A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

After promising myself that I would attempt the next Red Lip with a bit more complementary colour on my eyes instead of a rudimentary streak of liquid liner, I failed.

Revlon Fire & Ice is a re-release of a shade that first saw light of day in 1952… this makes it an absolute perfect option for those wanting to recreate a retro red look!  Fire & Ice has that hint of orange that places it firmly in the 50s.

I’m looking forward to doing the swatch comparisons for the last 7 offerings because this one will contrast nicely to the cool-toned reds that I favour without being in the same ‘orange’ family as shades like Chanel Coromandel.

The formula is creamy and glossy, I tend to apply and blot before slicking on another layer.  Not hugely long-wearing but it fades cleanly.  This is a great shade if you want to dip your toe into warmer reds without going all out.

Plus, at £7.49… it makes for a good budget choice!

Are you ready for the 6th installment?  Looking fabulous ladies…

1.  Mia Farrow eat your heart out, JMTolman looks positively perfect in MAC Rebel.

2.  Fiona from AcousticDreamsHardcoreScreams should definitely wear brights more often!  Check out the shade Heartless from MAC’s Venomous Villains Collection.

3.  JennyW from MyFunnyValentine is rocking that red with some ‘tude!  NARS Heat Wave with MAC Redd lip liner to be precise.

4.  Fern from Fernlaura reminds us to remember the high street with Barry M’s Pillarbox Red!

5.  Jenni from NailPolishUK sets the scene with a powerful red lip in Rimmel’s Diva Red.

So impressed was I with Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Dragon, I went out and bought Coromandel (£24) too.

I knew it was a risk, Coromandel is an orange-based red and I think it’s clear that I’m more suited to blue-based reds.

Still it will be interesting to see Coromandel in the swatch comparison lineup (week 2 is coming soon!)

We’re getting into Ronald McDonald territory aren’t we?  I think it’s a beautiful shade but for the purpose of learning more about reds and how different shades ‘react’ on different skin tones… are we in agreement that this isn’t the most flattering for such pink-toned skin as mine?

I mean… by all means, break the rules.  There is NOTHING to say that one shouldn’t rock a shade that isn’t classically correct for you.  Infact, I’d be willing to bet that some of the hawt-est chicks out there are rocking reds that POP off their lips precisely because they contrast so strikingly.  But in the interests of me being more your normal, everyday kinda girl – I think this one’s a fail.

As for the actual product.  It’s another Chanel beaut!  You can pretty much read my Dragon post and repeat the pros and cons of wear and quality for this one here.

I’m gonna do a high street red lip next… I’m getting a bit one-sided and high end centric here.  Red lips should be accessible for all right?!

What next?  Maybelline?  Rimmel?  Revlon?

I have a love/hate relationship with these Guerlain Rouge G lipsticks.  They’re stupidly expensive and I blame it ALL on the elaborate casing.  Yes, the packaging is kinda delightful… it’s sexy and tactile and all those things but it also weighs my bag down and brings guilt to my purse.

Greta is a cool toned, creamy red that delivers maximum pigmentation with little effort.  It’s a formula that’s comfortable to wear for many hours despite drying down to a slight satin finish.  It’s fairly well behaved but I still wouldn’t recommend wearing without a lip liner.

Wear is slightly better than average.  I’m not sure what ‘average’ is, I haven’t really quantified it that definitively… but if I’m pleased with the wear (which I was) it means that a).  I wasn’t infront of a mirror every hour reapplying and b).  I didn’t scare myself with patchiness when I made it to the mirror.

£28 is a lot of money to spend on one lipstick and it’s not something I do that often. (honest guv)

If you wanted a signature red with classy packaging, a great formula and bold colouring… I would recommend checking out the Guerlain Rouge G reds… they also do a more orange-toned one too (the name escapes me atm).

1.  Shannon shows us how to go bright with NYX lip liner in Orange paired with a slick of Carmex to gloss it up!

2.  Portuguese Joana from SketchBookSix is rocking a cheeky look with her Sephora own brand red lip!

3.  Nathalie from OhLaLaMaquillage is looking delightful in Manhattan Perfect Creamy and Care in Shade 27

4.  A classic beauty (both the lipstick and the owner!), Charlotte looks divine in MAC Viva Glam I

5.  Samantha is TOTALLY working that Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick in Please Me Red

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Thanks ladies!  You be killing me dead with your hawtness!

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

Touted as a ‘true’ red, I can’t decide if I agree?!  One minute I think it’s a teeny bit orange-red and the next… leaning toward the blue.  Perhaps that is the mark of a true red?

Oh, I don’t know… these reds, they start to confuse me after a little while!

Sangers is matte, very matte and a little hard textured.  I’ve been warming it up on the back of my hand before applying as the brush drags across my lips otherwise.

It’s bold and it’s beautiful and somewhat unforgiving on dry lips.  But it lasts like a trooper with practically no transfer at all.  Not even a speck on my wine glass (ok, cracked mug – I was trying to sound sophisticated).

I bought it last week from the store on Beak Street and it’s another red that I’m pleased to call mine own.  I will wear it often but ensure that my lips get extra TLC before and after.

Sangers is priced at £15.50 and available in the flagship store, Selfridges and online.

I was a very nervous girl leaving the house in this YSL Rouge Volupte Red Taboo lipstick…

It’s a beautiful cool-toned red with just a hint of raspberry but it’s a Rouge Volupte.  It threatened to slip like me on ice skates and I feared that it was just as likely to land me on my bum.

You either love or hate the YSL Rouge Volupte range.  Creamy, non-drying, deeply pigmented and scented like a fruit salad.  These are pretty nice properties in a nude or mylipsbutbetter shade.  In a red?  A red that needs to stay put?  Uh Oh.

First things first… this lipstick needs a lip liner, it’s a braver woman than I who attempts to wear this bare-backed.  Application is effortless (nearly)… I applied straight from the bullet to the centre of my lips before pulling the colour outward with a lip brush.  Then I waited for dry-down.  And I waited… and I waited.  Then I checked my watch, panicked and wondered if I should blot and decided on the “bugger it, that’ll have to do” option instead.

A word to the wise (from the utterly stupid)… don’t attempt to eat, drink, lick your lips or indeed breathe whilst wearing this beautiful shade.  It WILL transfer faster than that email you clicked ‘send’ on by accident.

I get about 2/3 hours wear from Red Taboo before needing to stage a lipstick intervention.  On the flipside, because it is so creamy… I can dab a little more on from the bullet and get away with smooshing my lips together.  Obviously, that doesn’t give me the cleanest line in the world… but if you’re on the go – you can get away with it.

CheapSmells.com sent me this lipstick for my red lip series so I’d like to point you in the direction of where you can pick it up on their website here.  This particular shade is selling for £15.90 (a saving of 24% off the RRP).

Time for the next round featuring all the wonderful red lips you ladies have been rocking!

1. Abbie from AbbieBabby is looking lovely in Rimmel’s Shocking Pink.  She says that she’s also wearing Urban Decay pocket rocket lipgloss in Timothy which makes it look more red.

2. The lovely Lily from BeautysBadHabit is making me jealous with that MAC Port Red again!  Such a fabulous shade!

3. Phyrra is glossing it up with MAC Lip Pencil in Cherry and MAC 3D Lipglass in Boundless – gorgeous!

4. Julia from BlessMyBag shows off her fav red lip; IZGO La Belle lipstick in RED.  Killer shade!

5. Beautiful Sarah from CityGirlsFashionBox shows off the legendary red lip that is Cherries in the Snow by Revlon.

A rich, berry red with a small amount of shimmer… I’ve worn this beautiful shade plenty of times since I received it at a press event last year but never as ‘full on’ as this.

It’s pretty vampy!

I usually apply with my fingers and blot it down to a stain but in the image above, I’ve applied with a lip brush before blotting on a piece of tissue.

I would feel far too conspicuous to wear this so bold in the daytime but I reckon I could give it a go on an evening out?

Longevity was really good on this one… 4 hours of near perfect wear despite drinking and munching on a packet of crisps.  Plus, as it fades… I think I love it more as it gives a sexier, slightly smudgy round the edges look.

Extravagant Berry is a limited edition shade that was released for Christmas 2010… it’s still around, but won’t be for much longer!

One full week of Red Lips though it seems like much longer!

The full list of reds and a comparison swatch:

1. NYX Hot Red Jumbo Lip Pencil

2. MAC Cockney

3. MAC Russian Red

4. RMK Irresistible Lips in Red #29

5. Clarins Rouge Prodige Fusion Red

6. Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Dragon

7. Urban Decay Revolution

Click on the links above to see each lipstick in it’s individual post with a shot of how it looks on my lips.

Incase you’re curious… when it came to wiping the swatches off my arm with a makeup remover wipe about 2 minutes after I’d applied… #1 and #5 left striking stains behind so I’d recommend these two for particularly long-wear.

Which red is your favourite so far – should we crack on with week 2 and some more red-lipped readers?

Sometimes a favourite comes in an unlikely guise.  I love Urban Decay, I really do… they’re a brand that get me equally ecstatic when they get it right and just as hacked off when they screw up.  I think you have to care about a brand to experience proper emotions about what is, after all, only makeup.

So yeah, I like Urban Decay.  But I don’t generally get that excited by their lipsticks.  I was sent this one just before Christmas and because I had a Chanel to wear… this one got pushed a little further back in the queue.

Revolution is a glossy, creamy true red.  Pillar box and opaque as-you-like.  I used a lip brush but it practically painted itself on.  I can’t find fault with this product… the adorable ‘dagger’ packaging, smooth application, glossy finish (if glossy reds are your ‘thing’), and a longevity that’s competes up there with most of the other, less-creamy formulas I’ve worn so far.

I suppose, if pushed… it does have a greater risk of transfer because of the creamy formula but just do that filthy-looking finger pop trick to remedy any of that nonsense!

Urban Decay Revolution retails at £12 but I have seen it on discount websites for a lot less than that… but shhh, you didn’t hear that from me.  If you want a BOLD, creamy red… go forth and buy.

You ladies are blowing me away with your fabulous shots!  Here’s some of your gorgeous selves rocking those gorgeous reds!

1.  Alexa from ShinyPrettyThings shows us all how to carry off MAC Russian Red with style!

2.  The beautiful Mariella from MusingOnBeauty looks resplendent in Guerlain’s Le Rouge G in Geisha!

3.  Shifa is definitely Gettin Gawjus in Karmic Kiss from MyFaceCosmetics!

4.  Nikkia from SilverLipsBeauty totally dazzles in MAC Ruby Woo!

5.  Finally, the lovely Katie vamps it up with flair courtesy of NARS Viridiana!

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