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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Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks: Liar, Spirit, Shame, Rush, Venom, and Fiend! (Review + Swatches)

Hey y'all!!!

This post will only include a brief and updated review of the Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks. For my in-depth and original review, please click here.

The Urban Decay Revolution lipsticks were released around August, which is when I purchased my first one. The first shade I bought was called Rapture. Once again, click the link above to read about my initial impression of these lipsticks and see swatches of Rapture.

Obviously, that fact that I bought six more shades implies that I really liked the Revolution lipsticks, right? 

Availability / Price 

I bought some of the additional shades during the Urban Decay Friends and Family 20% off sale and others at ULTA, when I received a 20% non-exclusives coupon. I took advantage of the Urban Decay sale because Shame was sold out at various ULTA stores and Strip is an Urban Decay online exclusive shade. Purchasing more than one color on their website qualified me for free shipping. Urban Decay also sent me a free-sample pencil eyeliner in the shade zero (black). 

These lipsticks cost $22 each (minus tax), but with the discount (minus tax), these costed $17.60. 

Formula / Texture / Application / Longevity  

The formula of the Revolution lipsticks is creme no doubt, but the feel is not fully creamy per se. I would describe the feel as more of a creamy-semi-matte. These lipsticks do not glide onto your lips buttery soft. Although the lipsticks go on smoothly, I do feel slight friction as I apply them. The warmth of my lips does not make the product emollient. The benefit of this sort of formula and texture is that you only need one or two swipes of this shade to pack on intensely opaque color. You compromise the buttery creme feel for the intense color pay off. For example, I am wearing one swipe of Shame down below and then dabbed some off with my finger. The arm swatches are just one swipe. Also, I need to do heavy duty exfoliating on my arms to remove the swatches; makeup remover plus soap and water was not enough. The lighter shades, such as Liar and Rush, may require two or more swipes (as per personal liking), but only to even out the color. With only one swipe, these two shades tend to look slightly streaky due to my natural lip lines, so I do two to three swipes or spread it out using a finger. Strip, Rapture, and Field apply more like Shame and Venom even though they are lighter shades.

Colors 

Shame (dark oxblood, dark blackened burgundy) (Note: I regret buying this shade. It looks too "vampy" and "mature" and "dated" on me. It makes me look like I am twice my age. It does not have enough red in it. I would not describe it as a deep wine shade because it does not have enough red in it. It is a blend of black, red, and plum.) 

Strip (pinky-mauve nude with taupe undertone / neutral to cool-toned) (Note: this is my ideal true nude because in person it does not look pink at all. It looks more like a latte-light-brown-nude Love it!) 

Venom (dark magenta-purple blend with blue-magenta shimmer) (Note: This shade looked scary on me. It was too flashy. I felt like I could only wear it on Halloween. I returned this one. I thought the blue in it would make my teeth look brighter, but it had the opposite effect.) 

Fiend (medium warm pink with yellow undertone) (Note: many have described this shade as their MLBB, but for me it was too pink with yellow base, so it was not flattering and washed my teeth with a yellow shadow. I returned this one as well.) 

Rush (milky pinky-mauve nude / neutral to cool-toned) (Note: this shade does not have the taupe (lilac-gray-brown) undertone as Strip; another favorite. This shade is ideal for a delicate and playful look. It made my complexion and teeth look more vibrant, unlike Shame, Venom, and Fiend. This is a nice alternative for Fiend. I feel this is neutral to cool-toned. Love it!) 

Liar (peachy-caramel-brown-nude / neutral to warm-toned) (Note: this is a very unique shade in my lipstick collection. I do not own anything like this. This is another shade I really like. It brightens up my complexion and teeth/smile.) 

Rapture is a beautiful shade as well and another favorite, so make sure to check my review on it. 

Overall A-

Why? I would like a better deep red lip option. F-bomb was too clown-like and bright and Shame was too vampy. Also, I do like the formula and am okay with sacrificing the butteriness for the color payoff, but I wish these were just a tad bit more creamy. These lipsticks are not drying, but the shades do appear matte on the lips. I don't expect hydration either, just a smoother application I suppose. A little lip balm underneath is good enough for me. Honestly, I do appreciate the formula to an extent because the shades like Liar and Rush would not show up on me as well as they do if the formula would have been either more buttery or more matte, these shades would not have suited me at all. Four favorites out of seven tried is a pretty great deal! 

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