Tag: lipstick

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Beauty

Lip Combo: Pink

Despite Kylie Jenner’s lip kits getting mixed reviews here and there, they’re still one of the most coveted beauty products around. Admit it, they’re on your wish list too. I know they’re on mine.

However, lip kits – or lip combos – are not a revolutionary idea. I’ve been coming up with mine (quite probably inspired by the others) for years now. Below is my go-to pink.

lip-combo-pinks-bourjois-oriflame

Products, top to bottom:

  • Bourjois Levres Contour in Flamboise Exquise
  • Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in 11 So Hap’pink
  • Oriflame The One Colour Unlimited Lip Gloss in Pink Boost 30643

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets are easily one of my most favourite lip products out there. True, there are formulas that are more matte, more pigmented, longer lasting, just more – but there’s something about the Bourjois offering that draws me back to them every time. They are very easy to wear, completely non-drying, and feel very natural on the lips. The finish is matte but not powdery matte that makes every line on your lips stand out. It’s also very easy to apply, and is scentless. Always a big plus in my book.

Although you don’t need a pencil when using Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets, I love lining and filling my lips with a pencil first and then filling them out with the colour. I find that it does prolong the wear of the lipstick and makes reapplication that much easier. Although Rouge Edition Velvets do not bleed outside the lines and absolutely do not feather, it’s easier to slip a bit outside the line on the reapplication if you don’t go in with the pencil first. Bourjois Levres Contour in Flamboise Exquise is a nearly perfect match for Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in So Hap’pink. I bought them together, and have been using together ever since.

Oriflame The One Colour Unlimited Lip Gloss in Pink Boost was on my wishlist for a while until I finally bought it. I try to limit the amount of glosses I own at any particular time, because they tend to go bad five times as quickly as lipsticks do. I wear it both on its own, over the pencil, or over slightly worn lipstick when I just can’t be arsed with fixing it properly or I know it’s going to get ruined in the next hour anyway. Applying it over freshly applied lipstick tends to look cakey.

lip-combo-pinks-swatched

Left to right: Pencil, lipstick, gloss.

What’s your favourite lip product combination?

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Beauty

Lip Product Empties

Let me quickly walk you through some lip products I have either finished or discarded recently.

veryme-gloss-tester-sosusan-lip-dome-ofra-lipstick

Oriflame VeryMe Mirror Lip Gloss is a perfect cool-toned pink lip colour for me. I loved using this in combination with OFRA Cosmetics Laguna Beach, but also on its own. The scent of the product was lovely, and the application was relatively OK (it’s a squeeze tube). The formula was a bit sticky. It was fun while it lasted, but I had to let it go because it started separating and smelling funny.

A sample size of one of the Oriflame Pure Colour lipsticks. I’ve written a post about them here, if you fancy a read. This one had to go because I dropped it on the office floor. A grimy dirty dusty icky yucky office floor. *shudder shudder*

So Susan Lip Dome was a lovely crayon. Not fully opaque, but it gave my lips the nicest bordeaux tint. It also felt nice and wore very comfortably. Unfortunately, it went bad before I could use it more. I received it via a Lip Monthly subscription, and I figure it was old.

OFRA Cosmetics Liquid Lip Colour in New Orleans also had to go – it was patchy and dry as all hell. And although I adored this colour, it made my lips look ridiculous, so I had to let it go.

You can read my post on OFRA Cosmetics lipsticks here.

oriflame-lip-balm-devine-lip-balm

Oriflame Beauty Lip Balm, although intended transparent, did give a bit of a pearlescent pale pink hue to the lips, so at times it made me look rather dead. It also didn’t moisturise my lips enough – matter of fact, sometimes the product felt drying. This is an old formula, and Oriflame updated it. I haven’t tried the new one.

Look DeVine Pinot Noir balm I loved. I received this one through Lip Monthly as well. It had a great scent and made my lips really moisturised, soft, and plump. I had to be careful with accidentally building up the colour with it, as a couple more strokes than necessary, and it would make me look a bit on the undead side.

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Beauty

INGLOT Sleeks cream 89 – Review and Dupe

I’ve had this post in my head for so long, I keep thinking I’ve actually drafted the copy – but no.

INGLOT Sleeks cream in 89 might just be one of my favourite lip products ever. It’s a non-sticky gloss that’s not too sheer, not too opaque, smells amazing (though there’s at least one person who disagrees with me :D), and – I am convinced – looks good on everyone. It’s a universal light peach shade that is effortless to wear year round.

It’s also moisturising.

And has amazing test-tube packaging.

And costs about three times the amount I am willing to extract from my wallet for a lip gloss.

inglot-sleeks-89-della-color

Meet Delia Glamour Liquid Color in shade 22.

Delia is a Polish brand (much like INGLOT) that I’ve only recently discovered. Their products keep popping up at random shops here and there, and I think they have a full stand in Organic Shop here in Kishinev.

Colour-wise, these two are pretty damn similar.

Observe.

inglot-della-swatches

The very top swatch on my hand are these two products applied right next to each other, with no separation – and I bet you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.

With my camera being the sneaky thing that it is, it did pick up some difference in colour when I swatched them next to each other.

inglot-vs-della

As you can see, INGLOT Sleeks Cream in 89 (left) is brighter and has more blue in it. Delia Glamour Liquid Color in 22 is more subdued, with just a touch more yellow. However, these differences are unnoticeable in real life.

The formula of the Delia lip gloss is non-sticky, but just a bit tackier than the INGLOT one. It’s not drying at all, but I would not give it hydrating properties. The longevity is that of a typical lip gloss – do not expect staying power here. It does not separate, and it does not set into fine lines. The scent is I would say more pleasant than that of the INGLOT Sleeks Cream in 89 – it’s not as heavy and not as sweet vanilla.

And, of course, the price difference is immense. For the cost of one INGLOT Sleeks Cream you can buy nigh four Delia Glamour Liquid Colors.

Undeniably, INGLOT Sleeks Cream is a quality product that can work both as a gloss and as a lipstick (albeit one with a very weak staying power, and not in all shades of the product). You cannot quite build the colour up with Delia gloss like you potentially could with the INGLOT product. INGLOT Sleeks Creams are also moisturising – at least in this particular shade – something that I cannot say about Delia Glamour Liquid Color. It’s non-drying, but that’s about it.

The plus point of the Delia Glamour Liquid Color is that since it’s less pigmented, as the product ages, it does not appear to be separating on the lips as much. After a certain amount of use, INGLOT Sleeks Cream would start setting in smallish lines on your lips. It is, however, barely observable in dynamic, and only happens if you really go all out with the product (ergo, try to build the colour up).

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Beauty

Giordani Gold Jewel Lipstick in Pink Secret – Review and Dupe

giordani gold pink secret

Giordani Gold is the luxury brand of the Oriflame family. Giordani Gold is the most expensive line the company makes. The colours in the collection are usually classic, as well as the packaging.

giordani gold packaging

The packaging is made in glossy black and gold tones, with minimal design. The Jewel Lipstick line comes in gold tubes, which I do believe are made from metal. They feel heavy and cold to the touch. Gold is not my favourite metal, but I have to admit that this lipstick looks expensive – if just a little too gaudy for my black, black, all black everything everywhere black taste.

The formula of the product is creamy and on the sheer side. It’s difficult to build up colour with this one, but if you try hard enough, then maybe you would reach medium coverage. The colour I have it in – Pink Secret – is very easy to work with. Given its sheerness, it’s as effortless as a balm.

giordani gold pink secret swatch

The colour doesn’t feather but might just get a little outside of the lip line, mostly in the corners. Doesn’t tug on the lips when you apply it.

Although creamy, the lipstick is a little bit drying.

I remember the good old days when Giordani Gold lipsticks were scentless. Oh, how I loved them then. The formula of some old ones was also much more opaque. I remember my mum finding them drying, but I adored them. I’ve kept one of the tubes way past its expiration date. It was this dark cranberry/ wine shade.

OK, enough with the nostalgia lane.

The longevity of these is very moderate. It applies like a balm, and it wears off like one. The good side to that is that it wears off nicely and gradually, leaving the slightest amount of sheen in its wake.

giordani gold pink secret dupe

Top: Giordani Gold Pink Secret. Bottom: Oriflame Pure Colour Soft Coral.

If you’ve been thinking of giving Pink Secret a go, but aren’t sure if the colour would suit you (as effortless as it is, I find that it looks just a touch off with my complexion), then you can easily dupe it… within the Oriflame brand, ironically enough. Their Pure Colour Lipstick line, the least expensive one they offer, has a lipstick in Soft Coral. As you can see from the swatch above, they’re almost identical, with the Pure Colour perhaps being a bit more sheer and a slightest touch cooler.

You can read more about Oriflame Pure Colour Lipstick range here.

(I’m an Oriflame consultant. I received this lipstick as an incentive for good sales. Go me.)

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Beauty

HIKARI Cosmetics Lipsticks

hikari cosmetics lipsticks in crush and cranberry

Like OFRA Cosmetics lipsticks I wrote about last week, my acquaintance with HIKARI Cosmetics began via my Lip Monthly subscription.

The first one I received was Cabernet.

True to its name, this HIKARI lipstick is dark red wine colour. The finish is matte. I have no problem applying it evenly from the tube. It doesn’t streak, but it does tug a little. The formula is not drying, and if you’re not planning a feast, it would stay on your lips for 3-4 hours without any need to touch up. It doesn’t feather and is very easy to wear without a lip pencil.

Once you eat, it will wear off, usually from the centre, leaving your lips lined with a red wine colour.

hikari lipsticks

Crush I received a little later. It’s a hot pink (many of the lip products I received from Lip Monthly were of a hot pink/ purple/ fuchsia variety). The formula is akin to HIKARI Cosmetics Cabernet lipstick above, but the coverage is just a bit less opaque. No streaking, matte with a slightest sheen finish, not drying, applies evenly from the tube. Doesn’t feather, stays put unless you eat something heavy.

hikari lipsticks packaging

The packaging of both of these is a square glossy black bullet with the company’s logo imprinted on one side of the tube. I love such minimalist packaging.

hikari cosmetics lipstick swatches

Swatched, left to right: Hikari Cosmetics lipstick in Crush, Hikari Cosmetics lipstick in Cabernet.

Overall, HIKARI Cosmetics lipsticks stay true to what is said about them on the company’s website: Long lasting vivid colour. If you’re tired of the liquid lipsticks and want a matte finish that doesn’t look papery on the lips, then these are your friend.

If you haven’t yet given HIKARI lipsticks a go, consider doing it. I’m happy with both of these shades, and if I weren’t already buried under the avalanche of lipsticks in my personal collection, I’d buy a few more like, today. Melon and Scarlet look very, very tempting. They’re available from HIKARI Cosmetics website for $13 each.

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