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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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Lips

Top 5 Favorite Neutral Lipsticks

July 29, 2018

I’m a neutral lip lover and in honor of National Lipstick Day I’ve narrowed down all my favorites to my top 5 neutrals. This includes lipstick only – I’m still a lip gloss and tinted balm lover at heart, but for lipsticks these are my favorites of the moment. I broke out my backups of these for today’s post. Each of these colors I’ve already gone through at least 1 full tube – this is how I narrowed down my picks for my top 5. If I have used them up and repurchased it must be good because it usually takes me forever to use anything up. On the nails in the top photo is OPI Samoan Sand (with three coats).

Tom Ford Lips and Boys in Bradley is probably my most-worn nude since it launched, lip swatches here and compared to the Girls here
Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in Pillow Talk is the best my lips but better neutral pink, on the lips here
Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist #11 Litchi is the prettiest soft peachy nude, it was such a splurge but 100% worth it (never swatched it on the blog, but will be swatching more of this formula soon)
MAC Matte Lipstick in Yash is a great matte neutral nude, I can’t find lip swatches of this one on the blog but I do have it arm swatched here, also love Patisserie, Touch, Velvet Teddy and Mehr
Pat McGrath LuxeTrance in Sextrology is an easy to wear baby pink that doesn’t wash out my tan complexion, lip swatches here

I’ve also included a few more runner ups and I’ve linked previous lip swatches for each color below. These are some neutrals I love for their texture, lasting power, creamy feel and color. There’s one matte which is the Laura Mercier color below – I add balm to it because the formula can pull a bit dry but the color is perfect.

Lip reviews + swatches linked below:

What are your best neutrals for lipsticks?

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Lips NARS

NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer Review + Swatches

June 25, 2018

New lips just launched from NARS in a few different formulas and today I’ve swatches of all the new NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer ($26 each for 0.17 oz/5.5 ml, currently available at NARS and Barneys New York). There are 10 shades in this formula and 1 special-edition color Orgasm (reviewed here). In addition there are 5 new colors of the Velvet Lip Glide (reviewed here) and 5 new shades of the Powermatte Lip Pigment (to be reviewed soon). The NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer is an opaque, rich color, full coverage gloss with a high shine. They come with a flat applicator with a sponge tip on one side and plastic portion on the other. One will dispense a lot of color while the other blends it out more. There are 10 shades total, 6 creams and 4 sparkles. I believe there are hits and misses with this launch formula-wise.

Most of the colors have a beautiful smooth application. There are some however that apply streaky on bare lips and settle into fine lines. Color descriptions and thoughts on which ones are the best below. First a look at the shades and swatches.

Shown above from left to right:

Santo Domingo is a medium to light muted dusty pink, it settles into fine lines at first but once you let it set on the lips, it smooths out
Conquest is a perfect medium bright warm pink
Valencia is a bright coral hot pink, this also settled into my lip lines
Red District is the best cream formula, it’s a perfect bright red, smooth, opaque, glossy
Mississippi is a sheer mauve plum, it takes a few layers but applies smoothly
Baden Baden is a gorgeous deep plum, but alone it was streaky, I’d recommend applying it over a matte lip pencil
Abruzzo is a high sparkle metallic wine plum with gold and silver flecks, I thought this would be too glitzy but this is a truly stunning color, smooth coverage and no texture
Everglades is one of the scariest lip colors I’ve seen, having actually driven through the Everglades a couple times I’d say this color evokes the same feelings I had driving through alligator territory (they are probably the most frightening living creatures I’ve ever seen)
At First Sight is a sheer sparkling white silvery gold, it’s pretty sheer, almost transparent but has the prettiest sheen
Cape Town is an iridescent duochrome orange, pink loaded with multi-color sparkles, it’s very metallic but smooth

Overall the shimmers performed better on my lips formula-wise. I would say the cream colors Valencia and Baden Baden are the higher maintenance ones for me as the color settled into fine lines if I applied these on bare lips.

Close up lip swatches on bare lips. For skintone reference I’m wearing the MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC37, Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Concealer in 3w1 (reviewed here) and Armani Luminous Silk Powder Foundation #4 on top to set.

All the lip swatches side by side:

Overall some beautiful colors and lovely formulas (patchy colors aside). There isn’t really any detectable scent to these. Lasting power is pretty good, they are thicker than the Velvet Lip Glides due to the high shine so they adhere better to the lips. Lasting power is pretty good, not as good as their Powermatte Lip Pigments, but for a gloss they stayed put until I snacked. My favorites are Santo Domingo, Red District, Abruzzo and At First Sight. Compared to other lip glosses these are among the most full coverage that I’ve tried. Ones like the Pat McGrath LUST Glosses or Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss are a lot sheerer. Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Glosses are probably the most similar (but hers are thicker), Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Liquid is also thicker with a more lipstick feel.

You can find the NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer now at NARS and Barneys New York. Starting July you will also be able to find them at other NARS retailers like Sephora and Nordstrom. Have you tried these yet? What did you think?

NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer provided courtesy of NARS for review.

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Lips Marc Jacobs Beauty

Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hydrating Lip Gloss Stick

June 15, 2018

Marc Jacobs Beauty launched new lip glosses in stick form called the Enamored Hydrating Lip Gloss Stick ($28 each for 2.1 g/0.074 oz). I’ve been such a huge fan of the Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquers I was eager to try the new formula. I ordered five sight unseen. I picked the neutrals which turned out to be a lot lighter in color than I anticipated but still lovely. My picks:

Sugar Sugar – sheer nude cream
P(r)each – sheer soft peach
One Mauve Time – perfect mauve
Sweet Escape – baby pink
Mocha Choco-Lata – perfect nude beige

These are emollient sheer smooth gloss sticks. They have a very shiny finish and moisturizing feel. Lasting power is medium – they won’t disappear quickly but they aren’t budge-proof. The gloss sticks have a melt-on texture. Packaging is slightly longer than the Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquers but similar in style. The Enamored Hydrating Lip Gloss Stick has a removable pull off cap and the product comes in a twist-up tube that clicks with each twist. The only downside is you can only twist up, you can’t twist back down. The good thing is each click will only push a small amount of color up.

The two lightest shades Sugar Sugar and P(r)each were patchy with the first application, once you have it warmed up a little it smooths out. Close ups of each color below with lip swatches.

Mocha Choco-lata!

Sweet Escape

One Mauve Time

P(r)each

Sugar Sugar

All side by side:

For quick reference my MAC foundation shade right now is the Studio Fix Fluid in NC37. Lip swatches as always done on bare lips.

If you want something light and glossy these are great. I think the color selection is a lot more wearable for me compared to the Le Marc Liquid Lip Crayons. The glossy texture feels similar to me although the crayons are full coverage while these new gloss sticks are a lot sheerer. I’d say if you like the feel of the YSL Volupte Tint in Balms or Chanel Rouge Coco Shines you will most likely really like the Marc Jacobs Enamored Lip Gloss Sticks. In terms of glossy lips though my favorite product this season are still the Pat McGrath LUST Glosses although the formula is completely different and also in liquid form.

They are sheer so depending on how much color you want these might be too sheer if you prefer a lot of pigment. I give them a thumbs up – although I do wish the packaging would click up and down. The only shade I think is iffy is Sugar Sugar – this is mainly because I find pale colors challenging to wear in general. If you see the last photo of my natural lip you’ll see that there is going to be a contrast between pale colors and my lip. This is why you’ll often see a dark ring around the outer edge if the product is slightly sheer or transparent. It’s my natural lip color showing through. Since I have full lips if I cover it entirely with product it makes them look EXTRA huge.

Based on how light and sheer these colors are I was tempted to order the other three shades which are deeper/brighter. I have not seen them at stores near me yet but have decided to pass for now. My top two picks are Mocha Choco-lata! and One Mauve Time.

You can find the Marc Jacobs Enamored Hydrating Lip Gloss Sticks at Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Net-a-Porter and Marc Jacobs Beauty. Have you tried these yet? What did you think?

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Lips Sisley-Paris

Sisley-Paris Phyto-Touche Sun Glow Bronzing Gel Powder + Phyto-Lip Delight Review

June 13, 2018

I have a few different products to review from Sisley for you today. One is the Phyto-Touche Sun Glow Bronzing Gel Powder which I’ve had my eye on for a while and the other is a new product for lips called the Phyto-Lip Delight. To me both are perfect for the upcoming summer season.

The Phyto-Touche Sun Glow Bronzing Gel Powder isn’t new but it is new to me. It’s been on my wishlist for months and I finally caved and bought it. It’s a unique formula that’s a bronzing gel powder, similar in concept to the NARS Dual Intensity Blushes where it’s a powder but not quite like a traditional powder. The one from Sisley is a warm bronze. It’s dense in formula and can be applied sheer for a soft wash of bronze. If you need more color you can use a dense brush for more color. It’s probably the most expensive bronzer I’ve ever splurged on. It was worth it for me but I still think the price point is very very steep.

Swatches, heavy vs. blended:

Swatch comparisons:

Becca Sunlit Bronzer in Bali Sands (swatches here)
Sisley Phyto-Touche Trio in Peche Dore
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Radiant Bronze Light and Nude Bronze Light (review here)
Chanel Les Beiges 2018 Multi Color in Deep (review here)

Quick note that if you need a truly natural looking bronzer I’d still recommend the Becca Sunlit Bronzers. The Sisley Phyto-Touche Trio is also very natural looking, especially on lighter skin tones. The Chanel Les Beiges multi-stripe bronzers this year are also very natural.

Up next are the new Phyto-Lip Delights which are tinted gel-balms that transform into oils upon contact with the lips. They are sheer tinted oils but have enough pigment that you can see the color if you layer them a little. There are three perfect everyday neutrals in #1 Cool which is a nude beige, #2 Pretty which is a perfect pink and #3 Sweet which is a peachy coral. There is no shimmer to them to me they aren’t scented although they do have a subtle makeup scent. The finish is transparent and light for a soft tint. They plump and nourish the lips. You can wear them alone, under a gloss for more moisture or on top of a lipstick for added shine. The Phyto-Lip Delights have a nice comfortable feel that isn’t heavy or sticky. Right now they are available online at Sisley-Paris, they should trickle out to counters later in the summer. Circle straw bag shown from J.Crew. Sandals shown also from J.Crew.

Swatches:

On bare lips with around two to three layers:

Swatch comparisons below to some other colors. They’re really quite unique compared to others I thought they’d look like off the top of my head. Turns out the Sisley Lip Oils aren’t quite the same color-wise:

Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Bare Naked
MAC Lipglass in Fashion Punch
Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist in #11 Litchi
Cle de Peau Radiant Lip Gloss in Warm Crystal (review here)
Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist in #2 Baby (review here)
Cle de Peau Radiant Lip Gloss in Rose Pearl (review here)
YSL Volupte Color Balms 2, 4 and 3 (reviewed here)
Marc Jacobs Lip Gloss in Rah Rah! (swatched here)

All three applied below with different cheek combinations:

Foundation worn is the La Prairie Skin Caviar Essence in Foundation in Honey Beige
Powder is the Armani Luminous Silk Powder #4
Eyeshadow is Sisley Phyto-Eye Twist #1 Topaz (reviewed here)
Top left lip/cheek is the Phyto-Lip Delight in #1 Cool, Phyto-Blush Twist #4 Glow (reviewed here), soft wash of the Phyto-Touche Sun Glow Bronzer on cheeks
Top right lip/cheek is Phyto-Lip Delight in #2 Pretty, Phyto-Blush Twist #1 Petal and 3 Fuschia mixed (review here)
Bottom lip/cheek is Phyto-Lip Delight in #3 Sweet + Phyto-Touche Sun Glow Bronzer on cheeks

Ingredients:

Bottom line my love for Sisley-Paris makeup continues. I’m a huge fan of the Phyto-Lip Twists (Baby is my favorite shade) and the new Phyto-Lip Delights are no exception. They are quite expensive but in my experience their products have been worth the splurge for me. I was fortunate to get an early sneak preview of the Lip Delights but have purchased a number of things from the brand. My top two tips are to 1) sign up for their Beauty Subscription Program to get a monthly sampling. I reviewed 6 months’s worth of boxes here and it is the only subscription program I’ve kept. 2) Make a list and save purchases for GWPs. The Sisley-Paris website often has promos running on a regular basis. I also like the Beauty GWPs you can find at Nordstrom.

The bronzer is a gorgeous addition for me but I do own a wide range of other bronzing powders so I cannot call it a must-have. I do think I will be getting regular wear out of it this summer though.

You can find the Phyto-Lip Delights available now at Sisley-Paris.com. The bronzer can be found at all Sisley counters. I bought mine from Nordstrom.

Phyto-Lip Delights provided courtesy of Sisley for review. Bronzer purchased by me.

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Becca Lips

Becca Glow Lip Gloss Review + Swatches

May 16, 2018

My lip gloss loving self is overjoyed these days because gloss seems to be back! Becca launched a new Glow Lip Gloss ($22 for 0.18 oz/5 g) in ten colors. They’re a conditioning lip gloss that has the coverage of a natural medium-pigmented lipstick with a soft shine but cream finish. If you like a gloss that doesn’t have a super high shine but more of a natural shine these are the glosses for you.

The Becca Glow Lip Glosses have a soft mint scent and apply very smoothly on the lips. There’s enough density so they won’t slide off the lips like other glosses but they aren’t super thick and they feel comfortable on. Becca says they have 3D light reflecting pigments and ginger + peppermint oil. The colors were inspired by their best selling Shimmering Skin Perfector Highlighters and Luminous Blush shades so you can match your lip and cheek color.

Every single color is perfect. Pigment is natural but rich enough to cover the whole lip. There are lighter nudes in the collection that are wearable and do not wash my complexion out (yay!). All the shades are nice for everyday and there are a few bolder shades that can give a more dramatic look for something more fun. The packaging and design is the same as the Liquid Crystal Glow Glosses from last year, but the Glow Lip Gloss colors are a lot more wearable.

The product comes with an angled sponge tip applicator with a point for precise application. Colors descriptions and swatches below:

Rose Quartz is a soft cool light pink shimmer
Camellia is a cool-toned bright pink
Snapdragon is a medium coral pink
Opal is a nude opal pink shimmer
Foxglove is a perfect berry mauve
Champagne Creme is a shimmering gold
Tigerlily is a coral peach shimmer
Rose Gold is a neutral tan beige
Chocolate Geode is a chocolate sparkle
Dahlia is a plum (plums always look more red on my lips)

Close ups of each shade, let me know if you want me to keep doing these larger lip swatches or if you prefer the side by side better. Rose Quartz:

Camellia:

Snapdragon:

Opal:

Foxglove:

Champagne Creme:

Tigerlily:

Rose Gold:

Chocolate Geode:

Dahlia:

Swatches of the gloss next to the corresponding Shimmering Skin Perfector (also reviewed here) or Luminous Blush (review here).

I cannot pick a favorite, every single color is perfect. I do find myself drawn to Opal, Foxglove, Snapdragon and Tigerlily though. A full look wearing the Becca Glow Lip Gloss + Shimmering Skin Perfector pressed in Opal:

Foundation: La Prairie Skin Caviar Foundation + Concealer in Satin Nude (review here)
Powder: Armani Luminous Silk Powder Foundation in #4
Cheeks: Becca Sunlit Bronzer in Bronzed Bondi (swatches of all the colors here)
Highlighter: Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal (review + swatch comparisons here)
Eyeshadow: Pat McGrath MTHRSHP Eyeshadow Palette in Platinum Bronze (review here)
Brow: Hourglass Arch Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel in Soft Brunette
Lips: Becca Glow Lip Gloss in Opal
Top: Tie Front Tank by 1.STATE

Bottom line lots to love. The color is perfect, pigment is smooth and flawless, texture is comfortable. Lasting power is average for a gloss but with these I don’t mind reapplying. Moisturizing properties are medium – on the lips they feel good and the formula did not dry out my lips or make them peel the next day, but they aren’t as hydrating as a lip balm. I think these are perfect year round but the colors have that fresh spring to summer vibe that adds life to the face without overdoing the color.

You can find the Becca Glow Lip Gloss out now, available at Becca Cosmetics, Nordstrom, Sephora and Ulta Beauty.

Becca glosses provided courtesy of Becca Cosmetics for review.

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