Orange Is The New Red: Some Oranges I Love and One That Made Me Go What?!

 

Who am I kidding, red will always be my lip color of choice, but as it gets really really hot here in California, and as the orange lip trend is spreading like wildfire, I wanted to show you what I reach for when I want an orange lip. And to end...an orange lip warning of sorts.

Surprisingly, these are the only orange lippies that I own, beyond some balms and a Lancome gloss I have practically finished, so any recommendations are welcome in the comments!

From left to right:

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Geranium ($8.99): A gel finish with just a hint of sparkle. A very true orange.

Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencil in Chase ($22): Balmy but still gives nice color, this shade runs more pinky/orange.

Beautifully Disney Change Your Fate Lipgloss ($14.95): A sheer orange gloss without sparkle.

NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Orangesicle ($6.99): So pigmented! An orange that leans more red than the other shades.

NYX Macaron Lipstick in Orange Blossom ($6.99): A matte pastel orange. More on this later.

 

Revlon Ultra HD lipstick in Geranium is a recent find. It is the line that Emma Stone is touting all over the television, so naturally I picked it up at Ulta through some type of subconscious marketing. I love the consistency. It is gel-like and buildable with a punchy finish on the lips. Lasts roughly 4 hours on me but I hate the packaging (can be seen in first photo), just plastic and kind of tacky in my opinion. 

 I have had Lipstick Queen's Chinatown glossy pencil in Chase for a while now, and I still reach for it often. I love the thinness of both the consistency and the actual pencil and it feels good on the lips. This is not the most intense orange since it reads a bit pinker on lips, but it is still fresh. I do disklike the smell of Lipstick Queen lippies though--very drugstore/artificial.

The Beautifully Disney gloss in Change Your Fate, named after Princess Merida, is also something I reach for regularly when I want something subtle but not typical pink. This is a sheer look, similar to the Lipstick Queen pencil.

NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Orangesicle is new to my collection, but it much different than the original Butter Gloss formula. The smell is the same, but this is thicker and more like a liquid lipstick than a gloss. As you can see it is full pigment in one swipe and really should be worn with a liner. I think it is a gorgeous bright orange color but because of the thickness does get a bit messy if you over-apply.

NYX Macaron Lipstick in Orange Blossom was something I wanted forever and after looking at swatches, I thought this would be a matte bright orange. Um...who on Instagram is swatching this?? Because this is not what I have seen ladies. DO NOT TRUST THE GRAM. As you can see, this is a sickly sad pumpkin color with extra horrible sprinkled in. Please avoid. I don't know how I can make this work because Ulta accidentally sent me TWO of these when I ordered these so long ago. Help.

What is your favorite orange lippie? Do tell!

NYX High Voltage Lipsticks: Review and Swatches

 So, remember how I was on that no-buy? Me either. But seriously, I've been trying to keep my makeup buying to a minimum lately, but if you want a little pick me up for the start of Spring, let me introduce you to the NYX High Voltage Lipsticks.

 

I tend to gravitate towards NYX when I want something reliable, for a good price, and easily accessible (found at Ulta/Target/drugstores/online). Not to mention they are cruelty free! These little tubes of lipstick will set you back $6 each (but watch out for BOGO 1/2 off lippies at Ulta). I believe these are NYX's answer to the Colourpop Lippie Stix (just my speculation) because they perform similarly and come in tons of colors (22!).

 

I picked up 3 of these recently and now that I have tried them out, I want more! 

There are no real claims that NYX makes for these, other than that they are creamy and vibrant (both true in my experience). They have a faint vanilla scent and last an average amount of time on me (around 3 hours).

 Stone is light brown color with a tinge of gray in it. It covers my medium-pigmented lips fairly well and is nice and creamy in consistency. I picked up this color because I have been seeing a lot of browns/grays in lip colors, particularly on Instagram, but I will in no way purchase from Lime Crime to get that trendy look (this reminds me of that Cashmere shade, I think it is called). It isn't the most flattering on my skin tone, but it layers well with pinks, and who knows when I may want to look a little ghoulish? Color aside, I love the consistency. These are creamy so they will not last all day (2.5-3 hours for all shades I have).

Playdate is a lavender and I love it! At this price point, especially if you can use a coupon or get a deal, why not pick up a fun color? This was much more pigmented than I was expecting and it is really fun!

Rags to Riches is the most 'normal' of the colors I picked out, but it is still a bit unexpected. See that gold sheen? I love that! This is a coral/pink with a light gold shimmer and I think it is perfect for the season.

Have you tried these? I want to pick up Wine and Dine, Dahlia, and Free Spirit next!

Cinderella x MAC Free As A Butterfly Lipstick and Cinderella FOTD

Image Source

I will be the first to admit that Cinderella is not my favorite princess, but I have been beyond excited to see the new Cinderella movie for months now. It may have to do with a combination of things: the impeccable Lily James, Kenneth Branagh directing, Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother...my British-loving heart soars! But the promised beauty of the whole movie---from the costumes to the makeup also made me eager to see it.    I am not a huge fan of MAC right now, especially their limited edition collections. It seems they pump out too many and the quality is never there, but I caved for the Cinderella collection. With a gift card I was able to snag only one lipstick, as most things had sold out by the time I got around to ordering. It is mostly a collectors' item for me, but this post will be a review of the lipstick (probably not useful since I am not sure where you can get it, but maybe fun?) and the FOTD that I wore to go see the movie this afternoon!

The lipstick I got is 'Free As A Butterfly', which honestly, as a name, confused the heck out of me. But if you see the movie, it becomes more apparent. There are butterflies everywhere! It was $17.50, and comes in a gorgeous pale blue/purple shift tube with the gold Cinderella logo. Free As A Butterfly is a nude/champagne glitter.

 

Gorgeous right? But as I feared, it isn't very pigmented. This makes a good topper to another lip look because it settles into my lip lines when worn alone and almost gives me zombie-lips. But the nice, typical vanilla-MAC scent and the comfortable wear make me wanna swipe it on anyway, even if it will settle in ten minutes' time.

It isn't the most horrible lip look, especially not from far away, but it may not be your cup of tea on it's own. However, I will cherish it because my mom's favorite princess is Cinderella and anything Cinderella reminds me of her. Naturally, she was my date to the movie!

To prepare for this momentous occasion, I had to do a FOTD (which the lovely ticketing girl noticed. WIN). I was inspired by the promo images and the image I put at the beginning of this post---that dress!

 

I went with blue eyes, peachy cheeks, and of course, Free As A Butterfly on the lips.

Below are the products I used:

From left to right:

Benefit Roller Lash: Jury is still out on this one. Review coming soon!

NYX Tinted Brow Mascara in Blonde: A lovely, basic tinted mousse.

Bare Minerals Morning Glow loose shadow: I used this as a highlight on my eyes. It is a pearlized pink shimmer and gave just the right amount of sparkle.

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk: To prime and make the baby blue color pop.

Clinique Clubby Stick in Big Blue: Washed over the lid.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Khol Liner in Light Blue: Used on lower lash line.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics colour pencil in Pool Boy: Also on lower lash line to pop the edge of the black liner.

MAC Free As A Butterfly lipstick: One light wash on lips.

Sleek Makeup blush in Rose Gold: On cheeks

I also used a L'Oreal black felt tip liner and IT Cosmetics foundation and concealer (not pictured).

Have you seen the movie? I highly suggest it! I might try to recreate some of the looks. The stepsisters' looks were crazy awesome!

NYX Lip Primer: Quick Review

I love the idea of universal lip liners, but sometimes I can't be bothered to sit there and really line my lips. This is why NYX Lip Primer in Nude has become a must have cheap thrill in my makeup bag.

These are a relatively new product from NYX and come in two shades: Nude (pictured above) and Deep Nude. However, the Nude is practically colorless and works like an invisible lip liner that can be applied more like a creamy lip pencil. It saves me time and sometimes even a look in the mirror on the go because it covers the whole lip surface with little effort and won't tug or pull.

After the first use, which seemed to get rid of the 'film' I am finding so many products have now, this turns into a creamy almost-balm that smooths onto your lips, takes out just a bit of color from them (which makes your lip product of choice more true to color) and primes.

 This is a twist up product and retails for $7. I have tried it with a number of lipsticks: UD Revolution, Lancome, Rimmel, Maybelline, and NYX so far, and it extends the wear by at least two hours. It also helped make my tricky matte Lorac lipsticks easier to wear!

This swatch shows a large patch of slightly pinky, but otherwise colorless, primer. It melts into the skin and onto the lips and is very comfortable. This isn't a miracle product, but when I can turn 4 hour wear into 6-7 hour wear with minimized feathering/running, I am happy. Especially since it means no trying to line my lips, a skill which I do not have.

Do you have a favorite lip primer?

 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams in Monte Carlo and Transylvania Review and Swatches

The NYX Soft Matte lip cream is a beloved formula by those who favor mattes. I'm just dipping my toes into that pool, but I do have another shade of this lip cream and like it, so I decided to try out two of the newer, more daring shades from the line.

The Soft Matte Lip Creams retail for around $6, but there are always sales at Ulta on NYX where you can snag a Buy One Get One 50% kind of deal. These lip creams smell like vanilla and come with a doe foot applicator.

I picked up Monte Carlo (A bright red that, when layered, can turn slightly darker) and Transylvania (a reddened plum purple). Both formulas were not as easy to work with as my experience with the lighter shades in this range. They were a bit patchy, streaky, and took some layering.

Monte Carlo out-shined Transylvania is application and wear time. If you are careful, this can be applied straight from the tube, using the applicator to trace around the lip line and then fill in. This is two thin layers. It appears slightly creamy for a few moments and then dries to a true matte. If you want a crisper look, use liner and then the lip cream because this does feather slightly.

Transylvania was kind of a mess. It gathered in odd places, was patchy, and just couldn't apply smoothly. This is about three layers on my lips and each layer got a bit streakier.

Transylvania has a cool look to it, but the streakiness is apparent, even from a distance. There are just so many better performing purple lip products out there. I would, however, recommend Monte Carlo if you are looking for a true red matte. It takes patience to apply, but is well worth it. I have heard Monte Carlo is a dupe for the Lime Crime Red Velvet Velvetine. I can't confirm since I haven't tried the Lime Crime, but the end result looks very similar, and at almost a third of the price! Monte Carlo wore well for about 5 hours. I did not test the wear on Transylvania because I just didn't want to wear it with it looking all gross and streaky.

NYX Powder Blushes in Bourgeois Pig and Terra Cotta Swatches and Review

NYX Cosmetics Powder Blush ($5.99) is always a good deal when you can get them on sale. I recently picked up the last two colors I wanted in my collection: Terra Cotta and Bourgeois Pig.

These are smooth, but not the most pigmented blushes I own. I do like the sheen to them that make your skin look fresh and not overdone.

Terra Cotta is a great brown/bronze that makes a subtle contour on lighter skin tones. I wouldn't recommend this for tan or darker skin tones because the pigmentation is just not there. 

Bourgeois Pig is a bright rosy pink that is much more pigmented than Terra Cotta and gives a nice flush to cheeks.

Excuse my slightly derpy picture (no idea why I always look up in pictures) but Bourgeois Pig is on my left cheek and Terra Cotta is on my right.

If you are looking for some cheap blushes, I would definitely recommend Bourgeois Pig and Terra Cotta, but for lighter skin tones. Both wear well before fading at about hour 7.

Do you have a favorite drugstore blush shade?

Hong Kong Essentials

Now, I know many of you may not be traveling to Hong Kong in the near future, but I wanted to show you the staples of my makeup bag while I was there. Hong Kong's weather is very much like the southern United States in the summer---hot and very humid (think 85 degrees F and up, and up to 90% humidity daily). In fact, the weather is like any tropical region as well-- including Hawaii, so if you are hitting up a humid spot this summer, this just might come in handy!

Above are the very bare bones of what I brought ( I brought more, but these were the workhorses) mixed in with some of my kitschy finds!

1. It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Plus Keratin ($18): I received this free with an Ulta order (you can pretty much get this free at Ulta all the time) and a few spritzes made my hair look awesome, even with the crappy hotel blow dryer and the crazy humidity.

2. Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in Apricot ($4.99): This perfect peachy color and thin tube meant I could stick this in a pocket and I never looked overdone during the daytime of crazy touristy things!

3. Benefit Gimme Brown in Light/Medium ($22): A no fuss tinted brow gel that kept me polished for nice dinners out but never smudged or ran, even when I was 'glistening'.

4. bareMinerals Ready blush in The French Kiss ($22): Great staying power and a universally flattering color!

5. Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream ($35): A larger review of this will be up soon, but this kept me looking gorgeous (and people complimented my skin) even when it started pouring with monsoon-status rains.

6. NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner ($5.99): Has officially made holy grail status as a black liner for me, especially since it withstood extreme humidity for up to 15 hours straight.

7. Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm in Grapefruit ($7.50): With SPF 25 and a cheery scent, it wasn't so hard to perk up from the jet lag with this.

8. NYX Matte Blotting Paper ($3.99): Blotting papers are a must in weather like Hong Kong's, and these are my favorite!

What are your favorite hot and humid weather products?
Oh, and more photos!

Above is my favorite pastel-colored building, the Stanley beach, and the entire city at night from the tallest point!

The Fair Foundation Files and My Take on a Classic Look for Spring

The extensive testing process is over and I have come to a lot of conclusions about Rimmel's Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation in shade 010 Light Porcelain (retail $4.99 at Ulta, but I received it complimentary from Influenster).

So, what does this wunderkind have to offer us?

• Cheap price tag at around $5 depending on location
• No added fragrance as far as I can tell
• Totally matte
• Fun mousse texture
• Lots of light shades

It claims to offer 'lightweight shine control' as well, but we will get to that claim.

The texture of this is a mousse and is very fluffy, so you will think you need more when you actually don't. A little goes a long way---a lot gets cakey fast. This can be used with fingers, a BB, a flat brush, or a round foundation brush. I have tried all methods and they all basically work the same.

Here is me wearing Stay Matte in Light Porcelain all over my face. It almost covers my hardcore cheek hormonal blemishes, but a little dab of concealer fixes them right up. I just wanted to show you with only this product.

You really need to moisturize and prime well. Even if you have oily skin, this will get into every pore and every fine line. But if you prep well, this can have great results.

My results have been nothing less than spectacular. For over a week, this foundation (Clinique moisturizer and primer underneath) has keep me completely shine/oil free for 12-15 hour days. I have worn this during busy work and school days and I also wore it to a 95 degree day at the Huntington Library (for you non-Californians, it is beautiful, but mostly outside and was hotter than the sun that day). No shine whatsoever. 

But before you go running out and buying this, I have a few words of advice....

This may work for me, but I feel this will probably be a seasonal product for me. It takes a ton of prep time for me to look flawless with it (I have larger pores and my cheeks run drier). Also, I do not see this as 'lightweight'. It certainly isn't heavy, but I would say you can feel it on your skin.

Also keep in mind that this tends to oxidize in my experience about half a shade. If you have a chance, try a test patch on your skin first. Ulta let me return the first shade I bought before the Influenster box with no problem (that shade was Light Ivory, the next one up from this, and ran too yellow).

Overall: If you are drier on at least 50% of your face or have a lot of fine lines, this might be a nightmare for you. Oily girls...grab this and throw away your blotting linens forever.

Now, onto the fun stuff...I decided to make a look for Influenster and @RimmelLondonUS for the #StayMatteSwitch movement.

This is my twist on a classic look---for Spring! Substituting my normal red lip for something pinker and of course, matte skin!

What I Used:

1. Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation in Light Porcelain ($4.99)

2. Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Creamy Natural ($4.99)

3. Clique Cheek Pop blush in Peach Pop ($21)

4. Benefit They're Real Mascara ($23)

5. Josie Maran Argan Creamy Concealer Crayon in Fair ($20)

6. Nude browbone shadow from Wet N Wild 'Drinking a Glass of Shine' Palette ($4)

7. NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner ($5.99)

8. Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium ($22)

9. Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencil in Chase ($22)

This is a routine I rely on for early morning to still feel fun and fresh

1. Prime, get that foundation on your face---any way you like---and then conceal!

2. Set with powder

3. A little blush on the apple of your cheeks. Something dewy works well!

4. Curl lashes and apply mascara

5. A nude matte wash of shadow on your lid is simple and a no-makeup look

6. A liquid liner baby cat eye keeps things classic

7. A hint of brow keeps things looking put together

8. And a glossy coral pout keeps things fresh!

What is your go-to Spring look?

NYX Butter Lipstick in Mary Janes: Swatches and Review

When I was doing my #28daysoflippies challenge on Instagram, my friend and fellow blogger Meesha at Strawberry Hearts Chocolate Darts (psstt...go follow her!) suggested I get NYX Butter Lipstick in 'Mary Janes' ($5.99)...and I tried...but unfortunately, all of my local NYX carriers were sold out, until recently. I finally got my hands on this gem and I was so eager to try it out!

Funny story, so I was messing around on Photoshop and now my picture looks like this, but with lipstick instead of a cat:

Photo Credit

I crack myself up haha.

Anyway, Mary Janes is a slightly deeper true red. Because of the creaminess, it makes your lips look full and this is easy to wear. Make sure to line your lips or use an invisible lip liner because the creaminess causes it to migrate a bit.

The above picture is one, rather light, swipe on my lips. This baby is very pigmented and fun to wear. I am so glad I added it to my red collection because of the formula alone.

Pucker up! I can't wait to expand my NYX Butter Lipstick collection further!