Review: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso

Do any of you read Blair Eadie's blog Atlantic-Pacific? She is so beautiful and puts together the most amazing outfits...and also rocks the reddest lips around. When I saw that she wears Stila's Beso, I knew I had to go out and try it for myself. 

The packaging: This comes in a standard lip gloss tube, but it's slightly bigger. There's a doe-footed applicator, but I liked using my own lip brush instead for better control. 

The scent: There is a slightly vanilla scent to this.

The product: Beso is a true blue-based red. It's a showstopping shade. Every time I wore this, people actually stared. Not at what I was wearing and the rest of my face - just at my lips. This went on smoothly and had a creamy feel. It took about a minute or so to actually set, and then after that...it would not come off. I drank, I ate, I rubbed...and nothing. It's staying power was almost scary. It lasted a whole day and probably would have lasted a lot longer, but I had to go to sleep so I scrubbed and scrubbed until it came off. It wasn't very hydrating, so I did have to apply balm every couple hours to save my dry lips. 

This liquid lipstick was very similar to Giorgio Armani's Lip Maestro, so I ended up giving this to my cousin, but it is definitely worth buying since it's $10 less than Armani's version.

Cost: $22 - a total steal for such a great product!

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: Nars Audacious Lipsticks in Lana and Charlotte

Life has been extremely hectic the past few months, so while I've been here, I haven't totally been "here." But it always seems like time slows down a bit in the fall/winter months, so I've been able to catch my breath lately. 

During the past few months, I've amassed a pretty huge backlog of lip products, but one of the best new releases were Nars' Audacious lipstick line. Hope all of you got to at least find a favorite out of the 30+ shades! 

The packaging: These lipsticks come in rectangular tubes that feel nice and heavy in my hands. The cap and the tube are magnetized, so the lipstick has a nice, muted click when you close it. 

The scent: None detected.

The product:

Lana is a bright orangey-red shade. It went on smoothly and had a very creamy texture. I found that I really didn't need much lip prep before applying Lana. It reminded me of LQ's Jungle Queen, but leaned a bit more red. One swipe gave nearly opaque coverage. It was lightly hydrating and lasted about 4 hours on me.  

Charlotte is described as an oxblood-burgundy shade, but on it translated to a darker raspberry shade. It went on smoothly, and one swipe gave nearly opaque coverage. It reminded me of Nars' Damned, but was creamier and not matte obviously. It was lightly hydrating and lasted about 6 hours on me. 

Cost: $32, but well worth it! 

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: Sisley Hydrating Long Lasting Lipstick in L33 (Rouge Passion)

My best friend and her family try to go on a extended family vacation every year. Last year, due to unforeseen circumstances, they didn't get to go anywhere. However, this year they took a month-long vacation to Prague, Paris, and Geneva. In Paris, S and her mom (who is basically my second mom) went to the flagship Sephora store on the Champs-Elysees. If you're in Paris, this store is a must-see. It's ENDLESS. 

Anyway, when they arrived back home after a month, they surprised me with some new lip products, and one of those surprises included this Sisley lipstick. Sisley is a high-end luxury brand based in Paris. I had been wanting to try their lipsticks, so I was ridiculously happy to receive this.

The packaging: This comes in its own little box...but here's the other thing. It comes blanketed in its own little black velvet cover. There's luxury, and then there's luxury in the form of your lipstick having its own velvet cover. The tube itself is gold with an "S" cut out on the side of the tube. The tube feels nice and dense in my hands, and it closes with a nice "click" that ensures your cap won't come off. 

The scent: This has the classic, old-fashioned lipstick smell. You'll either love it because it will remind you of watching your mom put on lipstick and kiss you when you were a kid, or you'll hate it because it's too floral/perfumey.

The product: L33 is a vibrant blue-based red. It goes on incredibly smoothly - it's creamy, hydrating, and comfortable on lips throughout the wear-time. It didn't tug on my lips and glided across so easily. I did a very simple lip prep before applying this, but I think I could get away with not even prepping my lips. One swipe gave me nearly 99% opaque coverage, so the color pay-off was insane. This lasted on me for 6+ hours, and left a beautiful stain afterwards. 

There is one downside to this lipstick: You definitely should and have to apply this with a brush. Applying from the tube is tricky and can get messy unless you have incredibly steady hands. Once you've applied with a brush, touch-ups can be done straight from the tube. 

I also wore this lipstick by blotting it on with my fingers, and it looked equally great sheered on. I also have to say that my lips tend to get very dry throughout the day, so it's been hard to find a lipstick that really hydrates my lips. This lipstick was hydrating enough to where I did not have to apply any lip balm until the end of the 6th hour. 

Cost: $55 but so worth it! 

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: Benefit Cosmetics BeneBalm and BeneTint

A lot of makeup brands have taken to releasing balms this summer, and I'm all for it! Anything sheer that can be applied on the go without a mirror is my best friend!

I bought Benefit's Benebalm, ChaCha balm, and Benetint all in one scoop, so I'll review Benebalm and Benetint first, and ChaCha balm with ChaCha tint second. 

Benefit Cosmetic's Hydrating Tinted Lip Balm in BeneBalm

The packaging: This came in its own little box. The tube is the cutest thing ever because it's a shiny red tube covered in light pink polka dots. The tube makes me smile just by looking at it. 
 

(L to R): BeneBalm, ChaCha Balm, Benetint in natural light

The scent: There is a slight floral/rose scent to this balm, but it doesn't linger after applied.
 

Wearing only Bene balm

The product: BeneBalm is a very sheer rosy red shade. It is incredibly sheer and leaves a very sheer rosy tint to lips. It is super hydrating and applies smoothly. It wore for less than 2 hours on my lips, but it was so easy to reapply. If you want color pay-off, skip these balms. I think the real magic happens when you apply these on top of the lip tints! 

Cost: $18

Benefit Cosmetic's BeneTint

The packaging: This came in its own box. The cap has the applicator brush attached, but this brush is completely inconvenient for me. Using this brush to apply this tint has resulted in me getting it outside my lip lines, so I use single-use doe-footed applicators that I bought off of Amazon to apply this. 
 

(L to R): BeneBalm, ChaCha Balm, Benetint in sunlight

The scent: There is a slight floral scent to this tint, but it doesn't linger.
 

Wearing only Bene Tint

The product: Benetint is a reddish rose tint. This product is a liquid lip stain, so it goes on very wet and dries down to a great natural red flush. It wore for 4+ hours on my lips alone. This product tended to dry out my lips after a couple of hours...BUT this is where the BeneBalm came in. Applying Benebalm on top of this gives it a completely natural, just-ate-a-red-popsicle look and your lips feel hydrated. 
 

Wearing Bene Balm layered on top of Bene Tint

Cost: $30

Benefit Cosmetic's Hydrating Tinted Lip Balm in ChaCha Balm

The packaging: Same as Benebalm, except the tube is a golden coral shade with pink wave accents. 
 

Wearing only ChaCha Balm

The scent: Same as Benebalm.
 

Wearing ChaCha Balm layered on top of ChaCha Tint

The product: Same as Benebalm, but ChaCha Balm is a very sheer mango-peach shade. ChaCha Balm, just like Benebalm, looks great layered over Benefit's ChaCha Tint. It provides a whole other dimension to ChaCha Tint, and keeps lips hydrated. 

To see my review on ChaCha tint, click here!

Cost: $18
  
I don't think I could buy either of these products separately after trying them together. The Benebalm alone is too sheer, and the Benetint alone is too drying. This is the same with the ChaCha balm and ChaCha tint. So if you want to try either out, just buy both. You'll love it!

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: Lipstick Queen's Jungle Queen Lipstick

The majority of the lipsticks I've been buying for summer have one thing in common - extreme saturation. They may be corals, reds, pinks, etc...but they're all bright with great color payoff. 

The packaging: This came in its own little box. The tube itself is a deeper green with the lettering done in a coral-orange shade. Again, my gripe with LQ is that the tube feels cheap. It feels like it would be easily dented. 

The scent: No scent detected.

The product: Jungle Queen is a bright orange-red shade that supposedly is the perfect color to wear with animal prints. Just like LQ's other lipsticks (Jean Queen, Medieval Red), this glides on smoothly and is fairly hydrated on lips. Unlike the other two LQ lipsticks I mentioned, this is not sheer. One swipe had a lot of color to it. It lasted 4-5 hours on me, and felt great while it was on my lips. 

Cost: $22

Questions? Comments? Let me know!