A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Leila’s never been much of a runner. While most small children tear around, barely pausing for breath, Leila plods. She’s a plodder… slow and steady wins the race and all that. The thing is though, I worry that she will be left behind (literally) when she starts school next week. All the other children will be swinging from the monkey bars, tearing up the playing fields and Leila… well, Leila will be taking the slower, more reserved approach to playground antics.

I’ve been taking Leila to the playground A LOT recently and trying to teach her how to climb things. Obviously this isn’t something I want to do in full view of other parents so we’ve been going just before bedtime. Above all else, it’s taught me that she gets her lack of athletic ability from me. Having said that, we’re nearly there with “how to make the swing move without Mummy pushing it” and “how to navigate a Jungle Gym so that you can climb down a ladder without screaming for help”.

What can I say? As a baby she didn’t crawl or bum-shuffle either.

Anyway, what does this have to do with red-lipped readers? Well, not a lot really but all this outdoorsy stuff has ensured that I’m well aware of how quickly the seasons are a-changing. Formations of geese flying overhead are an almost nightly occurence, noisy things… and let me tell you, something tells me they’re heading South. I’m lamenting the darker evenings that are already drawing in but I am getting a wee bit excited about chunky knits and red lips.

So much so, that I thought it might be high time for a little more red-lipped reader inspiration…

1. Ami from Tall Shopaholic is looking berry-licious in this glossy number from Body Shop’s soon-to-be-discontinued Colour Glide line.  The shade, should you want to acquire it before it’s too late, is #22 Garnet.

2. Solangel ensures that the temperatures don’t fall too quickly with MAC’s ubiquitous Chilli which complements her NC43 skintone perfectly.

3. Sophie from from Sophiephiephie keeps all eyes focused on her lips (although I’m lusting over her gorgeous brows too!) with Revlon’s Colorstay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick in Top Tomato.

4. Kat from Tales of a Pale Face takes the old classic MAC Russian Red out for a spin and proves that sometimes, you just can’t beat an old faithful!

5. Heidi from Black Kohl proves that MAC’s Russian Red really does suit every colouring and goes all out Snow White, looking every bit the fairytale beauty.

Are you looking forward to dusting off your vampier shades in time for Autumn?

You can’t eat cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without getting porky.  You can’t put in zero effort and reap all the rewards (unless you’re a cow).  And you can’t wear a kickass, uber-matte lipstick without it all going wrong… eventually.

This is how I feel about the Lime Crime Velvetines in Red Velvet.  I’d held off buying for ages, I’m not a fan of the way the brand has conducted itself in the past and to be honest, I haven’t been a fan of the products that they’ve released either.  But the swatches have been amazing.  Screw the fact that I’m in the 30+ category and “really” shouldn’t be wearing uber matte lipsticks, seriously… screw that!  Red Velvet has been on my radar as a must-have for a long while.  I had to try it, I just had to, didn’t I?

The packaging is rather nice actually, less unicorny and more sophisticated girlie… I do like the frosted glass container but there’s one irritation that bothers me each time I use it.  Why is there no inner ridge in the tube where I can scrape off the excess product?  Peering inside, it’s like looking into the Black Hole of Calcutta and when something is this frighteningly pigmented, you need absolute control over the amount of product on the wand.

Without smearing this around the opening, I don’t have that control and it balls up pretty quickly at the top, threatening to make a holy mess.

But the one thing you can’t deny is that once applied, Red Velvet is in a league of its own.  Richly pigmented, deeply opaque, and velvet-textured… it’s a cracker.  I’ve found it best to apply in two thin layers… once to get perfect outline and once to fill in for complete coverage.  The formula is very wet to begin with and I inevitably end up with some of it on my front teeth.  However, within 60-seconds it dries to an almost powdery finish.

The texture is lightweight but you can “feel” it on your lips because of the apparent dryness it imparts.  It’s not actually that drying in terms of what it does to the condition of your lips but it will happily settle into all of your lip furrows and stick like the proverbial to the outer lip-line.  It’s colour-depth and downright vampiness makes this the perfect choice for a night out… except, you might not want to choose it…

Let me explain…

On me, it wears U-G-L-Y.  I have a large bottom lip and the first place that this disappears is toward the inside of my lip, leaving a horribly apparent ridge of colour.  This colour-ridge narrows as the colour slowly disappears from the centre of my mouth, eventually leaving me with a rather impressive ring around the lower lip-line.  And this is without eating, only drinking.

Compared to some red lipsticks, I actually found this to be relatively transfer-proof, there’s a little left on my glass after drinking but nowhere near as much as most lipsticks.  It also resists transferring to my teeth once it has set on the lip, so it’s a real shame that I experience such horrible overall wear.  You can see the kind of wear I get in this photo on my Tumblr.  You should note, however, that this may be a peculiarity on me… many other bloggers report great wear from this product.

Ultimately, it’s a gorgeous red but I probably won’t wear it without a serious case of paranoia, and when you’re braving a lip this ka-pow, that’s not a great combination.

Lime Crime Velvetines in Red Velvet is priced at £11.50 and available to buy online from love-makeup.co.uk and cutecosmetics.co.uk

Do you own one of the Velvetines?  What are your thoughts on them?

Looking for a KAPOW! red?  Of course you are.

Of. course. you. are.

Lipstick Queen’s Scarlet Red* is as lusty as they come.  Richly pigmented with a long-lasting formula, it’s not one for the faint-hearted.

Sitting halfway between a matte and a satin finish, I find that once applied, it sticks extremely well… if you have trouble with bold lip colours feathering, you should add this to your “to try” list.  Infact, I think it’s fair to say that this kind of stickability appears to be quite the selling point throughout the Sinner range.

Unfortunately, and probably because of this… it’s not as moisturising as I’d like it to be.  There’s a sacrifice to be made, and although I wouldn’t go quite so far as to call it “drying”, you may not find it as comfortable on the lips as you’d like without a slick of balm underneath and then you’d probably lose the “sticks like sh*t to a blanket” factor that I’ve just bigged up so much.  Bloody cosmetic formulas.

Application is easy enough with or without a lip brush.  In the photo below, I used a brush because any slight wobbles always seem to show up far more in photos than they do in person.  However, the firmer texture will allow you to work some precision lip-lining direct from the bullet if you can’t be doing with any faffing around carrying brushes.

As for the actual shade?  Well, it’s heart-beat inducing.  A red that I’d say leans slightly toward the cooler side of the spectrum without being a full-bodied blue red.  It should suit most skintones as I think it’s one of those reds that will somehow allow your own natural colouring to impact on how it looks in the context of a full-face.  What I love most about the colour though is its brightness.  Scarlet Red delivers a vivid slash of colour and brightens my complexion thanks to its clarity and clean hue.

Lipstick Queen Sinner Scarlet Red is priced at £18, available instore and online at uk.spacenk.com

* press sample

I picked up Kevyn Aucoin’s lustful Blood Roses on L’s recommendation early last year, almost a full 12-months ago and I’m ashamed to admit that I’m only just blogging about it now.  This happens more than I’d like, often to the point where I just throw my hands up and declare “well, there’s no point blogging about it now!”

Still, in this case, it really is better late than never… thanks to SpaceNK – you can now find Kevyn Aucoin products in the UK with much less stress than the first time I tried to get hold of this lipstick.

Kevyn Aucoin’s Blood Roses falls into that once-upon-a-time unlikely genre of an incredibly creamy vamp. Haven’t lipstick formulas improved 100-fold over the past five years? It’s nothing short of miraculous. That being said, you need a steady hand or a lip brush to achieve precision with this one.

Alternatively, you could own a pair of full lips and give the bullet a gentle smoosh around for a post-modern, ironic take on how to wear the perfect lipstick, imperfectly.  Sadly, that kind of irony is wasted on my face, it just makes me look like a bit of an unfotunate.  For this one, I’ll stick to the tried-and-tested lipstick and liner look.

With a lipstick this full-bodied, it’s probably worth mentioning that any excrutiatingly pale chicks out there will look even more wan with a layer of Blood Roses.  Not necessarily a bad thing you understand, but you may want to consider a little contour, bronzing, or all of the above if you prefer to avoid the consumptive look.  Me?  Well, I quite like it.

For such depth of colour, the formula feels light and does a stellar job at resisting the bleed without the addition of a liner.  I usually wear this in a casual setting, I don’t mind the odd touch-up or grabbing a tissue part way through the afternoon to replace my lip colour.  If I were considering this shade for an evening out, I’d probably make more of an effort to bullet-proof it for longlasting wear.

This is a lovely video about the relaunch of Blood Roses, which incidentally, was Kevyn’s favourite shade.  Is there any better reason to treat yourself to this lipstick?  I think not.

Kevyn Aucoin’s The Expert Lip Color in Blood Roses is available to buy instore at SpaceNK, and online at SpaceNK and miseBeauty.com priced from £27.00

I can’t remember on whose blog it was that I first saw Dark Cherry from the Clarins Rouge Prodige lineup of lipsticks but it spoke to me.  It’s one of those lipsticks that hits the perfect balance between a number of shades to create “the ultimate” lust-have.  I actually don’t think it’s a very “cherry” shade despite Clarins telling me that it so is.  It seems to contain the magic amount of brown to create a neutral vampy lip that leans neither to cool nor too warm.

I’m aware that I’m not making much sense… but to be honest, I bought this lipstick based on shade alone and I am genuinely struggling to put into words just why I felt that I had to own it.  All I can say is, I’m pleased that I do.

Yeah, I nicked the bullet.  BIG SOB.  *applies lipstick*.  Over it already.

Said it before, say it again – Clarins do yum-yum packaging that’s kinda old-lady without being remotely old-lady.  Still not making sense.  The thing is, it’s all weighty and shiny… the gold is straight out of Nana’s handbag and yet, let’s face it… Nana’s wouldn’t have all those bevelled edges and tasty angles.  The formula is consistent with the other Rouge Prodige lipsticks I own, a tiny bit draggy until it warms up (which it does quickly), intensely scented (fig I believe?), and lasts very nicely thanks to a grippy-grippy formula.

You can see that it applies lighter on the lips than it looks in the tube, and really suits (if I do say so myself) my cool-toned colouring.

Clarins Rouge Prodige Dark Cherry Lipstick is available to buy online from www.escentual.com, priced at £14.00 (bargain!)

It’s not like you need an excuse to wear red lipstick, but sometimes it’s nice to fall back on the whole “Oh, well… it’s Christmas isn’t it?  It’s practically illegal NOT TO wear red lipstick this time of year” thing…

I don’t know about you but when I started wearing red lipstick as part of my day-to-day look, people (women) were genuinely curious about it and I felt that I had to defend my choice, as if I’d purposefully set out to make myself more conspicuous for a reason via my red lips.  ATTENTION WHORE!  Which is strange, because I’m hugely uncomfortable being the focus participant in any situation.  So cheers Christmas!  You make red lips a-ok.

You know what else makes red lips a-ok?  A kickass red lipstick, that’s what.  And today’s red lip is kicking some serious butt.

Daniel Sandler’s Luxury Matte Lipstick in Red Carpet is my idea of a heaven-sent formula.  It doesn’t have the dryness that I associate with some matte lipsticks *cough* MAC *cough*, thanks to an infusion of hyaluronic acid, yet it retains the essential simplicity that a matte red lip brings to your look.  It’s creamy and applies smoothly without too much slip, ensuring that you can get a neat line straight from the bullet.

Finally, it packs the kind of pigmentation and stickability that gives you confidence that a couple of lip stains on your coffee mug won’t even make a dent in its appearance.  Shade-wise, Red Carpet is a true red that leans neither too orange nor blue, I’d imagine that this teeth-flattering shade will suit most skin-tones as it has enough depth not to look garish.

To hammer home what should be obvious by now, this is one sassy red lipstick that easily makes it into my top ten.  And that my friends – from a horrible hoarder woman with over 50 red lipsticks – is no mean feat.

Daniel Sandler Luxury Matte Lipstick in Red Carpet is available to buy online priced at £13.50 from danielsandler.com

* press sample

I always write about lipsticks in my Red Lip Series that I love. So, here’s one that I don’t…

Make Up Forever #418 is a lipstick that I would happily send to room 101 without a second glance or moment of regret. There’s nothing particularly wrong with how it looks once on the lips, but it stinks like the inside of my Nannas old handbag and applies so roughly that I keep imagining squeaking sounds as it passes over my lips.  It’s a bastard of a lipstick, and being RED, is an absolute disgrace to its genre.

I even look slightly pained to be wearing it in the swatch photo don’t I?  This is what mediocre lipstick does to your soul.  It honestly sucks to find the words to express my discontent with below-average lipsticks, so I’m going to stop right here and play with some Burberry reds instead to make myself feel better.

What lipstick has disappointed you recently?

If there’s one face in the over-populated world of celebdom who should know a thing or two about perfecting a great red lip, it’s Ms. Dita von Teese.  The American burlesque dancer, model and actress has made the red lip look her calling card over the years, always immaculate and always on the pin-up side of glam.  Who else would you trust with a fabulous retro red lip?

Well, that’s obviously what German cosmetics brand Artdeco thought to themselves when they collaborated with the dancer to create the Dita von Teese Classics Art Deco collection.  Of course, my little heart went all a-pitter-patter at the thought of the potential red lipsticks… and I have one to show you today…

This is #615, the Dita Von Teese Art Couture Lipstick in Muse Red.

I have to say, that if I have one major disappointment about this line… it’s the packaging.  There’s nothing wrong with it but it just feels a little like a missed opportunity to play up to Dita’s vintage styling, I know that when all is said and done, I’d be moaning far more if the contents of the packaging didn’t align themselves in a Dita-esque manner… but, I fancied a nit-pick.  Think Besame with a modern-twist… now that would have been something no?

But as things stand, the packaging is simple, elegant and understated – the only real nod to the co-collaborator comes in the form of a signature and a cameo-esque etching, it’s cute enough.

You can see from this photo (hopefully) that #415, 1 of 6 dita-inspired lipsticks, is a warm-toned orange red… not my most favourite reds to wear simply because of my uber-cool toned colouring but to my mind, the most authentically retro-looking of the lot.  The lipliner that you see peeking in the background is also part of the collection and is a much cooler-toned red (#10 Dame) – it works “ok” with the lipstick but it isn’t a perfect match and if you were looking to buy the two together, I’d say look elsewhere for a warm-toned lip liner.

Moans aside, the formula of the lipstick is a delight.  It’s firm enough to give you enough confidence that you’re not going to end up with colour transfer over your teeth (and I didn’t, at all – despite my BIG front teeth which always get in the way), but soft enough to apply without dragging too reluctantly over your lips.  It strikes a really good balance for a bold lip colour, and formula really is all important when you’re braving a lip colour with such potential to show you up or let you down.

The lip swatches show the colour with lip-liner underneath to help create sharp-edged definition but in all honesty, I think that this lipstick is “man” enough (last of the great feminists me!) to hold a decent edge by itself.  Obviously, for optimum definition it’s always best to line the contours first but most of the time, if I am using a lip-liner, I actually do it to extend the edge of my lips just at the outer corners where 10 years of smoking contributed to a loss of fullness – maybe I’ll take some photos of how I do that sometime if anyone’s interested?

It’s always hard when writing a red lip series post to perfectly demonstrate the tone of a red lipstick compared to others in the genre, so I’ve decided to start swatching them alongside MAC’s Russian Red, commonly thought of as a pretty good example of a neutral red – meaning that it leans neither too blue, nor too orange.  I hope it will be helpful.  Either way, as you can see – in the swatch below, Dita’s Muse Red is comparatively orange-toned when compared to the MAC neutral (it’s also much less draggy!)

Considering there was much room for disappointment (you don’t put out a “Dita von Teese” red lipstick without expecting it to be scrutinised!), #415 is a lovely, retro red that offers good, nay, great longevity… authentic colour and a lip-friendly formula.  What else do you need?

The Dita von Teese Classics Artdeco collection is out now and available to buy in person at larger Debenhams stores and online at debenhams.com

* press sample

Oh, my lovely fellow beauty addicts… oh, I think you’re going to like this lipstick.  It’s my first “non-wimpy” red of the season and I won’t lie to you, I felt like it wore me FAR better than I could wear it.  This baby needs taming ‘cos she’s wild and a little bit scary – even for someone like me who is finally fairly confident with braving a bold lip in public.

But first let me tell you about her, she’s a new girl and needs an introduction…

To complement their current lipstick range of Lip Mists and Lip Covers, Burberry Beauty have launched a range of Lip Velvets.  Matte in look but not in texture is the best way I can describe the new formula – admittedly, I have only tried one but if the range is as consistent as it ought to be, you should experience a deeply pigmented finish with minimal gloss and a completely NON-drying formula.

NON-drying?  Yes, completely.

Now, my lips are in good condition – I have no flakes, no peels… I don’t need to exfoliate them in the shower with my flannel and I don’t need to reapply lip balm 100x a day to keep them comfortable (thanks Lanolips).  I pretty much have the most ideal lip condition for someone who wants to wear a matte lip.  Stop throwing things at me.

I’m not saying this to be conceited, I’m giving you a benchmark that says, just because my lips are super comfortable with this formula, it doesn’t mean yours will be.  And I’m sorry I have to provide that caveat in this instance, because frankly, I’d like to sing the praises of the new Burberry Lip Velvets from the rooftops with absolutely no caveat whatsoever… but it would be remiss of me not to mention that I have wonderwoman lips right now.

The shade I have here is #310, Military Red.  And it is BOLD.  To my eye, there is the tiniest amount of warmth to it that doesn’t register enough to label this an orange-toned red but is enough to give it leanings toward the warm side of neutral.  The packaging is the same magnetic affair as the rest of the Burberry lipstick range but with a marked difference, matte casing = no more fingerprints ha!  Still sleek, still sexy… just a little more practical with it.

The other thing you need to know about the colour of this one is that it’s bright.  Very bright.  In the lip swatches below, I have applied this straight from the bullet with no lipliner but you do need to take care to be precise because any major wobbles will be instantly noticeable on a shade this vivid.  While the bullet is still in pristine condition, I had no problems with achieving sharp lines – I dream to be able to wear a “mussed-up” red, beautifully deconstructed and carefree.  Alas, whenever I smudge the edges to soften the look in an attempt to make it less formal, I look like I’ve been punched in the mouth, repeatedly.

Although Military Red is indeed, a matte finish lipstick – there’s (hopefully) no sign of old lady lips going on, because frankly, at 31 – I should be starting to think about more forgiving textures – but I’ll cross that bridge when people start pointing.

The formula has really impressed me, longevity was completely within what I’d expect from a high-end brand and a matte formula.  The lipstick wore down evenly throughout the day, only giving up to a darker edge after my evening meal but a few lip smacks infront of a mirror pulled enough colour back in to the centre to dismiss this as an issue.  I didn’t reapply once throughout the day and I didn’t feel that I needed to.  Of course, after 12 hours there was nowhere the same kind of vividness on display but a firm stain ensured that my lips didn’t pale into insignificance despite the late hour.

Burberry Beauty’s Lip Velvets are priced at £23 a-piece and available on counter and online at Harrods in a range of 12 shades.  Bright Poppy is on my Winter hit-list the next time I get a chance to make it into London!

Would you wear a shade this bright?

* press sample

Is it the wrong time of year to be showcasing and wearing red lips? Perhaps. Do we care? Hell no!

01: Georgia from Georgia:OnMyMind gives everyone a stunning reminder of the classic Chanel Rouge Allure in Passion

02: Wande from WandesWorld strikes it niche with an Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in Icon.

03: Summer from slhxbeauty is looking fierce in MAC’s inimitable Russian Red.

04: Annie goes for bold in a celeb fav MAC’s Lady Danger

05: Wendy from CydonianMakeup ensures that NYX Chaos lands squarely on my wishlist.

If you want to submit your red lip look, email me a photo of your lovely selves with the following info:

Your name:
Lip shade name:
Link to blog (if relevant):

Well done ladies – thanks for braving your reds, this just goes to show that red lips suit all kinds of beautiful women!  More to come soon!

I’m killing my poor red lip series!  First with the “ooh this is red (oh no it’s fucking not)” Revlon Cherries in the Snow and now, with this little number… the Lancome Rouge in Love, in… well… Rouge in Love.  That’s the shade name by the way, I don’t have that OCD thing where you repeat yourself… just a billion other OCDs to entertain myself with instead.

God, you’re beautiful.  Said no one, to me, ever.  So instead, let me serenade the packaging of the Rouge in Love line.  I fell in lust with the vintage-inspired styling last Autumn when Lancome released a couple of limited edition French Touch Absolu(s) – the shades were pretty incredible too and I was delighted when the year rolled over and the brand released an entire line of these beauties.

Rouge in Love (the shade, not the line) is a sheer, glossy red that is perfect for all of you who’ve been following my red lip series over the last year (two years is it now?) with a mixture of wantsies and canthavesies.  It’s the shade for all of you who are a bit too pussy wary to jump in at the deep end with some red-lip love.  The finish looks almost juicy, even on my slightly pruny lips though, to be honest, it does lean a little to the pink side of the spectrum, hence my initial declaration that the Red Lip Series (totally worthy of caps) was going to the dogs.

Talking of dogs.

You should be able to see the depth of pigmentation and gloss that this lipstick provides in the photo above.  It’s just so completely easy-to-wear with a non-heavy formula that lasts surprisingly well throughout the day.  I really recommend this as an everyday choice for red-lip lovers who need something just a little less in-yer-face for office/school wear.

Lancome Rouge in Love in Rouge in Love is available to buy on counter and online, priced at £21.00

* press sample

I don’t know how I feel about including this lipstick in my red lip series. I mean, it’s totally like the lipstick angels came down from heaven and stole all of the cherries to make it, but…

This isn’t a red lipstick and I’m sick of hearing it described as a blue-based red.  It’s pink.  Pink like Nicki Minaj can only f*cking dream of.  Although having said that, I’m gonna propagate the “this is a blue-based red lipstick” ’cause it’ll probably work better for my SEO.  Don’t tell me you haven’t been warned though.  It’s f*cking pink.

Colour dramas aside (the ones in my head), Revlon Cherries in the Snow is totally worthy of all the praise bestowed upon it, feeling more like a £20 lipstick than a £7.49 one.  It’s rich, luxurious, deeply-pigmented and long-lasting.  You can work it into the lips like a stain or wear it in all it’s full-bodied glory.  If you apply, blot, apply, blot (and I mean really blot) – it doesn’t transfer all over your glass and stays put for most of the day.

Frankly, every woman should own this – aslong as you like pink.  I found it really hard to get hold of, it was never in Boots and I’ve been looking casually for the best part of 4 years (seriously).  In the end I picked it up on eBay for way cheaper than the RRP anyway.  Go buy it.  Like now.

Do you own Cherries in the Snow?  Pink innit?