Review: TONYMOLY Kiss Lover Style Lipstick in Red Bikini (RD04)

Out of all the lip products I saw at TONYMOLY, I knew I had to grab a lipstick to test, but there were so many color choices and product choices. I figured I would start off with a lipstick and then go back and pick up a stain or gloss at another time.

The packaging: This came in a black and pink box. The lipstick is housed in a slim standard lipstick tube. Both the tube and the cap are black. 

The scent: No scent detected.

The product: Red Bikini is misleading as it is nowhere near a red shade. It's more of a bright, orangey coral shade. I'm not complaining about the misleading name though because the more coral lipsticks, the better! This went on smoothly without tugging, but the color was slightly streaky. 3-4 swipes gave almost complete coverage, but I had to go back and reapply in streaky areas. It was lightly hydrating and lasted about 3 hours. 

My only gripe with this lipstick is that upclose, the streakiness is pretty obvious. 

Cost: $12 at UO

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: TONYMOLY Prestige Snail Lip Treatment Stick

Being Korean, it makes me so proud that more and more Korean makeup and skincare brands are getting recognition worldwide. Now you can easily find these brands for sale online and in stores (check out Urban Outfitters online). TONYMOLY is a brand geared more towards teenagers and early-mid 20 year olds, but did that stop this 30 year old from buying up some of their lip products? The answer is NO. 

Recently, a TONYMOLY store opened here in Dallas, so that is where I went to buy all these products. If you don't have a TONYMOLY in your city, all of these are available online at Urban Outfitters. On a side note, I might just buy them online from now on because the salespeople in the Dallas TONYMOLY made my shopping experience so incredibly awkward and uncomfortable. 

The packaging: This came in a orange-sherbet colored box. The product is encased in a light peach tube, and the product is a sheer white balm.

The scent: Slight fruity scent detected. It lingers for a few minutes on lips.

The product: This lip treatment balm is made with snail mucus (sounds grosser than it actually is), which makes this balm incredibly hydrating and moisturizing. It glided on so smoothly (almost like a cream) and wasn't too heavy on my lips. Since it's a balm, it lasted about 2-3 hours on me. My lips actually looked a lot healthier and smoother after wear. It also contains SPF 13, so that was a huge bonus!

Cost: $12 at UO

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Review: TONYMOLY Delight Magic Lip Tint in Green Apple (02)

As you can see from an earlier post, I love products that change to a different tint on your lips. So, when I saw that TONYMOLY carries a line of both potted tints and chubby sticks that have this "magic" quality, I had to buy at least one. 

The packaging: This came in a potted tub. The tube is clear, and the cap is black. 

The scent: As the name states, it smells just like a candied green apple. It smells a lot like some Korean candy, so I'm obsessed with sniffing this!

The product: Green Apple comes in a hardened jelly-like form. It is easily softened when pressed with fingers. The product is green, but when applied, it turns (almost instantly) into a sheer pink shade. MAGIC! The tint is a bit stickier than I would like, and tends to get stickier throughout weartime. It lasted about 2-3 hours on me, and was not hydrating. I loved the quirkiness of this product, but the stickiness really got to me.
 

This is the beautiful shade Green Apple changed to on my lips!

Cost: $5.57 in TONYMOLY stores.

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: Biguine Rouge A Levres Color & Care Lipstick in Red Carmine (08)

This product one of the other lip products that my friend S picked up for me in Paris. I had never heard of the Biguine makeup brand, and I don't know where you can buy this in the US. The only places that I've been able to find these are on Amazon and Ebay. If anyone knows other places to buy this line, let me know!

The packaging: Being a drugstore brand, there is nothing fancy about the packaging here. This comes in a standard lipstick tube and the cap extends the entire length of the tube. The tube is a gunmetal gray, while the cap is clear. 

The scent: There is a sweet floral scent to this product, but it doesn't linger on lips.

The product: Red Carmine is a sheer red with pink tones. It goes on very sheer, but can be built up to a semi-transparent shade. It went on incredibly smoothly without tugging and was hydrating throughout the time I wore it. It lasted about 3 hours on me, and reapplication was easy. I absolutely LOVE this product and shade. It was so easy to swipe on (even without a mirror), and gave my face a very healthy glow. 

Cost: Unsure since I can't find these available online?

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in Rouge Jet Set (13) and New Effet 3D Lipgloss in Fuchsia Excentric (57)

This and the following post are products I should have reviewed in June, but I kept forgetting to do so. However, the good news is that I have tested these out for almost 3 months, so there's that at least! My best friend S picked up these Bourjois products for me when she was in Paris since they're considerably cheaper there. I had never tried any Bourjois products before, so I was pleasantly surprised by these. I'll review the Bourjois lipstick first, and then the gloss.

Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in Rouge Jet Set (13)

The packaging: Since this is a drugstore brand, there is nothing fancy about the packaging. This comes in a standard lipstick tube. The bottom is clear so you can see the color of the product. The cap does tend to be harder to pull off than other tubes, but this is a very minor complaint.
 

(L to R): Rouge Edition in Jet Set and New Effet 3D Lipgloss in Fuchsia Excentric

The scent: Very faint floral scent, but undetectable on lips.

The product: Rouge Jet Set is a bright red with slight orange undertones. It is quite creamy and glides on smoothly without tugging. 2-3 swipes gave me full opacity. This shade tends to feather, but can be fixed by lining the lips beforehand (I favor clear lip liners). This product lasted about 4-5 hours on me, but did transfer a lot during eating and drinking. 

Cost: $20 in the US (Urban Outfitters carries the Bourjois line)

Bourjois New Effet 3D Lip Gloss in Fuchsia Excentric (57)

The packaging: This comes in a standard lip gloss tube. The applicator is a brush applicator. The cap is silver while the tube is clear so that you can see the color of the product. 
 

(L to R) Rouge Edition in Jet Set and New Effet 3D Lipgloss in Fuchsia Excentric

The scent: Very perfume-y scent. It tends to linger for awhile on lips. I'm not sensitive to smells, but this gave me a headache the first time I wore it. 

The product: Fuchsia Excentric is a bright fuchsia that leans heavily on the pink side. This gloss went on with almost a thin buttery consistency. It wasn't sticky at all throughout the entire time I wore it, which was a huge surprise. My natural lip color tended to peek through here and there since this is semi-transparent, but it wasn't unflattering. This lasted about 2-3 hours on me, but reapplying was simple. 

Cost: $16.99 in the US (Walgreens carries this). This is definitely a lip gloss I would recommend!

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Review: Bite Beauty x JCrew Matte Creme Lip Crayon in Lola

Bite Beauty has done it again! They should just go ahead and take out all the money in my bank account because they keep releasing products that I can't help buying. I went and tested the 6 shades of the Matte Creme Lip Crayons they released at Sephora, and almost bought Peche. BUT, I heard about their collaboration with JCrew (3 exclusive shades) and bought this one instead.

The packaging: This came in its own box. The product is encased in a slim, matte black-gray tube with a pop-off cap. These are twist-up tubes, which I love (why do companies bother with lip crayons that you have to sharpen??). 

The scent: There is a fruity scent to these, but I can't figure out what it smells like. Regardless, the scent doesn't linger.

The product: Lola is a bright watermelon pink. When I say bright, I mean BRIGHT. But it's definitely wearable. This goes on with a little bit of tugging on my lips. They aren't as creamy being a crayon, but it still went on smoothly with minimal lip prep. One swipe gave me nearly opaque coverage, so these crayons are definitely highly pigmented colors. It was neither drying nor hydrating, but after about 4 hours, I felt the need to apply some lip balm. This wore for 6+ hours on me - it probably would have worn for longer, but I wiped it off. 

I can't describe how much I love these! They're so easy to put on and go since they last so long! Bite Beauty is supposed to released 6 more shades in this line, so here's hoping there's even more great shades to covet!

Cost: $24

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Review: Marc Jacobs Beauty LoveMarc Lip Gel in Cabaret (146) and Lust for Lacquer Lip Vinyl in Shooting Stars (316)

This Marc Jacobs lip combo was a Sephora Beauty Insider 1000 point perk that I got a month ago since both products were full size. Both were touted as being limited edition, but now are available as part of the permanent line. 

The packaging: This perk came in a box that housed both products. The lipstick is an all black tube with a silver magnetic closure. It has the Marc Jacobs logo stamped on the side. The lip gloss is a clear tube with a black twist-off cap. The applicator is a doe-footed applicator.

The scent: Both have a slight fruity-vanilla scent that does not linger.

 

(L to R): Shooting Stars and Cabaret in natural light

(L to R): Shooting Stars and Cabaret in sunlight

The product: Cabaret (146) is only available to VIB Rouge members right now. It is a muted, warm berry shade. It swatched brighter on my arm, but when applied, it's much warmer and darker. It went on somewhat smoothly, with slight tugging on my lips. It was neither drying, nor hydrating. It wore for about 4-5 hours and left behind a slight stain. 
 

Shooting Stars

Shooting Stars (316) is a dark, muted brick-red gloss with brown undertones and lots of micro-shimmer. It went on smoothly with lots of shine (thanks to all the micro-shimmer). It was somewhat drying and wore for about 3 hours. It started to get pretty tacky/sticky on my lips towards the end of 3 hours. The shimmer stuck around on my lips even after the color faded, which depending on the person can be a good thing or bad thing (to me, it's a bad thing). 
 

Cabaret

When worn together, these two create a beautiful deep berry shade (perfect for Fall!). It's a bit heavy on my lips though, so I don't see myself wearing this combo much. The color created reminded me of Kevyn Aucoin's Bloodroses, so I would opt for that rather than this duo. 
 

Shooting Stars layered over Cabaret

Cost: Lovemarc Lip Gel is $30, Lip Vinyl is $28.

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: EOS Smooth Sphere Lip Balm in Fresh Watermelon, Pomegranate Raspberry, Summer Fruit, and Strawberry Sorbet

I usually don't do reviews on drugstore lip balms because I honestly don't feel a need to do so. I think everyone has their go-to favorites (I'm looking at you, Nivea Kiss of Moisture!) and that's about it. However, more drugstore brands have released fancier balms with more eye-catching packaging, like EOS. 

The packaging: These balms come housed in a sphere-shaped tub. The cap is a twist-off cap, and there is a flattened indentation on one side to rest your thumb on when you're applying the product. The product itself is dome-shaped. I know people who love the shape of this product, and I admit that it's cute. However, if you have a tiny purse/clutch, there is no way to slip this into it without making your purse bulge. Want to slip this into the pocket of your jeans? Great! But it'll look like your thigh grew a goiter. EOS does have a few of these balms that come in the standard lip balm tube, so this is good news!

The scent: These are scented, obviously. To me, they're pretty heavily scented and tend to linger for a long time. 

The product: The four balms I picked up are Fresh Watermelon, Pomegranate Raspberry, Summer Fruit, and Strawberry Sorbet. They contain shea butter and jojoba oil which help keep lips soft and smooth. These balms go on with a thin-medium consistency. They don't feel heavy or goopy when applied and last about 2-3 hours. They keep my lips fairly hydrated, but not as much as I would like. I found myself continually reaching to apply more to try and hydrate my lips. The shape of the product make application very easy as you literally just roll this around on your lips. The product itself is very hard, so applying pressure won't make a dent in this. 

The bottom line on these are that they're cute to look at, but not as hydrating or moisturizing as I would like.

Cost: $3.29 - at this price point, there are much better balms on the market.

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: Lipstick Queen in Saint Sunny Rouge

As a part 2 to the last post, here's the other Lipstick Queen product that I've been carrying around with me for the past several months. 

The packaging: This comes in its own box. Like all the lipsticks in the Saint Sheer lipstick line, it's a muted matte yellow-gold tube with the brand stamped on the cap. I tend to not like the feel of LQ's matte tubes because when you hold two of them in your hand and they brush up against each other, it has that nails-on-a-chalkboard feel.

The scent: This has a weird synthetic scent to it, but it goes away once it's applied.

The product: Sunny Rouge is part of the Saint line of LQ's lipsticks. The Saint line is the sheer range of LQ's lipsticks, and Sunny Rouge is a warm, medium pinkish-red. Although it's supposed to be sheer, it went on more pigmented than I expected. 2 swipes gave me an almost opaque coverage. If I needed a truly sheer effect, I had to blot this on very lightly with my fingertips. This went on smoothly, without tugging on my lips. It lasted about 4 hours on me, and was hydrating.

Cost: $22

Questions? Comments? Let me know!