Edit| High End Lip Products for Summer

I'm not one for high end lipstick hoarding. I've never had a lipstick go rotten on me but I've never been able to use up a lipstick completely. When I buy high end lipsticks, I usually cling onto their beauty so hard that I forget (or purposefully try not) to use them up. In the end, they sit like ancient relics on my vanity until I get scared and toss them into the fridge to prevent further death and decay.

However, since I've been honest with myself and purging what I don't need from my collection, I've had a lot more opportunities to start putting my lips to high end, rare, fancy lipsticks that feel too luxurious to use.

I've also had a chance to pick up more fun, summery colors that aren't too opaque and serious for both work and play.

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First, I gave the YSL Babydoll Kiss and Blush in 5 Rouge Effrontee ($39) a good effort. When these were first released I gave them the side eye and moved along. Stains for blushes and cheek? Probably either too drying, sheer, or complete shit for both cheeks and lips. To my pleasant surprise, these nail polish shaped stains act like an opaque matte liquid lipstick on the lips and a lovely stain on the cheeks that lasts an entire day. Rouge Effrontee is a hot pink coral that's very flattering and bright.

On the glossy, watery, balmy end of the spectrum, the YSL Glossy Stain in 7 Corail Aquatique ($36) is a revisit of a favored formula for me. While I still think that the Revlon Moisture Stains are great dupes of this formula (a little thinner and patchier), Corail Aquatique is an easy-to-wear muted peach that could pass as MLBB if you're a Kpop princess.

Then shit got REALLY REAL, and I bit the bullet for two Guerlain Rouge Automatiques ($37 each) in Nahema and Insolence. It's hard to explain these colors without calling everything peach or coral, so I guess you could say that every shade I purchased is a mutation of coral.

Besides the adorable trap door/slide down for lipstick to come up contraption that may lead to many lipsticks ruined in the palm of your hands, the formula is...amazing. It glides on, imparting color that's moisturizing, doesn't bleed all over lip lines, and stays on for a solid 6 hours before fading evenly. 

*pupils dilate, grabs all teh Guerlain*

Here are swatches with Insolence on the left and Nahema on the right (two swipes versus one for each color). 

Because all of these options are on the sheerer side without being too in yo face about their pigment, I don't feel afraid to wear lipstick. All of them can be applied without a mirror and I don't have to blot anything down or feel self-conscious about stares. Isn't comfort what makes makeup fun in the first place? 

xo Be

Review: Aqua Rouge Lip Cream

Remember this?

One word: Ew.

As you may know, I recently hauled a Makeup Forever's Aqua Rouge lip cream out of curiosity. I am extremely lazy when it comes to my lips. What's the point of layering product upon product on your lips when you're going to devour a giant sandwich in a few hours? At most, I layer lipstick over lip balm, or swipe on a gloss before I head out. 

So when I saw the Aqua Rouge lip creams, I was instantly attracted. After all, the product promises to be waterproof, long lasting, hydrating, etc. (basically the Iron Man of lip products). If I swipe on a layer of color, wait for it to dry, and then layer with a gloss, it would last until I scrub the crap out of my lips at the end of the day? Oh hell yeah.

Sad to say, I tried this out for a night out on the town and felt self conscious about my lips the entire time. Once you layer on the cream color, you better commit harder than a monogamist in an apocalyptic world. If you apply too thick in one corner and too little in the other, you cannot fix it once it dries with the gloss. To test my theory of long lasting abilities, I left the tube at home. Then I saw a reflection and screamed...oh no. 

So what was a girl to do? My lip color was radiant and beautiful, but applied without a mirror, it was patchy. Especially with the color 18, a bright orange coral, I looked like a pumpkin glutton. It was awful.

Trying to fix the problem, I scrubbed with a moist towel in the bathroom. Nothing happened. I applied lip balm and wiped it, nothing. The color and mistakes would not soften. I was glad I was in theaters to see Pacific Rim, where no sunlight could reach me. 

Are the colors pretty? You bet. Are there a lot of them, yes. 

Does it last forever as claimed? Agonizingly so. If you don't take your time and refer to a mirror, good luck fixing it without an oil based makeup remover. However, if you get it right the first time, you may enjoy this product very much.

Is it moisturizing? To a surprising degree, yes. Even when I scrubbed my lips raw, the gloss helped my lips recover. 

The worst part, however, is the artificial fruit/lychee smell. Imagine it lingering on your nose as you try so desperately to get rid of the color. At one point I started crying inwardly. It was a beauty nightmare. 

My verdict is that if you are very careful when applying delicate things with a doefoot applicator, go for it. It will most likely be your best friend. For me, the smell and mistake-unfriendly expectations left me annoyed. And the worst part? It's so expensive! I can get a lipstick and layer on a cheap gloss for the same price. I would advise you to try it first at the mall, walk around and see how people stare at you (in a bad, terrible way), and then come back to remove it with a steel wool pad and some bleach. If you find this an innovative product, I congratulate you. Seriously, you just skipped out on so many lip product steps. Plus you get to eat your food without bothering to touch up. It's a definite hit or miss in my book, and for me, a terrifying miss. The cons outweigh the pros. Or should I say, outlast.

In all honesty, it just wasn't right for me. I think that if you are looking for a hydrating stain, however, this may be a huge winner in your book. You can find swatches of this coral along with the many beautiful shades with a quick google search.

Tell me, what's your last lip related incident that's left you scarred?

Be

Review: MAC Cremesheen Glass

Richer, Lusher?

Is there such a product that makes me richer while plumping up my lopsided sausages?

Sadly, the answer is no. These cremesheen glass, or fancy tinted lip glosses, from MAC run about 20 dollars at Nordies. Surprising, since MAC lipsticks are only about 15 dollars. Good thing the mother offered payment in exchange for giving her advice on a new red lipstick shade and foundation. I recommended Studio Fix Fluid for a summer foundation and Viva Glam I (one of my recent finds) for a sexy red shade. She actually gave her SFF to me in an act of great charity, and upon seeing its finish on my skin, she had to re-buy. Women logic. SFF's full coverage and strong oil control makes flaw covering and tone-evening a one step process for lazy summers (no concealer or powder needed).

Anyway, I digress. Richer, Lusher is a beautiful coral/orange shade that looks lovely on its own or over a pink lipstick for more dimension.

PROS:

- Non-sticky. Lip gloss reminds me of the third grade. Sticky lip gloss reminds me of my third grade frenemy. Associations are powerful. This gloss doesn't stir up any old memories.

- Color is semi-opaque. In the tube, it looks like a heavy liquid gloop lipstick. The color payoff is a little less sheer than an actual Cremesheen lipstick but is more...

- Moisturizing. Even more so than its lipstick counterpart. The gloss can pair with any lipstick in order to prevent cracked lips or settled lip color.

- Doefoot applicator makes it easy to apply, though not precise enough without some reference to a pocket mirror.

- In general, a beautiful and subtle color that can lean nude for a smokey eye or brightening on its own. It is not opaque enough to clash with another lipstick but only helps amplify another lipcolor, either from a lipstick or lip liner.

- The Cremesheen Glass line has many beautiful, collectible, wonderful, obsession-inducing shades to choose from.

CONS:

- What the expensive heck? 20 dollars for a lip gloss? Good thing lip glosses last me for ages until I get annoyed at the sticky caps and throw them away.

Would I repurchase? Not likely. Would I purchase another shade in the collection? Yes, given that the color was absolutely to die for. I spotted many other lovely shades, but the price tag induced rational hesitance. My wallet actually screamed "No!" audibly. Just kidding. But 20 dollars for a lip gloss? Am I wrong for thinking that lip gloss shouldn't be more than 5 bucks under any circumstance?

Anyway, I am heading back to San Diego tomorrow to start my summer classes and clean up the house in order for a big move to another part of town. The upside is that I won't have to unpack anything, but I would still love to do a collective haul for you guys if you're interested. I'm not meaning to brag, a lot of the stuff I got were presents and gifts from my family for graduation who knows how much I love makeup and cosmetics. I got hooked up with some really great gems like a BeautyBlender, Origins face products, MAC products, and plenty of stuff from Sephora. If I do a collective haul, I'll be posting it up as a video on Youtube and link it here.

Tata for now,

Be

Haul: MUFE lipsticks!

Hello again!

Today was a really nice Sunday and after a raging party at Sun God, I decided to take a stroll around the mall....and took a straight path to Sephora.

You see, I've been researching and online swatch-obsessing over Makeup Forever's lipsticks for a while now and heard loads of great things about their pigmentation and moisturizing properties. I'm a huge fan of MAC lipsticks since they are just oh so collectable, but these MUFE Rouge Artiste Intense lipsticks come in 50 shades and three finishes! Since most of them are Satin, I knew I had to pick a few up just in time for summer. I managed to haul three shades that I know will be absolutely vibrant on my tanned skin. (Anyone remember that limited edition tanned Hawaiian Hello Kitty?)

The following lipsticks can be found at Sephora for 20 dollars a tube. Not bad for how highly reviewed it is online and how much you get in the bullet. It definitely isn't as cheap as a MAC lipstick, but they seem very collectible and according to urban legend, has even converted some faithful MAC lovers! I'm not a fan of the numbering system...it makes researching very hard to do!

The first color I picked up is MUFE #44, a deep red that looks a little Brad Pitt vampire lips in the tube but translates to a warm and slightly deeper berry red.

Out of the four red shades available in stores this shade was the best one for my tone and hair color. There are many more shades available online, but I couldn't find them all at the Sephora. I'm sure this one will do great on a night out and won't be too dark for the summer. This may be similar to my NARS Shanghai Express. (PS: great red for golden undertones....a little politically incorrect, but I'll take two.)

This one is MUFE #38. I may have a similar MAC lipstick, but this one is just too beautiful to pass up. Don't believe me? Google swatches of this color...especially all colors within the 32-39 range and your materialistic inner devil will urge you to go buy buy buy! I think this pink is appropriately nude enough without washing my tone out.

This last one is #39, one frequently reviewed online. A lot of online swatches shows it as this very intense orangey-coral color, but I assure you that swatched on the hand it is rather lovely and demure. I will see how it turns out on my lips.

I have MAC Ravishing, but as a Cremesheen formula I find that the color payoff is not as opaque as I want it to be. Also, Ravishing tends to point out every attractive lip flakes I have, thus making my lips a true to life rendition of red snappers at the fish market. I'm hoping this one will be moisturizing and more intense.

For more true to color swatches, check out KarlaSugar or JoeySpace. Bring napkins and be prepared to drool.

That's all for today, I'll be back later within the month to give you a review of each shade, its color payoff, moisturizing or drying tendencies, and wear time!

-Be

PS: Someone help me. I have an addiction and it's not as cheap as cocaine.