Review: YSL Volupte Tint-in-Oil in Oh My Gold

Sometimes your lips deserve a break from color and from lipsticks. Sometimes they just want to be drenched in a fancy tinted oil from a fancy luxury brand. Sometimes that sometime can turn into a daily thing because your lips get used to all this fanciness.

The packaging: This comes in the standard YSL lip product packaging. The tube is silver (not gold) with a colored band that shows the color of the product inside. The applicator is the lip-shaped YSL applicator that follows the shape of your lips for easy application.

The scent: The trademark YSL mango-ish scent is here, and it lingers for awhile after application. 

The product: Oh My Gold is a gold-tinted oil. Once applied on my lips, it turns to a lighter, natural pink tint with very, very tiny flecks of shimmer. As it is an oil, it glides on so smoothly. It's non-sticky and lasts FOREVER. After 5 hours, my lips were still covered in this oil...and they felt so soft and plump. 

Cost: $32

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: Benefit's Lollitint

In keeping on trend with the last blog post, here is another choice of Radiant Orchid products. 

The packaging: Comes in the same tube as the other Benefit tints. The applicator is a brush, and is the only part of the packaging I don't like. It tends to be hard to accurately apply the product with this brush because it flares out all over my lips. 

The scent: There is a synthetic, almost-plastic scent, but it goes away once it's applied to lips. 

The product: Lollitint is a true orchid tint. It leaves almost a bubblegum pink/violet tint on my lips. This product is not hydrating, and after a couple hours, my lips do feel dry. I have to prep my lips before applying this because it does and will settle into lip lines otherwise. The tint lasted about 3 hours on me. 

Favorites: I have tried Benetint, ChaCha tint, and now Lollitint. Out of these three, I love ChaCha tint the most because it's the most wearable out of the three for me. 

Cost: $30 - at this price, I would not buy Lollitint, but would opt for ChaCha tint or Benetint instead.

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: Lipstick Queen in Medieval Tinted Treatment

After running errands this morning, I found myself at Ulta. I tend to always find myself popping into Ulta, Sephora, Nordstrom, or Neiman Marcus's beauty counters when I have free time nowadays. Since I couldn't let myself leave empty handed, I grabbed another Lipstick Queen product off the shelf. 

Since I haven't found a Lipstick Queen product I really like but hear great things from other bloggers about this brand, I've been determined to find something I really truly like. And I think I found it today in this tinted treatment. 

The packaging: This comes in a box with Lipstick Queen labeled on one of the sides, Medieval labeled on the other, and Medieval artwork of a woman on another side. The tube itself is brushed plum with lettering done in a lighter mustard yellow. I absolutely do not like this tube. When I tried to recap the tube, I couldn't get the cap back on. It was so stiff, and I ended up having to jam it back on. I haven't had this trouble with the cap and tube for Hello Sailor or Stoked, but those tubes both felt like they were made of better quality.

The scent: No scent detected.
 

Lipstick Queen in Medieval (one swipe)

The product: This tinted treatment is very sheer, rosy red. It went on smoothly like a balm and kept my lips hydrated and soft. It's packed with all sorts of great things like Vitamin E, mango butter, and shea butter, so it's definitely comfortable on lips. I loved this color! It looked like I had been sitting around pinching my lips. It's definitely a color that could work on anyone. It was easy to apply without a mirror too. I put it on at 11am this morning right after purchasing it and it's still on my lips and going strong at 4pm right now!

Favorites: Well, I have a new Lipstick Queen favorite and this is it! If you love red like me, but don't want to rock a full, bold red lip on your off days, this is the product for you.

Cost: A bit on the pricey side at $22, but this tube seems like it'll last forever.

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Review: Lipstick Queen's Endless Summer in Stoked

Hey all! I'm back from a long couple weeks filled with finals and prepping for my boards. I took my boards last Friday and YES - I passed! It's surreal to actually have my nursing license, and I've taken the last week just letting it soak in. Also, I've been doing absolutely nothing - after an eternity of studying and doing clinicals, I just wanted a week to do absolutely nothing. 

Anyway, I have a bunch of reviews lined up, so let's start with the first one. I bought this at the tail-end of summer, but never got around to posting a review on it until now. 

The packaging: This comes in its own little box with a sun-and-surf motif on one of its sides. The tube itself is a brushed golden yellow-orange shade, and the product itself is a bright coral color. I really do like Lipstick Queen's packaging - I find it to be really (for a lack of a better word) happy. The color of the tube really did invoke summer. It's the shade you would see when the sun is setting, so they did a great job with this shade.

The scent: No scent!

The product: The product goes on smoothly, but my lips did feel dry within an hour. Also, I had to put about 3 swipes of this on to really get the color built up. One swipe was very sheer on me. The color itself is gorgeous - a bright, beautiful coral. It lasted about 2 hours on me, so it wears off quickly. This is definitely a shade I would wear during the day during the summer because it is so bright and sheer. 
 

Lipstick Queen Endless Summer in Stoked

Favorites: Out of Hello Sailor and Stoked, I would choose Stoked in a heartbeat. One swipe for a sheer coral wash on my lips, and I would be out the door to go lie on the beach!

Cost: $22. I think this is pretty pricey, and feel that you could find better corals at this price range.

Questions? Comments? Let me know what you think!

Review: Lipstick Queen Hello Sailor Lipstick

Blue lipstick? Yes. Lipstick Queen promises that this product will transform to a berry color when applied to lips. Does it deliver? Somewhat.

The packaging: This comes in a cute box with the words "Hello Sailor" and "Lipstick Queen" on the side in a blue and white scheme. The tube inside is brushed deep blue color, and the product itself is a beautiful deep ocean blue shade. The novelty factor of this product is what really made me stop and do a double take...and eventually purchase it. Also, It is pretty interesting to see people's reaction when you pull this out and apply it.

The scent: No detectable scent noted, so...whew.

The product: So it does not go on blue when applied, but leaves a very faint blue - almost purple - sheen on your lips. After several minutes, it transformed to a sheer berry color on my lips. I wasn't impressed by the tint it left because I felt like I could achieve the same tint by buying a tinted balm by any drugstore brand. Also, it wore off quickly meaning it didn't even hit the 2 hour mark. However, there are good points to this product. It is hydrating and moisturizing since it contains Vitamin E, and I think this could be layered on top of other lipsticks to turn any shade into a deeper berry. 

Favorite: So far, I haven't really been impressed with any Lipstick Queen products. I just don't think they work well on my lips. Am I the only one who isn't in love with this brand?

Cost: $25. I think this is ridiculously overpriced, and again feel like you could find a better product at drugstores for a much cheaper price.

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: Lancome Gloss in Love in Scarlett Starlette

I'm not a huge fan of glosses because I've never found one that feels good on my lips. I have a huge problem with my lips getting dry easily and glosses usually just sit on my lips and get sticky. Because of these issues, I usually don't buy lip glosses, but this one was actually a little gift from my mom, so I decided to give it a try.

The package: This comes packaged in a silver box and the tube itself is transparent so that you can see the color of the product and it's capped off with a silver cap. The really cool thing about this tube is that instead of unscrewing the cap to get the applicator out, you push the little button on the side and the applicator pops out. This saves a lot of time and it's satisfying to push the button to pop it out and hear an audible "click" when you push the applicator back in. 

The scent: There's a faint cotton candy scent to this, but it goes away once you apply it. It's not strong at all, so it shouldn't bother sensitive noses. 

The product: This gloss goes on smoothly and it's really thanks to the applicator. The applicator is curved in a "U" shape to match the contour of your lips, so it makes applying really simple. The color I got (#162 Scarlett Starlette) is a medium pink. It has shimmer in it, so when the light catches, there's a very pretty glitter effect you get. This shade isn't too pigmented - it just gives a nice rosy pink tint to your lips. I was really surprised because this gloss wasn't sticky at all and felt like it really sunk in to my lips. The staying power wasn't too great - it stayed on for about 2 hours. 

Favorite: This is the only shade I've tried in this line, so I'll update once I go back and try others. 

Cost: $27 for 0.20 oz. If you really like lip glosses, I'd say to purchase this line of glosses. Would I go get another on? Probably not because again, I'm not really into lip glosses.

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Review: Laura Mercier Rouge Nouveau Weightless Lip Colour in Mod & Sexy

I never really liked any Laura Mercier products that I had tried in the past. The lipsticks weren't amazing, and I always found better lip products in the same price range. But with this new line of Rouge Nouveau Weightless Lip Colours, I have changed my mind. These are fantastic, really really fantastic.

The packaging: Each tube comes in its own box, and the tube is a slim, deep plum colored tube (Laura Mercier's signature packaging color). The product feels good in my hands and is easy to hold while applying.

The scent: I couldn't detect any scent worth noting with these lipsticks.

The product: It has "weightless" in the product name for a reason. These are truly weightless. You won't be able to feel them on your lips at all. They go on smoothly. These aren't hydrating or moisturizing, so at times, I felt like my lips were pretty dry. These both wore for about 4 hours with eating and drinking.

This line is divided into 3 categories - creme, matte, and sheer coverage. The line of creme colors all start with the letter "C." The matte colors all begin with "M." The sheer colors begin with the letter "S." I have a lot of creme lip products, so I chose a color from the matte line and the sheer line.
 
Mod is a matte coral red (yes, I am truly obsessed with coral this year). It went on smoothly and very pigmented in one swipe. After about 3 hours or so, I had a fairly light stain left from this lipstick. 
 

Mod - matte

Sexy is a sheer red. If you're timid about wearing red lipstick, start with something like this. You can build up the product to a more noticeable red, or you can just put one swipe on and have the sheerest tint of red on your lips. It looks like you've been pinching your lips. The color looks beautiful and this shade would suit anyone. In my photo, I built up the color more to show the shade of red this product can become.
 

Sexy - sheer

 Favorites: Sexy is definitely the winner because it's such a pretty sheer shade of red. 

Cost: $24 for 0.06 oz product. If you've been looking for a product that looks very natural, I would go buy Sexy - it's definitely worth it.

Questions? Comments? Let me know!
 

Review: Maybelline Color Whisper in Berry Ready & A Plum Prospect

So I'm late to the game on picking up and trying Maybelline's Color Whisper line, but better late than never! The two shades I chose were #85 Berry Ready and #100 A Plum Prospect. 

Drugstore lip products are getting better and better nowadays, and we're all the better for it. In the last 5 years, drugstore brands have really upped their game and it's getting easier to find dupes of brand name products. Maybelline's Color Whisper line makes me think of YSL's Rouge Volupté Shine products...and they cost way less.

The packaging: This product comes in a silver tube with a cap that matches the shade of product inside. I like the slimmer design of this product. It's easy to slip into even the smallest of clutches. I wouldn't choose one of these based on the color-coded cap though. The color inside is not very similar to the cap - I learned this the hard way with these two shades.

The scent: If you sniff hard enough, it smells like...lipstick. The scent isn't noticeable though, so no worries here.

The product: These went on very well. You get a lot of pigmentation with one swipe and it's very moisturizing. These both lasted about 4 hours on me and left a nice sheer stain behind. I don't know if the lighter shades would leave a stain, but these two darker shades did. 

A Plum Prospect is a brighter raspberry shade - I honestly thought it was going to be deeper or darker due to both the name and the color-coded tube, but it was a lot brighter and lighter than I originally thought. It's more of a magenta color that I would want to wear in the summer than the Fall.
 

A Plum Prospect

Berry Ready is a deeper raspberry shade. Again, based on the tube, I thought this would be redder, but it turned out to be darker and more of a bright plum (if that makes sense). This color could be worn in the Fall to brighten up a dark outfit. 
 

Berry Ready

 In both photos, I only applied one swipe to get this amount of pigmentation on my lips.

Favorites: Out of these two, I prefer A Plum Prospect more because I tend to lean more towards brighter shades. 

Cost: $7.49, but there's always sales going on! I got these at Ulta in a buy 1, get 50% off the other deal. Definitely worth it, because you're paying 1/5 of the price for a brand name version of this.

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Review: Givenchy Hydra Sparkling Magic Lip & Cheek Balm

So I haven't been updating as regularly as I planned, but I do have a good excuse. I've been studying for boards and still am, but I thought I'd bang out several reviews that I've been wanting to do during this study break.

The first review is on Givenchy's Hydra Magic Balm. I love products that "magically" transform into customized tints when applied. I really am a sucker for these kinds of products. I have similar products by Smashbox and Dior, but those will be reviewed at another time.

The packaging:  This comes in a square box and the product is packaged in a small circular jar. The jar itself is a transparent ocean blue and the lid is silver. It looks like it would be holding eye cream, not a lip product. It's a good size to throw into a make-up bag.

The scent: It has a faint floral smell to it, but it doesn't linger when applied. You really have to sniff deeply to smell it anyway.

The product: This goes on smoothly and isn't sticky at all. On first application, it leaves a very fair pink tint, but as you let it settle, it does grow into a very rosy tint (at least on my lips). I felt like this was pretty hydrating too. 

Cost: $31 for 0.17oz jar. Is this worth it? No. There are other products that give you a customized tint for way less money. This really seems like you're just paying for the brand name. But if you love Givenchy products and have extra cash lying around, then go for it!

Questions? Comments? Let me know!