best gloss? 

That would be L'Oreal L'Extrodinaire Liquid Lipsticks. They are expensive, but so lovely. The formula is super creamy, comfortable and these have great pigmentation. They also smell like peaches which for me is a huge plus.

19. Something extra? 

Some of my other favourite shades. Mac's Peach Blossom as my choice for a nude, Shiseido's Glowing Matte Pk224 Sugar Babe for the perfect peach on my pale complexion, Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet 02 Frambourjoise because it's an amazing pink-red shade, L'Oreal's Colour Riche in Laetitia for the best ever burgundy shade, Mac's Dangerous for a bright, warm orange red. Revlon's Ultra HD in Rose for a classic, everyday pink that smells like Planica ice cream, Revlon's Colorbust Matte Balm in Unapologetic for a bright coral-pink that is a good dupe for Mac's Impassioned and Catrice's Ultimate Lipstick 360 MATraction for an amazing deep red-pink.

My entire collection, which I posted a while ago on Instagram:

 

And link to a Lipstick Tag I did four years ago here. 

I hope you enjoyed this picture heavy post and have a great day!

Essence Lipliner 12 Wish Me a Rose (Including a Comparison with MAC's Please Me)

Considering how often I say that I'm not a fan of Essence's lip liners, I sure have a lot of them. I justify my collection by saying that these are so affordable and therefore a great way to try colours for the first time. However, I got this one for a different reason and that is that I heard this is a good dupe for MAC's Please, which I own only in a sample form. You'll see a comparison of the two at the end of the post, but even though I'm very strict with the word dupe, this definitely meet my high criteria.

Wish me a Rose is a light-medium warm pink with a creamy matte finish. It depends of what your skin tone is, but depending on how tan I am, the shade looks either a bit darker or lighter on me. By the way on the pictures a bit tanned, especially on the last picture.

As usual the pencil is very soft and easy to apply. The formula actually reminds me of Mac's Please Me as that one is a very creamy matte. I actually like that this shade is so creamy because this means that it doesn't emphasize dry patches, since such colours are prone to do so. Due to softness the tip of the pencil becomes blunt very quickly, so frequent sharpening is required. Staying power is average for a lipstick and poor for a lip liner, but I lot of people claim this formula lasts well on them. I find it doesn't survive a meal.

My expanding collection also includes two already discontinued colours. Soft Rose is actually very similar to 150 Vintage Rose in the Longlasting Lip Pencils range by Catrice, while I know of nothing similar to the Nude Coral shade. Wish me a Rose is by far my favourite colour.

Reviews of the rest: Soft Rose, Satin Mauve, Cute Pink, Nude Coral, Femme Fatale and Honey Berry.

 ESSENCE Wish me a Rose vs. MAC Please Me

Please Me and Wish me a Rose are indeed very, very similar. I notice only a small difference between the two when swatched on the back of my hand, Please Me is a bit brighter and that's it (my camera sort of amplified the difference). Even the formulas look almost identical, though, of course Mac's lipstick has a better staying power. On the lips I notice no difference at all, I actually had a hard time distinguishing where the line is between them, as it all looked like a uniform lip colour. 

 

This is a great drugstore buy and I would call it a good dupe for the much more expensive Mac's lipstick. In case of this particular shade, I actually like that the formula is so creamy, though the staying power still isn't the best on my lips. I've been really enjoying wearing this liner since I got it and my cousin actually has four or five of these in different places because she loves it so much.

These cost 1.19 € in Slovenia and are available in almost every drugstore as well as some larger supermarkets.

Have a great day!

Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro Lipstick Propoganda

I swear it seems as if Makeup Revolution launches new products almost every week, so I sheepishly admit that these lipsticks eluded me or it's possible I actually saw them, but didn't realize they are new. There are 20 shades of these available in creamy as well as matte finish, and I got a classic red one called Propoganda. Whether the name is misspelled intentionally or by mistake, I wouldn't know.

Colour: Propoganda is a deep, cool toned red with a creamy-glossy finish that looks very glamorous. I wish it were matte instead of creamy, but at least it's very comfortable to wear. A shade called Propoganda Matte also exists.

Texture: The first few swipes were not at all impressive and let me believe this is some cheap semi-opaque lip colour like Essence's All you need is Red, but once the top layer was gone, it revealed an intense colour. It's a soft, moisturising lipstick that feels very comfortable on the lips even when it's wearing off. Due to the softness, it can move around a lot as well as it's very hard to apply it precisely, so I would advise a lip liner with it.

Staying power: The colour is intense which means that the staying power is better than at a creamy shade that is pale, though due to the creaminess, the glossy layer disappears soon and what's left is a very strong stain of colour that begins to fade. Sometimes it fades nicely and sometimes patchy, I haven't figured out why that is the case, but I'm in general I'm not too happy with how it wears.

Scent: It has a very intense fake vanilla scent - you know the one used in cheap room and car air fresheners. It reminds me of my uncle, who hasn't met a car air fresher that he didn't buy. Bless.

Packaging: A copy of a Mac's bullet/tampon tube (tell me I'm not the only one?), but made with cheaper plastic and a rose gold metal middle bit, which looks very chic indeed. The bottom also has a transparent part with the colour of the lipstick, which is very helpful.

Propoganda is a lovely creamy lipstick that many will appreciate as it's so comfortable to wear, however, when I comes to such deep shades, I personally much prefer matte formulas as they lasts longer and there is less danger of smudging. I guess my biggest issue with this lipstick would be how oddly it wears off sometimes - it just doesn't appeal to me. I have seen some gorgeous shades of this lipstick, particularly We Were Lovers caught my attention as Sara says it's a dupe for MAC's Viva Glam Miley lipstick. I'd like to try a matte shade from this range of lipsticks to how those perform.

Makeup Revolution has it's own online shop and these lipsticks cost £2.49.

Pro Iconic šminke lahko dobite na spletni strani Makeup Revolution Slovenija, kjer stanejo 4,95 €.

Have a great day!

*Lipstick was sent to me.

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Rose

Besedilo v slovenščini je na koncu objave.

These lipsticks first attracted my attention when I was looking for the description of makeup products used on Emma Stone for the Golden Globes this year. The lipsticks weren't sold then yet, but I kept the name of these in the back of my mind (her shade was called Iris). Ultra HD is a line of lipsticks without wax and with intense pigments, which means that they are incredibly light, soft and moisturising. Being wax-free could present itself as a problem if you tend to forget your lipsticks in a hot car, also I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be with a darker, brighter shade as things could get smudgy, however, in case of a light shade such as Rose that creaminess is a very good thing. Oh, and did I mention these are all named after flowers which is so cute. My favourite flower is gladiolus, so I might get that shade one day just for the sake of the name.

Colour: Rose is a light, neutral-warm pink that gives enough colour to my pale lips, but it's very everyday appropriate and I'm sure it will also appeal to the most lipstick shy people. The pigmentation is nice, especially considering we are dealing with such a moisturising and soft lipstick. I've tried a few shades in the shop and they have great pigmentation, so these are far from glorified tinted lip balms. These are like Lip Butters 2.0 with added pigment and minus wax.

Texture and finish: If you thought lip butters were soft, you'll be surprised by these. They are softer than room temperature butter and that makes them super comfortable on the lips. It's almost like Catrice's Lip Smoothers, but not as cushiony and lighter. They are soft and hydrating, which makes is a nice choice to wear instead of a lip balm, but due to the lightness, the lightest shade can emphasize dry patches, well, at least when looking up close. The lightness of these reminds me of YSL Rouge Volupte, but this is a better formula compared to those. The finish is between glossy and creamy.

Staying power: As I said it's a very soft, moisturizing lipstick, so staying power isn't all that impressive, but to be fair I've never encountered a lipstick that would merge excellent moisturising properties with brilliant staying power, as the latter is a domain of matte formulas. It manages to stay on a few hours, but the creamy shine goes away quickly. Regardless of that it never feels drying on the lips.

Scent: It smells so good. Every Slovene reader will know what it smells of - it's our good old Planica ice cream, which is just a mix of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavours. It is spot on and even the taste is sweet, so it's definitely a lippie for those with a sweet tooth.

Packaging: a simple square plastic tube, with a clear lid, which helps quickly to determine which shade you're picking. Due to the very soft texture, you have to open the lid very carefully until you've used up some lipstick because if you're not careful, it will smudge everywhere.

Price and availability: Mine is from Click2Chic for 10.89 €, but they are available in drugstores already.

These are essentially a more pigmented upgrade to the universally loved lip butters. It combines the features of the lip balm and a pigmented lip colour, but I'm really interested in how the darker shades perform, nonetheless I really like the performance of this shade. This will definitely appeal to all of those who suffer from perpetually dry lips or want a lovely moisturising lipstick. 

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Čeprav so te šminke nove na trgu, so meni poznane že kar dolgo. Namreč mojo pozornost so pritegnile, ko sem brala opis uporabljenih izdelkov pri ličenju Emme Stone za Golden Globes 2015. Takrat šminke še niso bile v prodaji, tudi v ZDA ne, ampak sem si zapomnila ime odtenka Iris, da si ga moram enkrat pobližje pogledati. Na koncu sem pristala pri odtenku Rose, ki je eden izmed najsvetlejših odtenkov. Ultra HD so brez voska in vsebujejo intenzivne pigmente, kar pomeni, da gre za zelo mehke in vlažilne šminke, ki pa so zelo pigmentirane in ne le precenjeni obarvani balzami za ustnice. To da so tako mehke se sicer lahko izkaže tudi kot problem, sploh če imate navado pozabljati šminke v vročem avtu, pa tudi pri temnejših in bolj živih odtenkih obstaja nevarnost, da se bodo razmazale, ampak pri tako svetlem odtenku kot je Rose, je ta intenzivna kremnost dobra stvar. Šminke so poimenovane po rožah, kar mi je zelo prikupno. Moje najljubše rože so gladiole, tako da bom morda en dan vzela ta odtenek že zaradi imena.

Rose je svetla nevtralno-topla roza, ki mojim bledim ustnicam doda dovolj barve (je kakšen odtenek ali dva temnejša od moje naravne barve) in je odličen odtenek za vsak dan tudi za tiste, ki jih je strah nositi šminke in žive barve. Odtenek je praktično polno prekriven, kar je glede na teksturo presenetljivo, saj so take šminke ponavadi kar prosojne. Predstavljajte si jo kot Lip Butter 2.0 pri čemer so približno obdržali teksturo, dodali pa barvo in odstranili vosek.

Če se mislili, da so njihovi Lip Butterji mehki, vas bodo te šminke presenetile. Meni se zdi še mehkejše, saj nimajo tistega voskastega občutka in ravno zaradi te skoraj topljive formule so zelo prijetne za nošenje, še bolj kot večina balzamov za ustnice, ki so ponavadi kar voskasti. Ampak ta lahka formula, še posebej pri svetlih odtenkih lahko poudari kakšne luskice na ustnicah, pravzaprav me spominja na YSL-jeve Rouge Volupte, ampak so te boljše. Šminka na ustnicah izgleda kremno bleščeče. 

Ker je formula zelo mehka in je na ustnicah že skoraj kot kakšno zelo kremno bleščilo. Obstojnost ni ravno najboljša, v primeru mojega odtenka pa sploh ker je tako svetel, vseeno se ji uspe obdržati približno tri, mogoče celo štiri ure, ampak z precej zmanjšano intenziteto barve. Sicer pa šminke, ki bi bila zelo kremna in vlažilna, poleg tega pa še dolgo obstojna, na žalost še nisem našla.

Šminka ima kar močen, ampak res prekrasen vonj in sicer po našem dobrem starem sladoledu Planica. Vonj je praktično identičen in še šminka ima sladek okus, tako da je res tole formula za sladokusce.

Embalaža je preprosta kvadratna tuba s prosojnim pokrovčkom, kar pride zelo prav ko iščeš pravi odtenek. Ker je šminka tako kremna in mehka, moram biti zelo previdna kako jo odpiram, ker če se dotakne česarkoli se razmaže povsod.

Če ste ljubiteljice zelo kremnih in vlažilnih šmink, medtem ko vam obstojnost ni najpomembnejša stvar, so te zagotovo za vas. Iz mojih izkušenj s takimi šminkami, bi se bolj držala svetlejših odtenkov, ampak bi morala preizkusiti kakšen bolj živ odtenek, da bi lahko z zagotovostjo rekla, če se preveč razmazujejo ali ne. Tale odtenek je meni krasen.

Ultra HD šminke so na voljo na Click2Chic za 10,89 €. Ostale odtenke lahko najdete tukaj.

Have a great day!

*The lipstick was given to me.