NARS Semi Matte Lipstick in Fire Down Below

I honestly don't remember what possessed me to buy this lipstick. I was in Sephora, as I often am when I go to the mall, about--I think--December of 2013? January of 2014? Anyway. I can't be expected to remember. My point is, I was looking for an oxblood red. 

Oxblood red always gets written about in fall fashion articles, and it was such a great color--and I was on a 1920's kick (right after I went through my flapper phase in Summer of 2013), and oxblood was one of the most common lipstick colors at that point in time. In fact, it was one of the only lipstick colors. And you know me--I love a dramatic red, so I think what happened is I went to Sephora in pursuit of one. 

I asked one of the sales assistants if they could think of a good oxblood red, and he pulled this one out of the NARS counter. I'd heard about Jungle Red--everyone who's worth their salt who creeps on beauty blogs has heard of Jungle Red, at one time or another, but I'd never seen this shade. 

Fire Down Below is a great burgundy--which is actually different than the other two burgundy shades I've posted about so far. Like the label suggests, it's semi-matte, so it's half glossy, half dry, and you definitely need to exfoliate your lips before you use this baby, or it clumps a little on your dead skin. Gross, right? Nothing to take the vamp out of vampy lips like dead skin blotches. Morticia would not approve. 

It's scentless, pigmented, but it is a little drying, because semi-matte, but not as drying as some of the other shades I've got that are true matte. It's not uncomfortable to wear, though, by any means. It is dark, so again, this one is a good one to wear with a liner so your cupid's bow doesn't vanish into oblivion. 

I still don't have liner. Maybe I'm just getting better at freehanding it. Probably not. Does anyone out there besides beauty experts use liner? Do I need to invest? Shakespeare never asked such poignant questions. 

I'm a horrible liar. 

English major joke. Fire Down Below, Fahrenheit 451.
Get it? 

Comparison swatches! See, I told you these burgundies were all different.
Top to Bottom: MUFE #9, Aveda Lip Glaze in Mangosteen, Nars Semi-Matte in Fire Down Below

Throwing my best Thorin-with-Dragon-Fever blank stare.

So, the semi-matte means it's kinda shiny, but it still looks a little velvety IRL.

I think this is a great oxblood shade. I like the NARS line, I haven't had much of an opportunity to try more of their lipsticks, yet--they run at about $26, which was (at the time) the most I had ever paid for a lipstick, and I thought it was outrageous. Slippery slope, guys. I'll probably get around to buying more of their products, sometime soon, because that just tends to happen. I walk into Sephora just for fun, I walk out with a new lipstick. It happens every time.

So, what do you think? Has anybody seen the Hobbit pt3 Movie yet? I'll only tell you what I thought after you tell me, because...reasons. 

Also, this shade would totally be Smaug approved. I mean, if Smaug wore lipstick. Am I right?

Bonus: Me, Instagram-filtered, wearing FDB when I was Brunette.
I'd just finished listening to a BBC Dracula radioplay.
This was my Mina Harker face. 

Lipstick Queen Butterfly Ball in Moment

 Howdy, all! How was your weekend? Mine was...basically I spent the majority of it buried under blankets sleeping because I felt kind of awful. But Friday was good! And tonight I'm meant to be attending a showing of the Hobbit. The original plan was to dress as Kili to my friend Kate's Fili, but then I ran out of time finding a dwarf costume (and, I mean, I'm a dyed-blonde, currently, so the costume would have read even better if I was my natural brunette) so I'm improvising and going as genderswapped glam Kili. I'm not even sure if that's a thing, but basically what it means is I ran out of pants so I have to 1) do laundry and 2) wear a skirt and tights. 

Aaaanyway. Today's color is Lipstick Queen Butterfly Ball in Moment. 

I LOVE Lipstick Queen. I love the name, I love their product, I love all of it. Well; maybe not the price points on some of their lipsticks, but nothing is perfect in this world. Except maybe Tom Hiddleston's cheekbones. I think we can all agree that the man's zygoma are above any criticism. 

So this is the first Lipstick Queen shade I bought, mostly because it was $25 instead of some ridiculously more expensive shade, which I would NEVER BUY*cough*. Lipstick Queen's formulations are really quite unique. Most of the lines are all based on hyper-moisturizing ingredients, like Vitamin E, etc (if you really want to know more, go check out their website, because they have videos where this brunette British lady explains what makes their lipsticks so awesome and at first I found her incredibly irritating but she's grown on me), so the pigmentation isn't quite as dark in some of them, and this includes the Butterfly Ball line. The closest thing I could compare it to is the Clinique Almost Lipstick line: it delivers a hint of color, which is totally buildable, and the formula is really comfortable--it feels more like a chapstick than it does a lipstick. Believe me, I've tried enough of both to know the difference.

Anyway. The Butterfly Ball line is color (it comes in about five, six shades?) flecked through with an iridescent turquoise shimmer, which sounds totally weird. Allegedly, the blue is meant to make your teeth look whiter, but to be honest, I don't really care about that. I don't wear lipstick to make my teeth look white. Moment is the reddest of the shades (of course I went for the reddest, are you kidding me?), and it looks much darker in the package than it reads on the lips. On my lips, it reads as this pleasant, glossy cherry (so somewhere in between pink and red) that can be dressed up, dressed down, probably worn with a bold eye, whatever. It's kind of hard to capture, and my iPhone camera and I are in the middle of a grudging truce, so I've managed to get a few decent selfies out of the deal.

Here are the resultant pictures. 

It almost looks purple in the tube! That's because red + turquoise.
Can you see the shimmer in the bottom left? So pretty.

Not sure if you can see the shimmer, but you can probably see my lips are resting weirdly.
Thanks, canker sore.

What do you mean I have a lipstick problem?

OK, so to wrap up: I love this lipstick. It's probably not your best choice if you're hanging out, eating wings or some other greasy food (pizza, maybe? I love pizza), but it's so pretty and etherial and soft, texturewise, colorwise. I like that you can still make a statement with this kind of lip, and oh, does it feel nice on my winter lips compared to most of the matte textures. It's a little pricey, but if you're good dropping $22 on an UD lipstick, or even $18 on a MAC lipstick, it's not that much farther to fall. Ha.

Sad because it's true. 

I never know how to wrap this up. Go buy this lipstick, I guess, if you want? It's real nice. I'm not paid to promote it and I wouldn't lie about something as serious as lipstick. The end. 

Bonus: An instagrammed pic of me from this "trying to take a good selfie" session
Add making creepy baby faces to my long list of impressive accomplishments.

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in F-Bomb

It's hard to blog pictures of your face on days when you can't seem to get any good pictures of your face, isn't it? I don't know what it is, but today my iPhone camera and I are not friends. 

So, of course, since every lipstick I have has a story attached, I suppose I ought to tell you this one. 

This all started when I was at that one beauty store at the mall; I forget what it's called. That one that I go to all the time? S-something. I was helping Sahara pick out a red lipstick, because I think once you have more than 10 lipsticks in your collection, you become known as the Lipstick Guru of Your Circle of Friends. Which is actually a fairly awesome position to be in. 

We ended up at the Urban Decay counter swatching Mrs. Mia Wallace from the limited edition Pulp Fiction collection, which is the one that Sahara ultimately chose. I was looking for blush, because I'd gotten tired of using cream blush from Josie Maran and wanted to try a blue-toned pink, so unfortunately I couldn't also pick up that shade. But boy, did I want it. 

Fast forward a week or so to the night before my friend Carlie's birthday. Carlie and I decided to go hang out at the mall, because I wanted to go burn some more of my paycheck buying Mrs. Mia Wallace at that one store and also buy her a present, if I could. 

Well, when we got there, the limited part of limited edition had taken effect. Mrs. Mia Wallace had sold out, gone forever, and so on. 

So I promptly started looking through the UD lipsticks to find the next best thing. I have to admit, the name sold me on this one. I took one look at the bottom of the tube and cracked up. One of the best names for a true red lipstick, possibly ever. It's half historical joke, half dirty joke, half profane. I know what you're thinking--Wait; that's wrong, three halves? Nope. This lipstick is actually just that awesome. It's not as blood-toned as MMW, but it's sure gorgeous. This is my current go-to Agent Peggy Carter red. 

Matte red lipsticks are great. I own a few. But I like this one because it's not matte. It's glossy, but not sticky. It's creamy, which means that it's less drying than some of the other reds I own that are matte. It's super pigmented (seriously, do I own anything that's not pigmented? I have great taste), unscented, and the wear is good. The only conundrum is, how do you eat and not end up eating your lipstick? Sahara brought this up the other night when we were at dinner. Unfortunately, the only solution I had for her was wear lip stains instead of lipsticks on nights when you're going to be doing a lot of eating and drinking and you don't want to keep reapplying. 

IDK, I feel like there must be a better answer to "how to eat with lipstick on" besides "buy stains or don't eat." 

Red lipstick is my truest friend. Sorry, Kate, Sahara, Sky, and Tay. 

New angles! Gettin' all kinds of crazy up in here

I almost didn't post any pics of my face because I really don't like my face today.
Or my phone camera doesn't. One of the two.

Even though my face in pictures is making me weirdly self conscious today, I still LOVE red lipstick. And this red, in particular. I like it because it's probably the nicest true red I've ever had on my lips, without being obscenely fire-truck-like. It doesn't look cheap, probably because it's not--UD lipsticks run at about $22, so; mid-level expensive depending on what you're used to.

To me, red lipstick is about feeling confident and powerful and sexy. All my golden-age Hollywood icons seriously rock(ed) a red lip, and even though they were flawed, they knew what was what and they were brave. Every time I wear a red lip, now, besides getting super stoked about wearing red lipstick and how awesome that is, I think about them; how if they could face their demons and do amazing things, I can, too. And that's why I won't ever be found without a tube of red lipstick in my bag, or in my pocket. Red lipstick is so integral to my look and to my personality, and no man is ever gonna convince me to give it up because he hates lipstick kisses. It's all or nothing. 

That's all. 

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Smitten

I know, you're all devastated I missed a day yesterday. I have a good reason. I had to go visit an esthetician (more on that, later). So I'm writing this even though I had a long day asking people about what they think could improve the public transit system. Just because I love you. 

I heard about the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains on (where else) XOVain from (who else) Alle. Alle has a very similar coloring to me (with, granted, way better cheekbones) and she raved about the Revlon Balm Stains, specifically the shades Smitten and Lovesick. 

My philosophy is very nearly "buy everything Alle buys and do what she does" because she is much better at makeup than me and is my guru. She taught me how to do a cat-eye, for Thor's sake. 

I owe her so much. 

So I went to my nearest Target, and grabbed those two shades, even though bright pink lipsticks intimidated me (nothing intimidates me now, ha). I ended up really liking both of these. They brighten up my face, and they don't cost much ($9.00? Under $10 for sure). 

Smitten is a semi-bright blue toned-pink (Alle describes it as wine-y in one of her posts, I definitely see it as not at all wine-y on me). It is a very Honey Lemon lip color, IMO. It's definitely more subdued than Lovesick. 

The wear is good, the texture is good. These things are a cult drugstore fave for a reason. There's a slight smell, light slightly toothpaste-y, but only if you really stick it right next to your nose, and it dissipates quickly. 

I would definitely recommend these. Under $10 lipsticks are always great to have on hand, and I really do like the colors when I want to vary from my Signature Red Lip. 

Pictures! 

Package and lip shot. Bonus.

You get to see my lips and awesome necklace. Right? 

I've been practicing my RBF.
With great results.

Showing off the cat-eye I drew in honor of Alle. 

Are you convinced to check out these balm stains? Personally, I think Revlon is definitely the best drugstore beauty brand for lipsticks, in terms of pigmentation and quality and staying power. What do you think/what are your favorite brands? I need to know. For...reasons.

Aveda Lip Glaze in Mangosteen

I don't need to repeat the fact that I have a problem. It's fairly obvious that I do. So I'll just give a brief intro to this lip color.

Ahem. First, how was everyone's weekend? I'm thinking I'm going to refrain from publishing a post on the weekends. Gives me a few days to slack and be lazy and not wear makeup. I was actually considering just doing posts T-W-TH-F but because I love you all, I'll do one Monday, too. Something for you to read while at your desk, blah blah blah.

Right. Lipstick.

Aveda apparently does limited edition lip glazes every year, and this is their fall/winter color. It's probably the darkest lip color I own, outside of the lip stain. From a distance, in the right light, my lips look almost black. The perks of being fair skinned, I guess.

Didn't I mention the shade? Silly of me. It's Mangosteen, and I'm really, incredibly bummed that this baby is limited edition. Incidentally, it fits perfectly in with Pantone's Color of The Year 2015 (marsala, in case you're too lazy to click on the link. It's marsala).

I've had a couple of these lip glazes before. They're really nice, obviously--although if you're not a gloss person because you hate stick, you should probably avoid this. Although, it's much less sticky than some glosses I've had on my lips, it is still a gloss. Er, glaze. My previous shades were both stunningly bright (one was pink, one was cherry-coral and POW IN YOUR FACE). So this is the darkest thing I've purchased from them, and I definitely love it. It's classy, can easily be dressed up or down, has a nice light minty smell/taste (not that I recommend licking your lips while wearing this color just to taste it).

Lip Glazes run at about $18, and this one isn't an exception, so depending on your budget, this is either about what you normally pay for lipstick (shout out to my MAC addict friends) or kind of expensive (shout out to all my college student friends and, me, really). But I'd say, if you pick up one Lip Glaze from Aveda, it should be this one.

PICTURES NOW.

Arr, what light through yonder window...
I know, I know. 

Hello, Sweetie. 

Prettyshiny color

Do I look whimsical and charming?

I don't know, but I'm pretty sure this shade would look good on nearly anyone. Obviously it won't have the staying power of the stain, but if you love reddish-brown lips, dramatic lips, or limited edition things, you should def check this baby out before they take it away from us forever.

Taking Pictures is hard: part 3

MUFE Aqua Rouge Lip Colour #9 (Burgundy)

Soooo I was feeling really lazy yesterday, and seriously considering just leaving my face bare. But then thanks to a text conversation between me and my friends and favorite power couple Skylar and Taylor, I put on my makeup and lipstick and took some pictures. 

This is basically the twin post to my last post about MUFE #15. This is a different color. Mostly because my friend Taylor said, "you said it came in darker colors? I want to see it in darker colors," and I was like, "oh, just wait, that's coming." And then Sky said, "I want to see it NOW."

I'm not quoting verbatim. I could--my phone's next to my elbow, but I don't think anyone involved in the conversation minds paraphrasing. 

Anyway, that was about all the arm-twisting I could handle, so you have Sky and Tay to thank for this post. And you can go ahead and be jealous that they got a sneak peak. 

Now. MUFE #9 I bought right after #15. It didn't take me long to realize that this stuff is golden, so I of course had to go back to get another color. I took my best friend Sahara with me to Sephora (I really should be getting a commission from Sephora, for how much I shop there) and swatched the rest of the available colors on the back of my hand, which caused Sahara to say that I looked like I had a weird leopard-print based disease. She wasn't wrong. 

It was between this one and #10, which is a pretty awesome pinky-raspberry that is of course on my wish list. But I couldn't resist the statement dark burgundy. Especially since I was brunette at the time that I bought this. Now that I'm blonde, it gives me a little bit more of a witchy Charlize Theron in that Snow White movie that no one actually liked except for the parts she was in. Which I'm okay with, since that's what Sky and Tay accuse me of being frequently. 

They're sweet for saying I suck beauty out of village maidens. 

Picture time! 

I knew all these journals would come in handy.

This one might be one that it would be good to have a liner with. Because it's so dark, it's less forgiving around the lines of your mouth than the pink, so unless you have a steady hand, your cupid's bow might come out a little wobbly--as you can see below.

Are my mouth shots getting any better? 

Throwing my best Evil Queen shade 

So I put all this on and then went out to dinner with Sahara (this story sure features heavily around the same three friends, doesn't it?) and it was a good thing I did put on makeup because she looked AMAZING. She always does, though. And, because I love my readers, I did take a picture after eating a whole plate of fries, cheese curds and gravy. Poutine 5ever (speaking of which, why is 5ever making a comeback on the internet? It's such a weird place). Here's the result.

The wear on this stuff. It's amazing. 

So that's the current entirety of my MUFE collection. Two shades, but each seriously lovely. I really think this line has something for every color palate preference. I love how dramatic this lip is on me, because normally I don't go this dark (I tend to hover in the true-red, blue-red territory) but then it's always good to try looks that you normally wouldn't. After all, if you consider makeup to be art or self-expression, which I do, then playing with colors or textures counts as finding new ways to express.

Taking Pictures is Hard: Part 2

Make Up Forever Aqua Rouge Lip Colour #15 (True Pink)

Once upon a time, I was in a play this last summer. I was playing one of two female leads in Two Gentlemen of Verona, and I had been discussing my character's look with my friend Ivy, who was also our Assistant Director. Coincidentally, we were also at the mall, at Sephora (where else) and she said, 

"I see Silvia as more of like a Grace Kelly. Very polished, subdued makeup. Maybe a pink lip."

I groaned internally. Pink lipstick? YAWN. Red was much more my jam, like Marilyn or Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger. 

Wearing pink lipstick, you might as well not wear lipstick at all, right? At least, that's what I thought. 

We continued browsing shelves, and stopped at the Make Up Forever wall. 

"Look at this stuff," Ivy said, grabbing an oblong tube. "This stuff is legit. It NEVER. COMES. OFF. Not even when you kiss people." 

Well, that caught my attention. Two of my exes always straight-up refused to kiss me when I was wearing lipstick because--I don't know, I guess people would think they were less manly if they had lipstick smudged over their mouths? 

I know. Ugh. Sometimes, things that happen in relationships defy logic. 

In any case, I wasn't sure whether or not I'd end up kissing someone in the play (I was a romantic lead) so I decided a stain that wouldn't budge would be a good investment. Because I am dedicated to my art. So I picked up #15, which is a true pink that seemed very ladylike and classy. And I ended up liking it. Turns out, pink can look pretty vintage and sexy. Red is still my absolute favorite, but picking this little tube up expanded my horizons. 

The play didn't end up going off (it's complicated), but you know what? The lipstick stayed on (Terrible pun, I know).

Make Up Forever (or, as it shall henceforth be known, MUFE for short) Aqua Rouge lip stains live up to the hype. I'm serious. They do not move for love or money, and speaking of money--obvious segue--they cost $24. So, not cheap, but definitely worth it. I've eaten hot wings with it on, kissed people's faces with it on, imbibed endless glasses of water. It really doesn't ever move. It also comes in quite a wide variety of shades (from pinks to reds to much, much darker colors) and I also have it in another color, but that is another story for another day. 

Packaging! 

Still getting the hang of the close-up mouth shot. 

I decided to line my eyes with blue eyshadow, so of course I had to go with the neutral pink lip.

And, for science, here's a pic of it after five hours at work, lots of drinks of water, and some snacks. Unfortunately I was not able to take a picture of it after eating about 11 wings. But it was still there. Trust me.

I'll perfect my technique, I swear!

I truly love this formula, and I can see why so many people sing its praises. 

Should you buy this stuff? Well, you should definitely buy this stuff if for some reason your S.O. is sensitive about lipstick kisses and you aren't willing to give up lipstick (but really, just wear your damn lipstick if it makes you happy. Whoever your S.O. is, if they're worth keeping around, they can deal). You should buy it if you like not having to reapply lipstick after eating or drinking, or if you act frequently and don't want to leave smudges on your scene partner. Or, you could just buy it because it's awesome.

But, in the immortal words of Levar Burton on Reading Rainbow, you don't have to take my word for it.

Bonus: Taking Pictures is Hard. 

Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Napa Vinyard

I feel like the most amateur of all amateurs today, starting this. But here goes!

I picked up Napa Vineyard after reading this article on XOVain. Red-toned berry? The first way to get my attention in an article about lipstick is to tell me it's awesomely red-toned. Even better if something costs less than $10, and Napa Vineyard costs $9.

It's an incredibly good value for the price. It's a nice, thick pencil, so it's easy to control where color goes on your mouth (which is great for creating a defined cupid's bow if you hate/can't afford lip liner to match all of your favorite colors, which I do sometimes and also can't) and the color is very nicely pigmented. I love it when I come across a drugstore brand that really delivers in color as impressively as department store brands. On me, this comes across as strongly red (with a bit of a blue-tone) and less berry, but that may be because my lips are quite pale naturally (I'm pretty pale), so usually, what I see in the tube is basically what I get.

A plus, the tip is controlled by the twisty mechanism (technical term, of course) on the bottom, which I infinitely prefer to having to sharpen the crayon. I'm not sure; maybe I'm the laziest, ok? I just think it's a waste of materials and of pigment to have to sharpen something. It probably won't stop me from eventually purchasing NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl someday.

OK. Enough jabber. Pictures.

See what I mean about it being super pigmented?

Swatched on paper. 

The nice thing about this color is it wears very well. I wore it for five hours straight yesterday at work talking to people who hate all democrats without exception about politics (which was unpleasant but not surprising) and I only reapplied it once about halfway in. At that point, it was a little worn down (mashing your lips together in determined silence can do that) but it was still pretty vibrant. The stain is rather pretty, kind of like the phenomenon I'm told is called "red wine mouth." Since I've not had enough (or any) red wine,  I can't say with a hundred percent certainty, but--it's still pretty and not in the littlest bit offensive. 

It is a matte finish, so if you don't prep your lips accordingly--moisturize and exfoliate, yo--the color will wear off clumpy on dead skin (which is really the dead skin's fault, not the color's). I haven't yet tried to put this on over a chapstick, which I find makes colors more slippery--maybe I just need to cave and invest in some lip liner. Sigh. 

Anyway. I give this lip crayon my hearty recommendation. The price point is fabulous, the color is glorious, the wear is great for a crayon. The only thing that threw me is the smell--it's unscented, which is a plus, but it does have a slightly waxy, earthy smell--no surprise, since it's all natural or something, and I don't mind it at all, but some might find it strange. Not off-putting, necessarily. It's no more offensive than the smell of regular lipstick. 

And that concludes the first review! What did you all think? What can I do better for next time (which will probably be Friday, I'm going to shoot for every other day so I can allow for days when I really just don't want to put makeup on) ? Would you like close-up shots of my mouth? Arm swatches? Shots of the packaging? These are all things I've seen bloggers who are way more pro at this game do, and I'm certainly open to suggestions. 

I have...we'll call it a problem.

I can't remember a time when I wasn't obsessed with lipstick.

Literally. I remember wishing as a toddler that somehow I would acquire Disney-princess perfect lips. I remember buying Bonnie Bell Lip Smackers (hey, fellow 90's kids!) and being disappointed when they weren't pigmented enough to make a va-va-voom red lip.

Now, however, I am a twentysomething responsible adult (ha, ha, adult) and the world of lipstick has become accessible to me. I remember buying my very first grownup red (MAC's Russian Red), swiping it on, and thinking Oh, Yeah. This is what it's about. 

However, because I can't feasibly own as many lipsticks as I do and not make some sort of project out of it, I've decided it's time to take my perfectly normal obsession and document it. This isn't gonna be a hugely complicated makeup blog a la XOvain. Despite my weird obsession with makeup, I really only know the basics (sometimes not even those, ha) and how to rock a statement lip. I may eventually experiment with more looks, but for right now, this is a lipstick blog. Shot with my iPhone. Super amateur, especially when compared to most makeup blogs, but this one is mine own, so I'm gonna jam with what I've got. Hence, the title.

And, for reference: this is what I've got, give or take.

Blurry photo c/o Instagram

All of you aficionados (if, in fact, there are any of you reading this humble blog) will recognize a lot of these shades, and I'm gonna start with photographing these because there's no practical sense in running out and buying ten new lipsticks for this blog. Even though I really, really want to.

Which brings me to dilemma #1. I have, as you can see, 3 empty spaces in this lovely organizer that I brought from the container store. I need them to be filled. Not just because I want lipstick--ahem--but for my sanity's sake. I can't look at this. It's like looking at my mouth and seeing missing teeth. It feels so..sad. I need some suggestions for lipstick shades. I'm thinking Lipstick Queen Let Them Eat Cake is a definite candidate...it'll be the most expensive lipstick I've ever purchased, to date, if I do get it, but hey--I get a once-in-a-lifetime splurge, right? It's Christmas, after all. 

(I know it's a thin excuse and I feel like a guilty consumer here but have you seen Let Them Eat Cake? It's perfect). 

OK. Well, swatches start tomorrow! Beginning with the Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Napa Vineyard. I'm super nervous about this, but...here goes!