Showing posts with label LIP COLOR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LIP COLOR. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Sunday, July 20, 2014
BOBBI BROWN ART STICK: Dusty Pink, Rose Brown, Sunset Orange, and Harlow Red (Kylie Jenner Lip Color Dupe)
Hey y'all! Happy Monday! It has been a long while since I posted a review.
Today, I am reviewing the new Bobbi Brown Art Sticks. The Bobbi Brown Art Stick collection was released this past spring, so I suppose this product is already "so last season." In case these Art Sticks no longer intrigue you, perhaps I can attract your attention by sharing a Kylie Jenner "trade-mark" lip color "dupe." This particular mauve-brown-nude shade has caught on like fire. I am not sure why suddenly this shade has become so popular because for some of us, like me, it is a staple, everyday, natural lip color.
I have four shades to show you - Dusty Pink, Rose Brown, Sunset Orange, and Harlow Red. The collection includes a total of eight shades. The Bobbi Brown Art Sticks cost $26 each and are sold in Sephora, Bobbi Brown counters in Nordstrom, Belk, and Macy's, and online. I purchased mine from Sephora during the spring VIB sale event (15% off discount).
These boxes (pictured above) are finger-print magnets. The condition of these boxes is not really that important. The design of the Art Sticks (see below) is nice and simple, nothing spectacular. Bobbi Brown Art Sticks are basically jumbo sized lip pencils. The Art Sticks are a hybrid lip product; pointed enough to outline the lips (lip liner) and wide enough to color the lips (lipstick). Also, these Art Stick do not tug at your lips like traditional lip liners. The Bobbi Brown Art Sticks apply very smoothly and feel soft during the application. Unfortunately, a few minutes after applying this product, your lips begin to look very matte and dry. See the pictures at the end of this post and note that each and every line / wrinkle of my lips is emphasized. I am not a fan of true matte or retro matte lips. I can tolerate semi-matte or creamy matte lip colors, but my dislike of true matte or retro matte lip colors is as strong as my aversion to frosty or shimmery lip colors or glosses. Even if frosty lip colors become a trend again in the future, I will not endorse it, not even if coffee (currently cannot live without one cup a day) becomes a rare commodity and I am offered a supply of it in exchange.
Dusty Pink, Rose Brown, Sunset Orange, and Harlow Red (top to bottom)
Dusty Pink, Rose Brown, Sunset Orange, and Harlow Red (top to bottom)
These Art Sticks are not retractable or twist-up, so a sharpener is included with each Art Stick. I wonder if the cost of the Art Sticks would be slightly lower if the sharpener was not included. Perhaps it would have been more cost efficient to sell (or buy) the sharpener separately? So, the customer would only have to invest once in a sharpener rather than having a separate one for each Art Stick. Cost efficient for whom though, right? I don't think the company is concerned with what is cost efficient for the consumer or maybe they do. I am not sure! Anyway, at first the included sharpener seemed like a selling point, but once I gave it some thought, it just seemed excessive.
Dusty Pink, Rose Brown, Sunset Orange, and Harlow Red (top to bottom)
Dusty Pink is a blue-toned, cool-toned baby pink with a lilac undertone.
Rose Brown is a deep mauve. This sort of shade suits my olive-yellow-beige complexion very nicely and looks clean because it is only a bit darker than my natural lip color. Rose Brown does not appear as matte on the lips as Dusty Pink. This is my recommendation for those of you looking for a dupe for Kylie Jenner's "trade-mark" lip color that has been "trending" for a hot minute.
Dusty Pink and Rose Brown (top to bottom)
Sunset Orange is a bright, warm-toned orange with a red undertone. I love this shade. It is my favorite one of the four. This shade is the one that first caught my attention and the only one I should have purchased. I wish the formula was emollient because I would whole heartedly recommend this product as a must-have. Unfortunately, wearing a lip balm underneath this shade dilutes the vibrant effect of this shade. I don't want to settle for a peachy orange tint! I would gladly sacrifice the wear-time of this product for a bit of moisture.
Harlow Red is a classic cherry red. The red of the red, white, and blue. This is the least drying or dry-looking shade of the bunch. I am not sure why.
Sunset Orange and Harlow Red (top to bottom)
Recap... Drying. Long-lasting. True matte lip colors. Hybrid lip colors - lip liner plus lipstick. Expensive. Beautiful and trendy shades. Only eye-catching / seasonal shade - Sunset Orange. Not retractable / mechanical. Smell like No. 2 pencils (Reminding me of standardized testing, yuck!). Somewhat deceptive - apply smoothly and feel creamy, but becomes so try and feel tight within minutes of application. Precise, controlled application.
Recommendations... Use a lip balm underneath or a lip gloss on top. I have worn Dusty Pink paired with the Dior Fluid Stick (new) in the shade Kiss Me (#389) and Sunset Orange paired with Dior Fluid Stick (new) in the shade Mirage (#338).
I hope this post was informative and helpful. Your friendly comments are much appreciated. Come back soon. Thanks!
Please support StrawberryHeartsChocolateDarts and connect with me via...
Sunday, June 22, 2014
NYX Butter Glosses: Red Velvet, Cherry Pie, Praline, Angel Food Cake, and Madeleine
Hey y'all! Happy Sunday, everyone. If you have not yet heard about the butter glosses, then you must be living under a rock. Well, I suppose same applies to me because I did not try these myself until this past March. NYX Butter Gloss is a well-liked product. Since the end of last year, I have become quite adventurous with makeup and experimented with different brands and a broader range of colors. After reading and hearing positive reviews of NYX products, I decided to purchase a few of the NYX Butter Glosses when NYX released a few new shades. The original line of NYX Butter Glosses were released a couple of years ago and recently they released more shades, which offer richer pigmentation than the original ones. All of the shades mentioned below, except for Cherry Pie, are newly released shades. NYX Butter Glosses are affordably priced at about $4.99 and can cost even less if you purchase them during a sale. NYX cosmetics are sold online on the company's website and at all ULTA stores. Some CVS and Target stores are now also carrying this brand.
Dessert, anyone? Dessert names are obviously a marketing scheme of some sort. Praline, Angel Food Cake, Madeleine, Cherry Pie, and Red Velvet (left to right)
Red Velvet, Cherry Pie, Praline, Angel Food Cake, and Madeleine (top to bottom)
Red Velvet, Cherry Pie, Praline, Angel Food Cake, and Madeleine (top to bottom)
So, now that I have tried out the NYX Butter Glosses myself, do I agree with the other beauty bloggers? Are NYX Butter Glosses worth the hype? Yes!
The NYX Butter Glosses exude the aroma of a bakery - fresh out of the oven vanilla cupcakes. The pigmentation varies from shade to shade, but overall is excellent. One of the reasons I dislike glosses and prefer glossy lipsticks or liquid lipsticks is because generally glosses do not provide rich pigmentation. NYX Butter Glosses are an exception as demonstrated by the picture above. It is very disappointing when brands release a massive collection of glosses in 20 different shades, but once you apply the shades, there is weak to absolutely no color pay off. Lastly, I like the formula and texture of this product. This gloss is unlike most glosses that I have tried. It does not feel sticky, tacky, or heavy. It pairs well with a lipstick worn underneath and does not drag the base color away. Again, it is pigmented enough that it does not have to be paired with a lipstick underneath. The staying power is obviously mediocre, but not poor, because this is not a sticky gloss. This gloss feels luxurious, lightweight, smooth, but not slippery, and does not dry (or "exfoliate") your lips as some sticky glosses tend to do. Although I love red, orange, and other bright shades, at heart I am most drawn to neutral shades, so Praline, Angel Food Cake, and Madeleine are my favorite shades.
I hope this post was informative and helpful. Your friendly comments are much appreciated. Come back soon. Thanks!
Please support StrawberryHeartsChocolateDarts and connect with me via...
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick #75 "Forbidden Kiss"
If Snow White owned a lipstick, it would probably be Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick called Forbidden Kiss. This lipstick could not have had a more appropriate name. I definitely feel like I am Snow White with this lipstick on. The boldness and depth of the red lips brightens up my face. Who knows... maybe my Prince Charming himself chose this color out for me...
As Snow White was roaming through the "Cosmetic Company Outlet" Forest, she came across this shiny golden and red object. Out of curiosity, she opened it and smelled the rosy fragrance of the product. She decided to color her lips with this rouge colored stick and there and then Snow White discovered her statement lip. If only she knew then that generations of girly girls would venture on this same quest to find their perfect red statement lip and a Prince Charming too... of course!
I purchased this lipstick at the Cosmetic Company Outlet for about $18. An EL lipstick typically costs about $25. CCO's carry ESTEE LAUDER Company products, which includes MAC, BOBBI BROWN, and CLINIQUE products. The reason for the discounted price is because the Cosmetic Company Outlet mainly sells discontinued or limited edition or seasonal beauty products, but sometimes you do find permanent products. For instance, I have seen MAC lip conditioners and MAC black track fluid line gel liners sold at CCOs as well. Now, I am not sure whether Forbidden Kiss was a limited edition shade because I did not see it listed on the EL website. However, I did see a new product that may be similar - New Pure Color Vivid Shine Lipstick called Forbidden Apple. I would still ask an MUA at your local EL counter before giving up hope in case you do not have an outlet near you or the CCO near you does not carry this shade.
This lipstick is meant to have a lasting creme finish and it surely lives up to that promise. It glides on smoothly and stays in place. Of course reds do tend to smear, so be careful, but I never use a lip liner and I definitely felt like I had control when I was applying this one.
It lasts for a good portion of my day and fades into a stain after I have had a meal. I am not a fan of long wearing or stain sort of lipsticks, so the lasting power is not a major factor for me. I definitely would not like an $18 lipstick to wear off within half an hour and need constant reapplication, but this is definitely not like one of those cheap formulation lipsticks. This lasts a few hours, long enough for my day or night outing, and that suffices me.
I have included four images so you all can have an idea of the color and its variations with in different lighting. I am not sure whether this has any prominent undertones. In my opinion, it is a pure red, but it is dark and bold, much deeper than a tomato or fire-engine or cherry-berry red, but not a vampy oxblood shade. I cannot detect hints of plum, brown, magenta, purple, or burgundy. To state more succinctly, it is a maroon, but not a wine-burgandy shade. I think these images will give you a better concept of the color than my extensive, yet somewhat confusing description.
This lipsticks looks, feels, and wears like a luxury lip product. Like I already mentioned it has a strong rosy scent, which I love, but some of you may not if you are sensitive to scents. The texture is so smooth and creamy, but the application is not messy. The color is a gorgeous dark red. It brightens your complexion and whitens your teeth. Overall, an "A+" lipstick and a must have for any red lip lover.
Bisou bisou (kiss kiss) as a friend from France used to say...
Please support StrawberryHeartsChocolateDarts @
Thanks!
~Meesha~
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)