Revlon Matte Balms in Sultry, Standout, & Shameless + Lacquer Balms in Whimsical, Flirtatious, & Enticing: Review + Swatches

 

Hey everyone, I have a post I have been SO excited to do! It is featuring the NEW Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms & Lacquer Balms (~$6.99-$8.99 US). I have six colors to share with you, 3 matte shades and 3 lacquer shades. So let's take a closer look!

L to R: Shameless, Standout, Sultry, Whimsical, Flirtatious, Enticing

Ok, to start things off, I purchased these colors at RiteAid for $8.99 each, but they were on BOGO for buy one, get 50% second. I definitely recommend doing that to be a little nicer to your wallet. Like I stated above, I purchased 3 matte shades, Shameless, Standout, and Sultry, and three lacquers Whimsical, Flirtatious, and Enticing. I thought all six colors were uniform in their creaminess, hydration, and PIGMENTATION *happy dance*. The only area where they differed was STAYING POWER.

I think I will show the lacquers first and review them for you all.

L to R Whimsical, Flirtatious, Enticing

Whimsical, Flirtatious, Enticing


 

I have the colors Whimsical, Flirtatious, Enticing. These lacquers, as a whole, were not my style. I do not usually go for really shiny, sparkly lip products, but I really wanted to like this product, but it was a no. If you LOVE sparkle, get this product. The colors that I purchased were hydrating, but when they dried down, they got a little sticky. Also, when they start to fade, the color nearly disappeared on my lips, but that GLITTER remained FULL force, not a fan. It looked like I attacked and killed a Sparklepire from Twilight!

The lacquer colors did not last as long or in as good condition than their matte counterparts. I think the lacquers whether you liked them or not will really DEPEND on the individual, and it did NOT work on this individual.

115 Whimsical

115 Whimsical was my favorite of the lacquers shades that I have. It looks like a more pink fuchsia on my lips. I got about 3-4hours of ACTUAL power before the GLITTER took over which lasted another hour even after eating/drinking.

125 Flirtatious

125 Flirtatious looks RED in the tube, but on me, it looks like a deeper fuchsia. This color REALLY wanted to be my favorite, but it actually caused my lips to be VERY irritated as in, they BURNED. Thanks, but no thanks, my lips were NOT for this color or whatever reason. It was the ONLY lacquer that irritated my lips. I think it's because it had the MOST glitter

150 Enticing

150 Enticing is a BEAUTIFUL red, but it was the one the FADED the FASTEST. *sad dance* It had the least amount of glitter that showed up, and another color I really wanted to love. Alas, I NEED my reds to LAST and not cop out after 2-3 hours leaving me with hints of previous presence.

Alright, now for the MATTES! (My favorites all around)

T to B: Sultry, Standout, Shameless

L to R Shameless, Standout, Sultry

So......I LOVE these MATTE BALMS. Honestly, I am on the fence about two colors, but all three colors met expectations for me. I have the colors Sultry, Standout, and Shameless. Creamy, buttery, smooth, WONDERFUL is the best to describe these matte balms. They are hydrating like I have said before, but only in that they will not dry out your lips. I have VERY dry lips and these products keep my lips comfortable throughout their wear time.

What I have ADORED about them is how they FADE throughout the day. Like all lip products, they do not last forever, but they fade uniformly in only getting a bit lighter in color especially after eating/drinking. I really liked how they do not COMPLETELY disappear in the center of the lips. When you reapply, the new added color does not WARP the color already on the lips. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this formula! So now for the colors!

225 Sultry

225 Sultry on me is a peachy rose color. I have seen this color warm  up on other skintones, but I am still working on making it more flattering on my skin. I like this color on me, but do not love it...yet. I hope that will change.

250 Standout

250 Standout is the PERFECT red for my skin. A nice warm red that is still COOL enough to not turn ORANGE *happy dance* when applied. It is my FAVORITE of ALL the six colors I purchased. I think if you want to try ONE color from the mattes, choose STANDOUT. I think it would nice on everyone!

215 Shameless

215 Shameless is a deep violet on me. This is definitely the ONE color that I am SO on the fence whether to keep or not. I think that it is beautiful, but I do not know if that is true on me. I think it is WAY too COOL to really be flatter for my skintone. I do think there will be people who can pull it off or purple enthusiasts will go crazy for it.


Whoo! I am just a LITTLE tired from the length of this post, but I hope you found this post/photos helpful. Overall, I really enjoyed the mattes than the lacquers. I do not normally LIKE Revlon products, but these new products DEFINITELY put the brand into consideration.

 

Drink up, beauties!

abluenigerian

Rouge Profile: Almay Liquid LipBalm + Hard Candy All Glossed Up

Hello everyone! For this post, I really just wanted to document a video series I do on my Youtube channel featuring red lip products. I am OBSESSED with red lips, you just do not know!

So for this series, I made a video review two red lip products. One was Almay's Liquid lip balm in Apple A Day and the other was Hard Candy's All Glossed Up in Red Minx. For the review you can click the video or watch it on my channel here.

Mainly, I just wanted to add in some more photos of the items plus more up close swatches for those interested! Enjoy!

Almay - doe foot applicator & Hard Candy is twist-up crayon

Almay Apple A Day swatch

Hard Candy Red Minx swatch

Thanks for reading!

LIMECRIME Velvetines in Red Velvet

So recently, I made my first purchase to LimeCrime and decided on their Velvetines ($17.99 US) in Red Velvet which is their deeper, neutral red on their collection.

Claims from the LimeCrime website:
'Long-lasting liquid lipstick that goes on like a gloss and dries completely matte'
Red Velvet is a rich velvety red

I am OBSESSED with red lip colors and have been waiting to add this to my collection because it is a matte formula.

It has a sponge doe-foot applicator and the formula is like a very watery gloss, but it does not slip and slide all over or down your lips and face. It just takes a few seconds at most to dry down COMPLETELY matte. But BEWARE! If you have normally dry, flaky lips, please EXFOLIATE before applying this product. It was VERY unforgiving on my dry lips, so moisturize before if necessary.

Wear time was VERY impressive. I got a good 5 hours of wear before it started fading off and I think it's because I got my GRUB on and ate it off. Since I already have dry lips, it was pretty drying for me and not a very hydrating matte formula so my lips were peeling after removing the color at the end of the day.

I really, REALLY wanted to absolutely LOVE this product, BUT it was way to BRIGHT of a red for me. Since it was more neutral, those types of reds and either lean warmer, more orange or cooler which can look good or bad, it's always a toss up. I think this was WAY too orangey-red against my skin tone. I ended up added a darker red lipstick to the outer corners to create an ombre-like effect that made the Velvetine look a little more flattering.



Red Velvet alone



Red Velvet close up

Red Velvet + Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick 107

Red Velvet + Rimmel Kate Moss 107

All in all, I want a red lipstick that I can just apply and go. I really have no patience to mix this with that using up more than one product at a time. It really just comes down to preference. Even though I have been LONGING to try this product, I think it will not be a permanent addition.

I love the formula, pigmentation, and lasting ability, but the COLOR was not a winner.


Have anyone of you tried it, loved it or not? I hope this review and these photos help.

Maybelline Color Elixirs in Caramel Infused, Raspberry Rhapsody, Amethyst Potion, & Caviar Couture: Review + Swatches

L to R = Caviar Couture, Amethyst Potion, Raspberry Rhapsody, & Caramel Infused

For the winter 2013 season, Maybelline has created a NEW lip product for the masses! It is called Color Elixir ($6.79 at Bed, Bath & Beyond) and it will fall under their Color Sensational line.

Quotes from the Maybelline website:

Fall under the spell of the elixir effect
Hyper-saturated color, ultra cushiony feel
The new hypnotic lip sensation


A trio of concentrates delivers the color of a lipstick, the cushiony care of a balm, and the glass shine of a gloss
Our exclusive smoothing angora brush delivers a polished , even application and smoothing sensation to lips


This product seems that it will be in competition with other lip products already available like the Almay's Color + Care Balm and L'Oreal's Color Caresse Wet Shine Stains except with this product it doesn't claim to be a stain, and I did not find it to stain my lips like the L'Oreal Wet Shine Stains.

I bought four of the twenty available colors, Caramel Infused, Amethyst Potion, Raspberry Rhapsody, & Caviar Couture. The colors range from nudes, reds, and purples. The packaging is a hard, clear plastic bottom where you can see the color that you should get on the lips. It also has a silver plastic twist top with a stopper inside which helps clean up excess product. I love that in the bottle the plastic is shaped so that it looks like a lipstick bullet.

As for the applicator, it is a tear drop shape and very soft. It feels softer on the lips than the L'Oreal Caresse Wet Stain applicator.

These products are VERY hydrating and make my lips feel like I applied the Baby Lips lip balm. After using these colors for about a week, I have found that they do NOT have any staining power on my lips. After these colors are wiped or eaten off, they are GONE and I have not seen any major stain left behind. My darker colors may have a VERY slight stain, but nothing that other people will notice unless they are SUPER examining your lips. It could be that since my lips are already very pigmented on their own any stains have trouble showing up.

 

Starting off with Caramel Infused 065. It looks like a peachy pink in the tube, but it comes off as nude pink on me. It is creamy and the color that needs the least amount of swipes to get full color payoff. It is also the only color in my collection that does not have any shimmer.



 

 

Raspberry Rhapsody 030 is a fuchsia berry color with blue and silver micro-shimmer in it. It is barely seen on the swatch, and it is not noticeable in the lips whatsoever. I didn't even know it had shimmer until I was taking the up-close photos. This color takes more swipes to get opaque color pay off, but it is worth it. It's definitely my favorite of all the colors I purchased.

 

 

 

Amethyst Potion 045 is a mid-tone cool plum with micro-shimmer of silver, but again it's not visible on the lips when applied and not felt either. I want to like this color, but I admit it is my least favorite because of the cool-tone lean it has on my lips. It almost looks like a deep violet. I usually mix it with Raspberry Rhapsody to warm it up a bit. The color pay off is a lot like Caramel Infused, almost full opacity in one to two swipes.

 

 

 

 

Lastly, I got Caviar Couture which is a DEEP reddish purple with purple, silver, and blue shimmer that is VISIBLE on the lips. This is the color I REALLY want to love, but as I have been wearing it, it has been irritating my lips. It could be the bigger shimmer/glitter particles, but I really do not know because I have not had any issues with the three other colors I have. I don't usually like my lip products to have any visible shimmer because I think it very easily overwhelms my look. I really love this color for fall, but I do not know how much use I can get from it, if my lips continue to be bothered by it =[

 

 

 

Overall, I am enjoying these new lip products from Maybelline. They are pigmented, hydrating, and non-sticky and I really look forward to using this in these colder months.

 

 

So far I have only found these products at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, but I know that they should be popping up more at local drugstores at the end of October 2013.