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Tom Ford Beauty Boys + Girls Lip Color – 2018 Picks

October 17, 2018

I look forward to the Tom Ford Beauty Boys + Girls Lipsticks every year! Today I have review and swatches of my 2018 picks for the Tom Ford Boys and Tom Ford Girls and the formula is true to Tom Ford style with well made pigment, texture and finishes. They have that subtle vanilla scent to them and lasting power is similar to those of previously launched clutch-sized lipsticks. The sheers are sheer and glossy with medium lasting power while the creams stay put longer. There were a handful I ordered online sight unseen and I received some press sample colors. By the time I stopped by my local counter to see all the shades I noticed they didn’t receive all the testers and I didn’t have a chance to go back and investigate. Based on my online guesses I’ll say up front that I ended up with a lot of similar shades. As a neutral lip lover I’m thrilled, but even on my lips I could have skipped a few and opted for some of the more edgy colors.

Tom Ford Boys and Girls 2018 Picks

The formula for all the colors I tried is excellent. Smooth application, no streaky finish or patchy look. Even with the pale colors I found the finish to be really good. In addition this year the Tom Ford Girls Lipsticks have a stronger base than last year’s versions (at least the ones I have do). I experienced some breakage at the bases with the 2017 version. Some of you had the same issue. With all the 2018 shades I found them all to be 100% ok.

Colors I have reviewed have a mix of the Boys and Girls formulas. In general the Girls are sheerer with a glossy finish. These come in Ultra Rich (creamier but still glossy) and Lip Color Sheer (sheer and glossy). The Boys are more opaque and creamy with either a Matte or Cream finish. I prefer the Boys because they have better color payoff but really all the formulas are nice.

Uma (Girls, Ultra Rich) is a pale flesh nude cream, it’s a lot more wearable on me than Blushed Nude or Spiced Honey, but still very pale on my lips
Ava (Girls, Lip Color Sheer) is a semi sheer glossy shimmery champagne
Monica (Girls, Ultra Rich) is a sheer light brown cream, pulls a little warm on my lips, but in the tube is more neutral
Camilla (Girls, Lip Color Sheer) is a sheer shimmery peachy pink (please excuse the typo on the photos, I forgot to add an extra “L”)
Alistair (Boys, Lip Color) is a neutral cool-toned nude, on my olive skin it pulls slightly mauve
Gal (Girls, Ultra Rich) is a medium neutral pink cream
Tomoko (Girls, Lip Color Sheer) is a shimmery pink cream, has tiny flecks of gold, pulls a little deeper/brighter than Gal
River (Boys, Lip Color) is a medium peachy pink, pulls more peach cream
Bryan (Boys, Lip Color) is a pretty cool pink neutral, pulls the tiniest bit cooler
Ori (Boys, Lip Color) is a medium pink cream
Helena (Girls, Lip Color Sheer) is a sheer cool plum pink
Hudson (Boys, Lip Color) is a cream nude cool-toned pink
Chadwick (Boys, Lip Color) is the perfect brick brown red
Scott (Boys, Lip Color) is a sheer plum with subtle shimmer

A closer look row by row with lip swatches on bare lips. Set 1 has Uma, Ava, Monica, Camilla and Alistair:

Set 2 has Gal, Tomoko, River, Bryan and Ori:

I triple checked my swatches as they all look nearly identical. I do suspect if you have lighter lips or lighter skin tone you’ll see the difference between shades more on your complexion. I’m right at the medium olive point where these tones look the same. The color difference can be seen better from the product shot of colors in the tubes.

I did pull a few other Lip Color classics such as Sable Smoke, Pink Dusk, Spanish Pink to compare on my own. I think that it was a really tough call to detect the differences between Pink Dusk, Spanish Pink and the entire middle row of colors I swatched. If you had your eye on any of the full size neutrals but didn’t want to splurge, the clutch-sized Boys and Girls are a nice way to splurge at a lower price point with similar colors. Comparisons that look nearly identical to me:

Set 3 has Helena, Hudson, Chadwick and Scott (I also added Daniel for comparison):

For the Boys and Girls 2018 launches I tried, my favorites are Camilla, River, Bryan, Ava and Scott. I really feel like I should have ventured to try more of the plums or reds. I received a couple very bold colors (a bright purple and electric red) but since they weren’t colors I felt I’d ever wear so I gifted those away. I do think based on online swatches that Jordan, Ingrid and Nico look particularly stunning. I might take another look if I’m at the counter soon to see if they have testers, but there is so much coming out for holiday I’m thinking about waiting for other things.

You can see swatches of the 2017 Tom Ford Beauty Girls picks from last year. I found myself reaching for Katherine and Lara the most, although to this day Bradley is still my go-to nude.

You can find the Tom Ford Beauty Boys and Girls Lipsticks at all counters now. I bought half of the featured shades from Nordstrom and the other half were sent as press samples. Also available at Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Beautylish, Net-A-Porter, Saks Fifth Avenue.

Have you tried the new Boys and Girls yet? What colors did you pick up?

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Lips Pat McGrath Labs

Pat McGrath Labs Lip Fetish Sheer Colour Lip Balm

September 29, 2018

Pat McGrath Labs has launched one of the best tinted lip balms I’ve ever tried with her Lip Fetish Sheer Colour Balms ($38 each for 3.5 g/0.12 oz, made in USA). She previously released a clear version (reviewed here which I bought and love) and her sparkly Astrals (I bought the Nude one, but the others looked a bit too sparkly for me). This month she launched 9 new non-shimmers in tinted colors which I think are absolute perfection. I really liked the formula of her clear version even though the price point was pretty high. Having color added feels like I can justify the price point a little more for a lip balm, but seriously ALL her lip products are phenomenal.

There are 9 perfect colors ranging from nude, pink, beige, to bright pink, plum and red. I think the color selection is very good, there’s not a single bad color in the launch. I also really appreciate that she offers sets on her website that give us a price break versus buying individually. You can find the Lip Fetish Sheer Colour Balm Everything Kit for $275 with 9 colors or three variations of Lip Fetish Sheer Colour Balm Trios for $95 each.

For tinted balms my favorites have been the Dior Addict Lip Glows followed by any of the YSL Volupte line (Tint-in-Balms and Volupte Shine Oil in Stick). The Pat McGrath Balms aren’t as soft in density which makes them have a less slippery feel on the lips. As much as I love super emollient balms that have an almost buttery feel, the Florida heat can make those feel like they are sliding off the lips sometimes. The Pat McGrath ones have a balmy feel but without the sliding feeling. You can feel and notice lips are moisturized but it’s not heavy. There’s no detectable scent or taste to me.

Color swatches very sheer on the arms/hands. Once on the lips the color shows up in a sheer to medium coverage. Even with the light ones I see my entire lip covered with pigment. They’re sheer compared to her lipsticks but have enough color that you can see them on your lips. Application is smooth and perfect with every single color. Color descriptions:

521 Blow Up is a warm beige
522 Love Supreme is a cool rose cream
523 Succexy medium coral peach
524 Passion Flower is a light pink peach (turns pink on my lips)
525 Full Fantasy bright pink
526 Wild Cherry is a deep cherry red
527 Dark Devotion is a mulberry wine
528 Ultra Vixen is a deep wine plum
529 Flesh 3 perfect red brown rose

Also shown in direct sunlight below:

Swatches, first straight from the tube:

Swatches applied with a lip brush:

Lip swatches, done on bare lips, for reference my skintone is MAC Studio Fix NC35. Note Passion Flower turns pink on my lips, I triple checked and triple lip-swatched to make sure I didn’t have any remnants on my lips from other colors mixing in. Also quick note, I take my photos with a flash – depending on your screen the lip swatches may look a tiny bit more glossy below. I’d describe these as having a soft sheen finish.

Individual close ups, I’m having a bad skin week so please excuse the patchy skin, I packed on tons of extra powder and foundation to cover up some scars and skin breakage. All lip swatches are taken indoors but with a flash:

Bottom line perfect. EVERY single one is perfect. Lasting power is better than your average balm, it still won’t last as long as her LuxeTrance or MatteTrance lipsticks, but for a balm I get several hours of wear without fading. Formula is hydrating and really does moisturize the lips nicely. I love the natural sheen these have and also the fact that once you apply they don’t feel like they’ll slide off. I still have some more lip product reviews from other brands that I’m working on including some of the new Tom Ford Boys and Girls, Sisley Le Phyto-Rouge and more, but being the gloss girl that I am, I love these balms. They’re easy to wear, effortless, apply flawlessly and the colors are perfect. I think it’s a little odd Passion Flower turns straight pink on my lips when it looks peach in the tube but I love it regardless.

You can find the Pat McGrath Labs Lip Fetish Sheer Colour Balms online at Pat McGrath for $38 each. Also available in her Lip Fetish Sheer Colour Balm Everything Kit for $275 with 9 colors or three variations of Lip Fetish Sheer Colour Balm Trios for $95 each.

Many thanks to the Pat McGrath team for sending these for review.

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Chanel Lips

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme + Rouge Allure Liquid Powder Review

September 21, 2018

Chanel has brought us quite a few new mini-launches this season. They’ve continued their Le Mat de Chanel launches with a whole collection of lips with new formulas called Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme ($37 each for 3.5 g/0.12 oz, made in France) and Rouge Allure Liquid Powder ($30 each for 9 ml/0.30 fl oz, made in France). I previously reviewed the eyes and cheek products in the Le Mat de Chanel Collection here (I think the Clair Obscur Eyeshadow Quad is a must). Today I’m thrilled to share swatches of all the new lip formulas.

Up first is the Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme which a new intense matte lipstick formula. It comes in 6 shade options and is also encased in a soft matte black finish. These have that click-up magnetic packaging like the Rouge Allures and Rouge Allure Velvets. I tried the Rouge Allure Velvet formula in a number of shades years ago and thought the formula was just ok. The Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme formula completely blew me away though! It’s different in the sense that it has more opaque coverage. They’re creamy and non-drying. The finish is soft and velvety and long-lasting. I wish more colors were available in this formula. They’re completely comfortable on the lips with a very slight scent.

The six colors include:

102 Modern is a nude pink
110 Impressive is a vibrant coral orange
112 Ideal is a deep red
114 Epitome is a blue-based bright bold pink
116 Extreme is a deeper red
118 Eternel is a nude rose

Every single color is perfect. Lasting power is really good. Even though I wear neutrals most of the time I think these bold reds, orange and plums are classics that you can wear for any occasion. I do think Modern and Eternel are really close in color. Eternel has a bit more pink/rose to it, but they’re very similar.

Ingredients, some have slight variations which I’m assuming is the color:

Next are the Rouge Allure Liquid Powders. These are so unique to me! They are a matte cream to powder lip product with a sponge tip applicator. The package base is a squeeze tube. These give the lips a diffused matte blurred tint of color. Almost like a watercolor finish but with a matte feel. The Rouge Allure Liquid Powders have a weightless feel. The color vibe to me is similar to the shades from the Rouge Coco Lip Blush launch, but formula is different.

The lighter shades are sheer on me, but the deeper shades have buildable pigment. Simply squeeze and apply straight from the tube. They layer easily without feeling heavy. Dry down is a soft blurred matte. Once on the lips it feels like you have nothing on. Lasting power is quite good. The deeper shades leave a slight stain on the lips but they wear like a regular lipstick in terms of lasting power and how they fade.

950 Plaisir is a sheer soft coral peach
952 Evocation is a soft rose
954 Radical is a coral orange
956 Invincible is a deep red
958 Volupte is a bright bold cool-pink
960 Avant-Gardiste is a deeper plum

Ingredients:

Overall I think the formulas are excellent and Chanel has launched well-edited color selection for fall. To me these are classic kinds of colors. I would have liked to see a few more neutral options or true plums, but Chanel does have excellent reds and bold pinks. I think they are wearable and suitable for a wide range of skin tones.

I really love the Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme formula. Long-time readers know I’m super picky about matte lips and I think these wear very well. No dry patches or raisin-looking lips with these! Also deeper shades in general can run patchy with the contrast of my natural lip, but every single color in this formula applies smoothly without any issue. Pigment is very very good.

The Rouge Allure Liquid Powder is unique and I think they’re really good. I didn’t know what to expect from it as I haven’t tried a cream to powder product for lips. I think the packaging is well designed. I love it when you can see the color in the outside so you don’t have to guess or take those extra few seconds to look at the bottom label to see what color you are picking up. I’m not sure these will be everyone’s cup of tea – they’re just so different!

Many of you have been e-mailing me about the Les Eaux de Chanel fragrances and the Le Volume Revolution de Chanel Mascara. I just received my order of the mascara and I’m going to test it this weekend. I also did try the perfumes when I saw testers in store as a preview, every single one is amazing. My two favorites are Venise and Biarritz and I will be reviewing all three soon. If you can’t smell in store right now Chanel.com has them available in their complimentary sample selection. I’ve ordered from their website a number of times and they always have samples that they rotate (you can pick two with each order).

Quick update: Here’s a look at two of the mini samples that came with one of my recent orders:

You can find the Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme + Rouge Allure Liquid Powder available out now at Chanel.com.

Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme and Liquid Powder provided for review.

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Lips Sephora

Bite Beauty French Press Lip Gloss Review

September 3, 2018

I picked up two of the Bite Beauty French Press Lip Glosses ($22 each for 15 oz/4.3 g, made in Canada) in Salted Caramel and Dirty Chai and liked the colors so much I decided to buy the remaining four. The French Press Lip Glosses are coffee scented sheer glosses that have a cream finish. The coffee scent is actually pleasant to me, it’s like a soft sweet coffee scent and it’s not overpowering or heavy. After testing these for a few days I feel like this is both a hit and miss at the same time. Colors are really amazing, formula is something I think could be better.

There are six shades total, all coffee-inspired ranging from a light beige to deep brown. Colors include:

Flat White is a pale cool cream pink
Vanilla Latte is a creamy beige
Salted Caramel is a medium pink beige
Dirty Chai is a pink rose
French Press is a medium brown
Black Coffee is a deep brown plum

The texture is smooth and not sticky. It feels comfortable and moderately hydrating on the lips. Color-payoff and finish is where I think this gloss could be improved. Both Flat White and Black Coffee settled into lip lines and looked really patchy. Even with extra blending I found I couldn’t make them look right. Vanilla Latte worked better for me and I found it moderately streaky. I could smooth it out by swiping the sponge applicator back and forth. However after around 15 minutes I found it settled into fine lines on my lips. To fix the streaking issue I had to layer with a lip pencil, which seemed to fix it 100%. I tested these with some MAC Lip Pencils and Laura Mercier Lip Pencils and the final result was much better.

The remaining three colors Salted Caramel, Dirty Chai and French Press have a better formula for me. I found they worked well alone on bare lips, but adding a lip pencil improves the overall look and lasting power.

Lasting power overall is average. It stays put but does fade within a few hours so I did need to reapply. I think there are better options out there including the Amuse Bouche Liquified Lipstick which has better coverage and lasting power, although they are thicker and more opaque. If you need something lightweight Chanel Rouge Coco Glosses are smooth and sheer. I also really like the NARS Velvet Lip Glides and the Pat McGrath LUST Glosses.

Swatch comparisons to MAC Lipglass in C-Thru, NARS Velvet Lip Glides in Stripped and Swing, Bite Amuse Bouche Liquified Lipstick in Caramelized and Whip, Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipsticks in Honeycomb, Molasses, Chai and Verbena:

All this said, if you look at the customer reviews at Sephora, they’re overwhelmingly positive. For me Salted Caramel and Dirty Chai worked the best and I’m happy with those picks. The rest of the colors are so pretty but I found the formula somewhat lacking due to the settling into fine lines and streaky application. I’m willing to make the extra effort to make the other colors work, but with all the options on the market these days I think a formula should be excellent as is without any extra tweaking required.

A few shots in direct sunlight:

Bottom line I’m conflicted about my thoughts. Colors are great, formula could be a lot better. I can make them work with a little lip liner added. I don’t know that I would say it’s worth the extra effort especially with all the other options out there, but I do know many people like these.

Also shown in top photo for those curious: Lipstick Holder from Container Store, Small Mirror by simplehuman, Agave Lip Mask in Champagne, Amuse Bouche Liquified Lipstick in Whip, Byredo Perfume in Blanche.

You can find the Bite Beauty French Press Lip Gloss at Sephora and Bite Beauty. If you’re shopping at Sephora don’t forget today is the last day of their Beauty Insider Appreciation Event! You can use promo code once online, but you can use it in stores an unlimited amount of times. Valid in both US and Canada:

Rouge Members: 20% off with code YESROUGE, valid 8/24 through 9/3
VIB Members: 15% off with code YESVIB, valid 8/30 through 9/3
Beauty Insiders: 10% off with code YESINSIDER, valid 8/30 through 9/3

Have you tried these yet? What did you think?

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Lips Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Lip Sculptor and Lip Lock Priming Balm Review

August 15, 2018

Tom Ford has some new lip products launching this fall and I picked up a few items as soon as I saw them pop up online. Right now the latest includes 20 shades of Lip Sculptor ($46), a Lip Lock Priming Balm ($46) and a Lip Exfoliator ($46). I bought four of the lip sculptor twist-up pencils and the priming balm to try. I also swatched all the shades of the pencils for reference in case you can’t get to a counter.

The Tom Ford Lip Lock Priming Balm is almost identical to the MAC Prep+Prime Lip. I do feel the Tom Ford has a slightly more emollient feel and it also has the signature vanilla Tom Ford lipstick scent. The MAC has been a long-time staple. Anytime someone asks for a lip primer recommendation for something to help smooth the lip without the slip of a lip balm, I recommend the MAC. The Tom Ford Lip Lock Priming Balm is similar in the sense it’s a creamy lip product you apply to bare lips before lipstick to help prevent feathering. I don’t use a primer all the time, but I find it particularly nice with opaque cream lipsticks or mattes. It helps prevent color from sinking into fine lines and also helps smooth the surface. I find with mattes I need a smooth surface without any dry patches or flakes. This balm helps smooth the surface. According to the description, this is paraben-free; sulfate-free; phthalate-free; silicone-free; glycerin-free; sulfite-free; talc-free; PEG-free; peroxide-free; mineral oil-free; BHA-free; BHT-free; alcohol-free; propylene glycol-free; petrolatum-free; formaldehyde-free; ethanolamine-free.

I think the Tom Ford priming balm is excellent and I’m glad I bought it. I think it was worth the splurge but once I use it up I think I’ll stick with my MAC.

The Tom Ford Lip Sculptors are essentially a fancy lip pencil with a brush on one end and a twist up portion on the other. They are packaged with a beveled tip so you can sculpt the lips. Pigment is medium and texture is creamy, smooth, doesn’t tug and has a velvety soft finish. The colors are so good I really wish they were just lipsticks instead of pencils. There is a new Satin Matte Lip Color Lipstick launching later this fall (available for pre-order) which I’m intrigued about. I’m assuming the Lip Sculptors are designed to be coordinated with the new mattes. For now I can wear the Lip Sculptors alone or like a lip liner. I like that when I apply all over the lip it’s almost like a soft matte lipstick.

I picked four colors and they are pretty similar. I must admit I was overwhelmed at the counter. There are 20 shades! I don’t think there’s a single bad color, every option looked beautiful. The reds to me look nearly identical but most reds with any brand of lipstick, pencil or gloss do. The difference is in the undertone. I would have picked up one of the plums, but the price point is steep and I wanted to wait for later launches. Bottom line these are excellent formula and color-wise. I still think they are really overpriced, but I’m happy with my picks.

Colors I bought:

03 Deviate is a perfect nude
05 Slash is a pale pink nude
06 Bait is a warm pink, can be patchy if you have dry spots
14 Crave is a mauve

I like that Slash is pale but not too pale like Spiced Honey Lip Color was on me.

Swatched on bare lips, coverage is buildable to full with layering. Finish has a velvety look, but it’s not dry:

Swatches of all the colors. There is also a clear version which I did not swatch, colors are: 01 Divulge, 02 Invite, 03 Deviate, 04 Extort, 05 Slash, 06 Bait, 07 Conspire, 08 Elicit, 09 Crush, 10 Ensnare, 11 Charge, 12 Exploit, 13 Dominate, 14 Crave, 15 Devour, 16 Succumb, 17 Subvert, 18 Instigate, 19 Manipulate, 20 Electrify

Labeled with names instead of the numbers:

On the nails is Chanel Resplendissant

Swatch comparisons below to a few other neutrals including Laura Mercier Velour Extreme in Vibe, Pat McGrath Permagel Ultra Lip in Bare Rose, Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Iconic Nude, Bobbi Brown Lip Pencil in Beige, Pat McGrath Permagel Ultra Lip Pencil in Buff, Burberry Lip Contour in Medium, MAC Lip Pencil in Whirl and MAC Boldly Bare

At $46 each these are really expensive loves. I’m happy with my picks. I wish the lip pencils were lipsticks and then I could justify buying more of the colors. Color-wise I know red and bold pinks are popular classics but I would have liked to see a few more plum options. Maybe a couple chestnut colors or one peach. Still I think the color lineup is beautiful and I do believe there is something for everyone.

You can find the Tom Ford Lip Sculptor and Lip Lock Priming Balm out now. I bought mine from Nordstrom. Tom Ford Beauty is also available at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora and Beautylish.

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Lips NARS

NARS NARSissist Wanted Velvet Lip Glide Set

August 9, 2018

NARS x Ulta launched another exclusive mini lip set called the NARSissist Wanted Velvet Lip Glide Set ($45 for 3.4 ml / 0.12 oz x 6). As a lover of minis I couldn’t resist picking this up while browsing through Ulta a few weeks ago. This has six small Velvet Lip Glides, two of which were launched earlier this year individually in Swing and Roseland swatched here. The other four shades are exclusive to the set for now.

Inside you have six colors that I think are perfect for everyday wear:

District is a medium peachy pink
Swing is a perfect neutral nude beige
Lure is a warm soft orange
Roseland is a pretty pink rose
Spike is a perfect mauve plum
Vault medium neutral-warm brown

I think every single color is perfect in this set. Loving everything in a set is rare for me but this one equals pure love. I’ve reviewed the Velvet Lip Glide formula before but in case you haven’t tried it, these are medium coverage liquid lip products that have a liquid lipstick feel but lighter in weight and without the matte dry down. There is a soft slight sheen to the finish but it has a more velvety feel. Lip swatches on bare lips below. Lasting power is like a regular lip gloss – you’ll have to reapply every few hours or if you snack.

There have been a number of request for swatch comparisons for Cozumel from the NARS Undressed Liquid Lip Set (reviewed here). I pulled the ones I thought might be similar to that along with ones from this set in attempts to dupe it. From left to right below:

NARS Wanted Velvet Lip Glide Set (Ulta Exclusive)
- District
- Swing (available individually)
- Lure
- Roseland (available individually)
- Spike
- Vault
Velvet Lip Glide Unlaced (reviewed here)
Velvet Lip Glide Suck (was a Nordstrom exclusive reviewed here, now available at NARS)
Full Vinyl Lip Lacuqer in Santo Domingo (reviewed here)
2017’s NARS x Ulta Lip Glide Set with Night Together, Rapture and Californication
Velvet Lip Glide Xenon (reviewed here)
Velvet Lip Glide Bound (swatched here)

One last look:

Bottom line, I think the set is an easy win. The colors are perfect for summer to fall. There is a good range of warm and neutral for me. I love that Spike isn’t too blue in undertone which makes it easy to wear. I don’t mind that there are repeats of Swing and Roseland as those are my favorite colors anyways. Lure does pull a little orangey/warm on me but I think it’s summer appropriate. It’s also a good one I can mix in with pale colors to balance out for my lip/skin tone. For previous NARSissist Wanted reviews:

NARSissist Wanted Eyeshadow Palette reviewed here
NARSissist Wanted Cheek Palettes and Power Pack Lip Duos here

You can find the NARS NARSissist Wanted Velvet Lip Glide Set available at Ulta Beauty and at NARS Cosmetics. I do believe it’s limited-edition. I highly recommend it.

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Lips MAC

MAC Plenty of Pout Plumping Lipstick + Lip Gloss Review

August 1, 2018

MAC launched a limited-edition collection called Plenty of Pout. It has a selection of lipsticks and one lip gloss with plumping ingredients they say are meant to “take lips to their very fullest potential.” MAC describes these has having a full bee-stung look with sheer, creamy colour. These contain a ginger root complex that has a cooling sensation to make lips look volumized upon application. At the same time they have oils to moisturize and smooth. As one with naturally full lips I usually don’t look for pluming lip products (I don’t want them bigger!). Also many tingle lip products are so strong I can’t handle the sting. Still the colors in this launch looked perfect and nothing would stop me from trying them. There are 6 shades of the Plenty of Pout Plumping Lipstick and 1 shade for the Plenty of Pout Plumping Lip Gloss.

The Plenty of Pout Plumping Lipstick that come in a similar tube style to the Huggable Lipsticks (now discontinued), Liptensity Lipsticks and Tendertalk Balms. I personally love this style of lipstick because I feel they’re less prone to breakage, especially with the Florida heat outdoors sometimes can soften the base and make my lipsticks break. These are described as sheer and creamy, but to me they seem to have medium to full coverage. Texture is indeed smooth and creamy with a very slight tingle to me. It feels minty and cool. All the colors and glossy shine are just perfect to me. Since they are so creamy I do need to blot once otherwise it looks like I have too much product on. The colors can probably be duped but the best thing about these is that for me there is no tweaking or mixing required. Colors work for me straight out of the tube and they are moisturizing. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the strongest), I’d rate the tingle at a 7. Your mileage may vary depending on how sensitive your lips are.

Kiss and Cuddle is a creamy light peachy beige
Nicer Than Nice is the perfect baby pink
Smooth Going is a soft coral pinky peach
So Swell is a muted pink brown
Ample Chic is a perfect hot pink
Crazy Lush is a vibrant hot red

Some have a slight hint of shimmer in the tube but they apply like creams on my lips, shimmer isn’t really visible once I have them on.

Swatched on bare lips. For skintone reference I’m wearing the Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Foundation in Buff on the face. MAC Equivalent is NC35 or NC37 for the Studio Fix Fluid Foundation.

There is also a Plenty of Pout Plumping Lip Gloss which is a soft clear light pink. This gave my lips the same amount of pain the Buxom Full-On Lip Polishes and Glamglow Plumprageous Nudes. It comes with a sponge tip applicator which is easy to use however I could not wear this one more than 5 minutes before I HAD to remove it with a bi-phase makeup remover. Another semi-rant is that once you take the applicator out of the tube you see how little product there is! This is the same issue I had with the Charlotte Tilbury Collagen Lip Bath I reviewed a few weeks ago. On the lips the MAC Plenty of Pout gloss is clear. I would not recommend – for me this was 10 out of 10 painful in terms of the sting, but if you can take the tingle and don’t mind how little product there is inside then there’s nothing wrong with going for it!

Both the lipsticks and lip gloss do plump the lips. Not in an overly done way but there is noticeable fullness with both. If you can handle a bit of tingle I think they are worth looking into – especially since the lipstick colors are perfect. If not I’d recommend you opt for the MAC Cremesheen Lipsticks for a similar creamy feel with a bit of shine or the MAC Liptensity Lipsticks if want similar coverage but with a semi matte finish.

You can find the MAC Plenty of Pout Plumping Lipstick and Lip Gloss collection out now. Everything is limited-edition. Available in stores and online at Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, Dillard’s, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s and MAC Cosmetics.

MAC Plenty of Pout collection provided courtesy of MAC for review.

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