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!

Giveaway Update - Important!!!

Quick Updates on the Giveaway - 

-> The last date is extended to Jan 31st 2015 since I am making some changes and I am giving all participants enough time to check and respond.

-> Taking into consideration some requests from participants, I am setting a Max limit for number of tweets or shares you've to do. 
The max # of shares or tweets you can do is 15, 1 per day per social media. If you achieve the max of 15, sit back and relax, cos I will double the points you get :) Thats a good bonus right?
If you dont wish to enter the details via the giveaway widget [I know it can be a hassle!], use the contact form or Facebook messages to let me know what you've shared. 

-> This is only for my blogger friends - Posting a widget in your blog or making a blog post  about this giveaway,  will get you an addition 15 points each. Please use the contact form in this blog or the comments section of this post or Facebook messages to send me your links...

-> The last is response to a question from a subscriber - a note on the criteria for being selected.
Your points matter..so basically if you get the max possible points, you have a chance to win.
If there is no tie, the subscriber with the highest point wins.
If there is a tie, I will use the random() function to pick a random winner from the top scoring list.
The reason for not making this a random pick is because it will be totally unfair to those participants who put an effort into collecting max points.

Link - http://thatmakeuplady.blogspot.com/p/giveaways.html

New in Town: Vasanti Love Brights Gel Matte Lipstick in shade Mad Love

There is something about snow and winter that makes me feel partial towards Matte or Satin finish lipsticks. 

So when I saw this new lipstick range from Vasanti in my local Shoppers Drug Mart, I was immediately drawn to it. 

The Grey-pink packaging reminds me of Bite Beauty's packaging...

You can read about the range, the price [$19 CAD] and other details here in Vasanti's website - LINK

Packaging:

I like the overall sleek silvery grey effect of the packaging. The metallic casing is pretty stylish.  

Really really like the stylish metallic grey casing.. Awesome packaging!

The lipstick bullet is designed slightly unusually..reminded me of a petal.. beautiful and unique! :)

Beautiful design!

 About the product

Mad love is described as a purple plum in Vasanti's website. I rather think its is a Pinkish purple rather than a Plum purple as I couldn't see any hints of red in the swatch or on my lips. The color is a bright blue-based shade that can brighten up a sallower complexion. 

Application -  

The lipstick went on smooth and without any dragging over the drier areas. 

This is one of the most comfortable matte formulas I've used - mainly cos of the lightweight texture. The pigmentation is excellent and uniform. In the below pics, I am wearing only 1-2 thin coats on my pigmented lips - you can hardly see any pigmentation at all. 

In fact based on the finish and the overall feel, I think this applies more like a stain than a lipstick. There is no drying or settling into fine lines as well.

In terms of comfort of application, I think only Bite Beauty's famously comfortable lipsticks can match this. 

Word of caution- Mine is not a naturally very dry lips. In fact, I can go out most days even in winter without a lip balm or cracked lips. So if you've drier lips, you may want to test this and see if you need your lips to be exfoliated or primed before applying this. However, the lightweight texture might be a boon for you.

Since I compared these to Bite Beauty lipstick, I decided to see which one was better in terms of value. 

Bite Beauty's Luminous Creme lipstick is $28 for 0.15 oz i.e. around $186 per oz

Vasanti Gel lipstick is $19 for 0.12 oz i.e around $158 per oz.

So if ease of wearing is the most important criteria, I feel you should definitely try this lipstick.

Other plus points in favor of this lipstick is the brand doesnt test on animals and is paraben- free. 

Awesome right?

Other factors:

Lasting power - pretty decent, got upto 4 hours without food. May need touch up, but it does leave a nice stain. 

Scent and Taste - It smells like a Popsicle or something like an artificial grape drink. I dont mind it and it doesnt stay once on lips. No harsh taste as well.

Feathering - It doesnt do bad actually, I didnt find the need to apply a liner.

I am really loving the fact that there are so many Canadian Lipstick Superstars like Bite Beauty, Lippy Girl and Vasanti now in the market! Go Canada!

Overall: The price tag is a bit hefty but I am willing to shell it out for an awesome Matte lipstick like this one. In fact, I am liking some of the other bolder shades very much :)

Unsung beauties... GOSH Intense Lip Colour in 303

What makes a lip gloss extra ordinary?

For me its having a luxurious glossy shiny feel on lips with lotsa pigmentation..enough to wear it without a lipstick underneath yet comfortable, hydrating and kinda long wearing on lips... 

And this gloss from Gosh - they call it lip colour - is an extra ordinary one..

I got this on sale, so I didn't actually note the price. I think it was around $15 CAD originally. You can buy Gosh products in Shoppers Drug mart stores.

303 - is a beautiful lilac-ish pink shade. Not a mauve, though on heavy application it can end up looking so, if you have very pigmented lips. Really beautiful, the kind of  lip color that looks bland in tube, but gives a very chic sophisticated look on lips. I really like how this color looks on my lips - its not too pale, its the only shade of lilac that I've been able to carry off so far. Lilac is a notoriously only-for-cool-toned-fair-skinned ladies only shade. Not to say that darker skin cant wear it, but it comes off as a neon pastel shade on darker skin tones usually and neon or pastel shades are not the cup of tea for most people!

Not a fan of gimmicks, so the lights and the mirror on side aint that big deal for me.

Its coming off more purplish in the pics than it actually is!

As you can see, the color is rich and creamy  and looks beautiful. Its full pigmentation in a single swipe. I wouldn't recommend layering on, unless you've really dry lips. There is no serious scent or taste to the product. Once applied, it sets to a glossy finish and lasts for an average of 2-3 hours which is pretty neat for a gloss.

Overall: I'd really love to try more shades from this line - I like the quality, the feel of these lippies. I usually use them for important official functions, which tells you how much I regard the effect of this lip color.  If you're a gloss lover, this is definitely something you can try.

Holiday Sets - Flower Beauty Color In The Lines Mini Lip Chubby Beauty Set [and why it is a weird weird product]

Sometimes you wonder why companies do stuff.. for .e.g look at Revlon's latest HD lipsticks. The packaging sucks. And this is from a company that has been around for ever. You'd think that they'd have nailed down what not to do in a lipstick packaging, by now. But apparently that is not the case.

This absurd behavior of companies you'd expect to have some marketing sense is what struck me as I was reviewing this gift set from Walmart. 

Walmart Canada finally has the Flower Beauty range by Drew Barrymore and I for one, am super happy about it. Flower beauty is an affordable high quality cruelty free makeup range and we really need more of these awesome makeup brands here in Canada.

Back to the review.

The shades included in the box are: Mauve Over [ nothing Mauve about it actually], Red-dy To Bloom and Berry more [Berry for FB means pinkish nude :) ]. Each mini lippies are 0.03 oz.

I'm listing the various weirdness factors of this gift set one by one below. If you want to skip directly to the product review, scroll a bit more downwards.

WEIRDNESS FACTOR 1 - 

Holiday sets are supposed to be value or even bargain for money with the monetary value of mix of the products in the set either = or greater than the price of the set.

The lip suede velvet lip chubbies - yes thats the entire product name, a mouthful aint it?- are available in individual pieces at $7 CAD for 0.09oz i.e. $ 77. 8 per oz. So each minis are worth 2.35 for 0.03 oz.

Which means that the 3 pieces are worth approx $7 = price of 1 full size product. 

So when Walmart says this gift set is worth approx $15, I assume they've been either smokin' something hot or is including the price of the packaging which apparently is = to the price of the product inside it, which is Bull Shit cos this packaging is not thatttt smart.

 

Even the price of this set, i.e. $9 is higher than the actual product value of the set. 

I hope Walmart or Flower Beauty is  not expecting me to believe that they spent more on the packaging than on the product. 

If they actually spent more on packaging -well, that is reallllly stupid cos they didnt make this one either uniquely artistic or useful to be kept aside. Why would anyone keep this bulky useless plastic-y packaging around????? 

All I have to say at this juncture is  - Are you freaking kidding me Walmart /Flower Beauty? ? ?  

[I am putting both brands equally to blame here]

So now you must be wondering why anyone would buy this, in spite of the apparent lack of value. 

My reason is  - 

1. You get to try 3 nice colors instead of 1 and you dont have to spend $21 to try all these shades

2. The glitzy rose gold packaging, which makes it look more valuable that it is

3. Its hard to calculate all this in store

WEIRDNESS FACTOR 2 

Ever been tricked by a huge glitzy package with nothing much inside? I remember watching this trick in some cartoon once where the hero unwraps so many layers of gift boxes to find a pair of ordinary socks inside. 

This packaging is almost like that.

For putting 3 small lip crayons, you probably need a package 1/3rd or even 1/4th the size of this one.

In these times of ecological conservation and people doing their bit for environment, its 'nice' to see a packaging where most of the set is just the packaging to be thrown out - cos this is not that good a packaging to keep aside!

In fact if you're planning to gift this to someone, be prepared for a ludicrous look on their face as they realize the huge packaging means nothing much in terms of value they're getting!

Product Review:

Back to the actual lippies. I love them. They are essentially creamy lipsticks in a chubby format. All the 3 shades are wearable and doesnt dry out at all. The finish is almost matte, but it doesnt have a dried up look.

From Left to Right - Mauve Over, Reddy to Bloom, Berry More in full size, Berry More

One peculiarity I noted was that Berry more in the mini size was a deeper pinkish shade than the Berry more full size version. Since I dont have the other shades in full size, I cannot comment on if this is just for this shade or not. Nothing drastically different, still an interesting point to note.

From Left to Right - Mauve Over, Reddy to Bloom, Berry More full size, Berry more mini

Mauve Over - a peachy pinkish nude color on my lips

Reddy to Bloom - a cherry red shade with hints of orange

Berry More - a Pinkish Mauvish shade with hints of brown

Overall: My suggestion would be to buy the actual full size items, wrap it in a gift paper and gift it - that would be a more value set than this one. However, there is no doubt that this one provides a good range of shades under $10. The lip product is excellent, so this deal is not too bad, I should say! But this does make me a sceptic w.r.t Walmart's "value pricing"!!!

Manuka Honey Treatment -featured in Memebox Superbox #53 My Honey Box

I got this in the Memebox Superbox # My Honey box, featuring items that either has honey or smells like honey.  I don't have an image of this product, cos after all, there is no swatches or anything to show.

Courtesy: Memebox website

I couldn't find the company that produces this product - the information in Memebox website is also woefully thin.

Review: 
I don't have much to say about this product except that if you have this, I would really suggest you not use this unless you have an oily scalp and/or is living in a really humid climate. The reason is the one time I used this, it dried out my scalp later so bad that I had to actually run around with itchy dry scalp and do all sorts of treatments to calm it down. This was a really bad product to try at the start of winter!!

The drying effect is not immediately apparent - in fact after washing my hair, it felt soft and hydrated. The trouble started when I shampooed my hair next day -I use a gentle shampoo so I was shocked when my scalp became dry and hair started going rough and frizzy. I cant really think of any other cause than this product.

Overall: I like many products from Memebox, but this is not one of them. If you have it and like it, good for you. But me - I wouldnt recommend this to any one with a sensitive scalp. After all, I can only talk about my experience :) :)

Holiday Reds - Bite Beauty Mix n Mingle Lip Mini in Poppy / Scarlet [ and Gimme gimme gimme gimme more....]

If  you need to know my feelings about Bite Beauty's lipsticks, check out my post here - LINK . Bottom line is - I love it, this is the best lipstick ever and I hope & pray that BBeauty will churn out more lippie minis.

So moving on to the shades.. Poppy is a most beautiful warm red while Scarlet is a darker vampy shade. Both colors are warm toned reds, so if you like cool toned reds, you may be a bit disappointed. However, they come off beautifully. 

Beautiful Stocking stuffers, aint they?

 

 

Poppy on the Left, Scarlet on the right

Poppy on my lips - single swipe, no lip balm, no gloss. Look at the sheen, and the smooth finish

Scarlet on my lips - Single swipe, but the color is a teeny bit patchy on drier areas.

Overall: I am regretting that I just bought 1 shade and not the others. I am running back to Sephora at the 1st chance and praying that it will be still there