4-in-1 review: Essence Lip Liners in Red Blush, Hot Chocolate, Honey Bun and Cute Pink

Despite the fact that I like wearing lip liners and as a makeup artist, I am all for the contour & definition that liners give, I somehow don't use them much in my daily routines. 

With Kendall/Kylie Jenners making waves in full-lip-routine across the web, lip liners are now all the crack and I really really should show them more love.

Essence Cosmetics is a favorite brand of mine - especially when it comes to fun packaging, decent quality and superb prices. Essence kinda makes up for the fact that we don't get E.L.F or NYX or Milani or Jordana or one of the other many drugstore brands so freely available with Canada's neighbour.[Not quite, but gotta take what we've! sigh]

I've 4 shades - which pretty much covered almost all shade ranges of lippies I use except for the darker berry or purple shades.

Red Blush is a much loved Cherry red shade.

Honey Bun - my most used pink-brown nude shade; perfect for creating that nude contoured outlined with many shades of lippies. Love it.

Hot Chocolate is a beige-y nude shade. Not something I wear for definition, but as a base with other lip shades. The name is misleading as this is more of a brown-based nude than a chocolate shade.

Cute Pink is your average common pink. Good for a fresh lip color. Again not something I wear much.

 

Top to Bottom - Honey Bun, Cute Pink, Hot Choc, Red Blush

OVERALL: These liners are decently creamy, soft to apply and has great pigmentation. Add the extremely friendly price and you've a winner :) However, dont look at these fellas for staying power [max 2 hours]

Left to Right - Red Blush, Hot Chocolate, Cute Pink and Honey Bun

Sorry for the crazy lip swatches.. I was in this weird mood.. ah well... 

Crazy huh! Top Left - Cute Pink, Top Right -Red Blush, Bottom Left - Hot Choc and Bottom Right - Honey Bun

The Lip Bar lipstick in Purple Rain - for that Neon Flash you need

I'd a vague idea that I'd posted about this beautiful lipstick some time back. But recently when I checked the list, it was not there. I cant believe I didn't post earlier about this awesome lipstick.

Anyways its not too late to do this as this is not LE. You can find The Lip Bar lipsticks at Urbanoutfitters [Link]

 

 

The outer packaging is a bit so-so. 

 

However the lipstick bullet casing is beautiful. Just peep at the almost-floral-vine-like design.

 

The casing itself really makes the $20 price tag worth the $. 

And the cherry on top, is of course the beautifully pigmented satin finish lipstick. 

Purple Rain is a cool-toned lilac-y medium purple shade, that comes off as a Neon color on my lips [and i guess most lips]

The shade reminded me a bit of OCC's Roller Girl. This is a favorite shade of mine now.

The shade reminds me of spring..violets blooming... that fresh air, scent of wet earth and grass... almost a torture to remember all that in the middle of winter!

Revlon Shameless on top, Purple Rain at the bottom

This is one of those shades that is so rarely available in Drugstore.I tried comparing this against a drugstore shade - Revlon's Matte Balm in Shameless, but as you can see, Shameless is more darker purple than the brighter Purple Rain. 

The pics dont do justice to the shade. It is surprisingly wearable. If you're wary of the bright shade but still want to sport a lilac on your lips, then I suggest adding a nude beige or darker berry shade gloss on your lips to mute the neon effect a bit. 

Other factors: Staying power is average - 2-3 hours at the max. No staining or feathering. The lipstick wins my heart by the smooth application, the comfortably light feel on the lips and of course the shade.

It doesn't have any strong scent or taste either.

OVERALL: A beautiful purple-lilac shade for those who love their Lavenders for Spring. The quality is unmistakable.

Beautyblender dupes that hurt your face - what to do with 'em?

Like many many others in search of that perfect yet superbly cheap dupe for BeautyBlender, I've also bitten into many bad lemons...

The latest in my collection is Model's Own Makeup Blending sponges [Link here]

Image courtesy: urbanoutfitters.com

The only clear use I've had for this sponge so far is to throw this at the wall when I am trying to relax - makes a nice ping-pong ball. The 1st and only time I used it for applying foundation, it hurt my face so bad, didnt apply or blend well and took ages to get the foundation off the sponge, even though I cleaned it immediately.

Overall - not even as good as a normal sponge. Definitely not a dupe for BB. 

So last day when I rounded up my stash of BB dupes, I was cursing myself for spending money on the dupes - could've easily got a BB for all that wasted cash.

The thought depressed me so much that I was thinking of any possible use for these sponges. 

That's when I decided to try and cut it into smaller shapes that I can at least use as a cleanser.

Pixabay.com

That actually worked.

I cut these ones horizontally and now they work so much better in applying the foundation.

They are much softer once you cut them and drown them for a few hours in a bowl mixed with some conditioner and water. 

I used them with my cleanser and it did a great job of doing a mild exfoliation as well.

What do you do with your dupes that don't work?

Frost is in the air and on the lips... Revlon Moon Drops Lipstick in Poppy Silk Red

Winter is here in full force and that means, 'Bye Bye Matte Lipsticks, especially when I am in a hurry to run' and 'Hello Hydrating Creamy Lipsticks'.

Although holidays are over, the cheer is still in the air and everyone is sporting their glam red pouts while scurrying by in their long winter coats.

I have some regular reds - mostly matte. I was searching for a more comfy formula, when I found this beauty in my collection. I was reminded of a very wintery-looking vintage ad [I've added it below] from Revlon - not sure if the model is wearing this color.

Revlon Moon Drops is a classic range that has been around. Like from even before my mother was born. Thats classic in my definition :) 

Courtesy :  Clickpic.com

Since this is not an active product [Revlon doesnt sell it in counters here, but you can find it online ] I am not doing a long review - keeping it short and sweet.

Poppy Silk Red is a bright orange based red with silver shimmer. The color however, comes off more pinkish red on my lips than orangey - which is good, cos it matches the season more than a coral orange look.

The color applies very nicely - no patchiness due to the shimmer and it keeps the lips hydrated without much issues.

There is no drying, the finish is a satin finish and there is slight staining as well. 

The frost doesn't overwhelm the color, nor looks weird - it is just right and gives a shiny loop as opposed to an effect of shimmer glued to lips. 

When it fades, it leaves with dignity and grace- so classical !

Overall - this is a great lipstick option for those who like a bit of history along with bright lips :)  

PS: Emily Noel had done a "Hidden Gems of Drugstore" video where these were featured.

Happy New Year and whats comin up...

1st of all, 

Wishing you a wonderful Happy New Year [a bit late] - hope you've great and merry times ahead!

As I type these words, my hands are awkwardly hovering over the keyboard, so as not to smear the lippie swatches on my hand onto the keys... 

And I realize that Lip products are my 1 true passion in the world of beauty...

What does this mean, you ask? 

Well, you'd be seeing a lot of lip product reviews, lip color combo suggestions etc coming up... 

So if you, like moi, are wandering around with color stains from swatches on your arms, here's a Hi5!!! :) 

January is going to see me start doing some Indie brand review.

I've been dabbling in some Indie brands from all over the web and have been testing them out - expect some interesting reviews soon! :)

Finally, if you haven't already done so, please check out my new Giveaway [click on the Giveaway tab on the top].

That's it from me. If you've any suggestions, I always welcome them :)

Cheers!