COVERGIRL Lip Perfection Lip Color in Tantalize (Bombshell Collection)

Hey y'all!  Spring is "officially" here!  Of course for those of us who live in extreme cold weather conditions, Spring might sneak in for a day or two, and then in the blink of an eye its Summer.  Weather, like other aspects of life, is not as clear cut as we plan it to be in our calendars. 

Today, I would like to share with y'all a beautiful lip color for this Spring.  I have already featured this lipstick in my Radiant Orchid: Pantone Color of the Year post.  

A few weeks ago, I reviewed another Cover Girl Lip Perfection lipstick in the shade called Delicious.  Although many other beauty bloggers loved this shade, it was a disappointment for me.  The color did not suit my skin-tone.  The formula and scent of the product made it all the more disappointing.  Some of my readers commented on that review that such a shade has been a challenge for them to wear as well. 

Well, in addition to Tantalize, I have found a range of lipsticks by other brands (PurMinerals, Chanel, Milani, and Rimmel) that might serve as a suitable alternative to Delicious. 

Tantalize is a bright lavender pink with purple-red undertones. Fortunately, this shade lacks the gray, yellow, and white undertones that are typical of lavender pink shades. This was my issue with Delicious. 

Given that Tantalize is a richly pigmented and bright shade, it applies non-streaky and opaque in one or two swipes.  The formula is creamy, which makes the application feel smooth.  However, after trying four Lip Perfection lipsticks about two years ago and three in the recent past few weeks, I have come to the conclusion that the formula can be hit or miss depending on the shade you select and overall just does not feel emollient.  

As for reference, my lips are generally in normal condition.  I do experience slight dryness at times. The only lip balm that works for me and I am not allergic to is the Fresh Sugar lip balm.  My lips have a lot of natural lip lines, so it is difficult for me to wear light, nude, and milky shades.  The lines have been there since I was a baby and there is nothing "natural" I can do to change it.  I just hope it does not get problematic with age or wearing lip products. 

This lipstick feels smooth when you initially apply it, but over the duration of the wear my lips look matte. I prefer to describe the appearance as "matte" rather than "dry" because I don't want to mislead anyone into assuming that this lipstick is drying.  It is not drying per se, but it definitely does not make your lips look moisturized.  The formula of these Lip Perfection lipsticks remind me of MAC's satin formula.  In a nutshell, I would not recommend this formula to those who have dry and chapped lips.  At the same time, I do not want to deter those of you who do not have lip lines and/or dry or chapped lips from trying some beautiful shades that the Cover Girl Lip Perfection line has to offer (i.e., Ravish). 

I hope this post was informative and helpful. Your friendly comments are much appreciated. 

Come back soon. Thanks!

Special Announcements!!!

1. I am definitely planning on having a blog sale in May.  I am graduating this May from law school and moving, so I should probably downsize my makeup collection.  Some of the items I am planning to sell include Tarte blushes in Natural Beauty and Exposed, Milani blush in Delicioso Pink, The Balm In-stain blush in Houndstooth, YSL lipsticks, Chanel lipsticks, and Too Faced lipsticks. What are your thoughts? Please feel free to email me if you are interested and share this with your friends. I have not decided on the prices yet as I am very new to this whole idea, which a friend suggested. I was explaining to her that I really enjoy reviewing products, but sometimes it gets expensive when you are student and a work-in-progress. 

2. Because I am graduating this May, I may take the month of April off from blogging or post minimally.  I have several projects due in April prior to final exams. Following exams, I will have to start packing, etc.

3. I have a lot of interesting products lined up for review: Milani Power Lips, YSL Baby Doll Lip and Cheek, Sonia Kashuk Spring Collection, Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy lipsticks, and more. So, stay tuned! I probably will not be able to resist writing reviews till May. Please follow me on Instagram for previews of whatever is to come up on my blog, sneak-peak swatches, and brief reviews. 

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Radiant Orchid: Pantone Color of the Year 2014 (Beauty Edition)

Hey y'all. Today's post has been inspired by the gradient of shades that fall under the umbrella of Radiant Orchid. When I first heard that Pantone's "Color of the Year" for 2014 was deemed Radiant Orchid, I thought to myself, "I was already rockin' this last year." In fact, for the past two or three years, especially around Spring and Summer, I have been drawn to - with blinders on - lilac, lavender, and fuchsia-purple pastel shades. 

At first I was not planning on doing a post dedicated to the Radiant Orchid theme. I don't find purple based makeup particularly flattering on me. The closest I come to wearing purple based makeup is by wearing deep mauve pink and plum shades. Recently, I tried a lipstick by Cover Girl in the shade Delicious. Although I have plenty of nail colors like the shade Delicious and do think such a shade looks lovely on my hands, I cannot carry off such shades on my lips against my skin-tone. Fortunately, thereafter I purchased another shade by Cover Girl called Tantalize. I believe Tantalize is exactly what I had expected Delicious to look like on me. So, Tantalize, which is the color I am wearing in the picture below, is the better suited version of Delicious for girls with a similar skin-tone as me. 

My research for today's post began with this look below: 

What am I wearing? Cover Girl Bombshell Shine Shadow in Oh La La Lilac on the eyes deepened with a matte plum purple shade in the crease and blended out; Milani Baked Matte Blush in Delizioso Pink; Cover Girl Bombshell Lip Perfection Lipstick in Tantalize. 

However, I did not stop here. I selected two more blushes and plenty of more lip colors as y'all can see from the pictures. I posted one of these images on my Instagram to give a preview, but then I got carried away. 

The picture on the top left corner, first box, are my blush selections: Milani Baked Matte Blush in Delizioso Pink (bottom), Milani Baked Blush in Fantasia Mauve (middle), and Sleek Makeup Blush in Pomegranate (top). 

The picture on the bottom right, fourth box, displays the swatches for four of my top five lipstick "Radiant Orchid" lip color selections are: Cover Girl Bombshell Lip Perfection Lipstick in Tantalize (bottom left), Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick in #47 L'Amoureuse (top left), Purminerals 

Chateau de Vine Lipstick in Show Off (top right), and Milani Power Lip in Raspberry Tart (bottom right). 

Here are the lip swatches to match the arm swatches above: Cover Girl Bombshell Lip Perfection Lipstick in Tantalize (first), Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick in #47 L'Amoureuse (second), Purminerals Chateau de Vine Lipstick in Show Off (third), and Milani Power Lip in Raspberry Tart (fourth). Adding Rimmel London Lasting Finish Colour Balm in Viva Violet (fifth) was an afterthought, so I do not have an arm swatch for it.

Y'all may think the inquiry stopped once I added a fifth shade, right? Hereafter, I posted the picture above where I have displayed all of Radiant Orchid selections on Instagram. I think I gravitated towards the products mentioned above because they are all new additions to my makeup collection. 

Once I posted the picture on Instagram, I thought to myself that I must have other colors that might qualify as a Radiant Orchid shade. Indeed, I was right! 

At this point I was overwhelmed by my findings - so many similar shades! What was I thinking when I purchased all of these lipsticks? I was also feeling too exhausted to create more makeup looks or photograph these shades on my lips, so I hope y'all won't mind the arm swatches. I will add links to the review posts for any of these lip colors below that I may have already reviewed. 

Honestly, the way I actually wear makeup in reality does not justify my lipstick collection. Gel eyeliner and lip balm are my staple. I rarely actually wear makeup unless my Beau is taking me out. Sigh! I am glad I had this eye opening experience, however, because now I think I might place a ban on my lipstick shopping as I did with nail polishes last Summer. The nail polish ban was not difficult at all and I continued the ban till January. I am planning on doing a blog sale. I have mixed feelings about it though.

(1) Shiseido Perfect Rouge Lipstick in RS745 Fantasia (2) Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture (3) Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick in Deep Lilac (4) Chanel Rouge Allure in #108 Determinee (5) Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in Plum Velour (6) Milani Power Lip in Raspberry Tart (7) Rimmel London Lasting Finish Colour Balm in Viva Violet (8) Chanel Rouge Coco in #42 Culte (9) Sonia Kashuk Shine Luxe Sheer Lip Color in Sheer Plum (10) Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in Berry Couture (11) Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick in #47 L'Amoureuse (12) Cover Girl Bombshell Lip Perfection Lipstick in Tantalize (13) MAC Satin Lipstick (LE) in Private Party (14) L'oreal Colour Riche Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick in Purple Prelude (15) Purminerals Chateau de Vine Lipstick in Show Off 

(1) Shiseido Perfect Rouge Lipstick in RS745 Fantasia (2) Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture (3) Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick in Deep Lilac (5) Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in Plum Velour (8) Chanel Rouge Coco in #42 Culte (9) Sonia Kashuk Shine Luxe Sheer Lip Color in Sheer Plum (10) Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in Berry Couture (12) Cover Girl Bombshell Lip Perfection Lipstick in Tantalize (13) MAC Satin Lipstick (LE) in Private Party (14) L'oreal Colour Riche Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick in Purple Prelude

*I decided not to swatch (4) Chanel Rouge Allure in #108 Determinee because it is more of a muted mauve pink with a brown base, so it does not truly come under the Radiant Orchid category. This post took a lot of work. I kept going back and forth, adding more lipsticks, taking more pictures, editing, watermarking, and it all happened in annoying incriminates. At this point it would have driven me nut crackers to take another picture without (4). 

(16) Maybelline Color Elixir in Mystic Mauve (17) Maybelline Color Elixir in Amethyst Potion (18) Rimmel London Lasting Finish Colour Balm in Keep Mauving

I hope this post was informative and helpful. Your friendly comments are much appreciated. 

Come back soon. Thanks!

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Cover Girl Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Balm in Luv U

I could not resist trying out the new Cover Girl Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Balm. Initially when I saw the display of new Cover Girl products at Walgreens, I had decided against purchasing one because I had tried the original Cover Girl Lipslicks Lip Balm and was not impressed by it.

I have noticed that Walgreens seems to be the first place I spot new products. I have seen new products displayed at Walgreens before they appear at Walmart, Target, or ULTA. Most of the time I patiently wait for it to come at the other stores because I find Walgreens a tad bit pricey. Sometimes though Walgreens has nice deals and it's worth it to get it while it's hot and share the buzz with all of your friends.

Anyways, back to this lip balm. I eventually purchased it at Walmart for $4.99. Good price, right? Fortunately, I don't feel guilty when I buy anything under $5 that I know I will use well. It is quite a steal then because miscellaneous items are so expensive nowadays. I cannot really tell you why I changed my mind and opted to purchase it ultimately. I suppose the beauty blogger aspect of me was curious to find out what exactly was so "new" about these Lipslicks Smoochies. Also, what excites me most in lipstick category? You guessed it, lip balms!

I did not experience a difference between the original Lipslicks and the new Lipslick Smoochies except for the colorful packaging and childish "text / cyber world" sort of names. I remember that the original Lipslicks came in a few colors, but when applied they were sheer tints to no tint at all. My lips are naturally a light mauve pink. I feel like my lips don't appear deeply pigmented. I don't realize the pigmentation until I notice how well certain lip colors show up on others lips, but not on mine. I saw a couple of You Tubers raving about the pigmentation of these balms and wanting to buy all of the colors because they are so inexpensive. I definitely noticed color on their lips. However, when I tried this balm on myself, I thought, "um where is the color payoff?" Honestly, do not expect even mediocre color payoff from these lip balms if you have moderately pigmented lips. The specific color I purchased gave off an extremely sheer pink tint. 

I definitely liked the feel of this lip balm. It felt creamy and moisturizing, but not heavy, waxy, or greasy. The emollient feeling lasted on my lips for a long time. It did not wear off when I had a drink, but it did disappear when I ate a proper meal. My lips felt smooth after wearing this balm. I have noticed that some of my lip products, once they wear off, leave my lips in a smooth and supple condition, while others leave my lips looking parched and feeling slightly rough. 

I like that this lip product lives up to its title as a lip balm. I don't mind the lack of color payoff, but I do wish these balms had sunscreen... as a compromise. I was not at all impressed by L'oreal Color Riche Balms or the Maybelline Baby Lips. These balms did have sunscreen, but they felt very waxy and dried out my lips. Lipslicks Smoochies can work as a nice balmy base for a medium to full coverage lipstick. Cover Girl should have added sun protection to these re-released lip balms. 

I wear sunscreen religiously. Wearing sunscreen on your face and body is good. However, wearing it  on the area around the lips as well as the lips is very important. I can say this with confidence as some dermatologists I am acquainted with have told me that this area of the skin is thinner and especially sensitive to UV rays.

I hope you all enjoyed this review and found it helpful. Have any of you or will you consider trying out this lip balm? What are your favorite lip balms? 

Have a happy happy happy day! 

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Your friendly comments and feedback are much appreciated. 

Thanks!