LIPSTICKS

 

i am very much a lipstick person

love the lasting effect, and the fact that lipsticks often give better coverage and are fuss-free

 

i hate too much shine and glitter so lipglosses are a big no-no
im no longer 15 yknow, i need grown up stuff now

worst still, they are sticky and it really annoys me if i am constantly reminded that my lips are smeared with stuff

furthermore, glitters are an absolute nightmare to remove, so one wrong swipe and you're gonna sparkle the wrong way!
 

without further ado, i present my current lipstick collection :*
 

L to R: MAC Viva Glam 1; Too Cool For School Hot Girl Lip Sticker in Tangerine, Real Red, Lady Salmon; Banila Co. De La Rouge RG05; Holika Holika Face 2 Change Red Queen 

here's the swatches

ok i know..
i am very obviously a fan of red lipsticks
heck, its even my favourite colour!
but i like my final lip colour to be somewhat an orangey sort of brighter red, not a dullish red bcos that would make me look older

since my work requires me to don full lasting makeup, i decided to throw all focus to my red lips bcos its obvious and bright, and i will stop receiving 'reminders' about how plain my face is etc
this method is actually quite effective!
bcos the rest of my face is super plain, with just eyeliner, a little mascara, usually no blush

i know many people fear wearing too much of red on the lips bcos it might come off as tacky
but red lips are actually a classic! its a fad that will never die (at least by my rules!)
since red lipsticks are pretty strong in terms of colour, i usually just dab a little on if i dont want to carry such an obvious look-at-my-lips look

the trick to choosing the right red is to look at your skin tone first
since i am of a warm tone, i tend to pick reds which are more suited for warmer tones, which means no blueish undertone
the good thing about being of a warm skin tone is that i can pull off brighter reds!
bcos the contrast isnt that big and my lips wont look as overwhelming than if cool-toned people attempt the same look
but its okay to pick a cool colour too, bcos you can always blend it in with a warm colour and achieve a new exquisite shade of red!

also, i (repeatedly) said i hate glitter/shiny lipsticks
so most of my sticks are matte
if i feel a need to add some shine to my lips, i do so by dabbing lipbalm/lipcare over so that i can benefit from its moisturing effects too!
yes, the thing about lipsticks though, is that it can get pretty drying for your lips, so always remember to moisturise your lips before application!



Mac Viva Glam 1

got this stick about 2 years ago?
IT SERIOUSLY LASTED ME A LONG TIME
til now im still not done with it!
if im not wrong, this cost me SGD$28, as with all other MAC lipsticks
i bought this on impulse after getting chided at work for 'not wearing any makeup' just bcos my face wasnt popping (with colours) enough
so i was all like 'enough is enough. you want popping? i'll give you popping!' and marched to a MAC store, asked for the reddest matte lipstick and paid up

BUT! this is now my holy grail lipstick and i cannot. live. without. it.
its provides me with such a long lasting effect, even when i eat whole meals/drink multiple times it just wont budge! <3
seriously $28 is super worth it considering how well it has worked for me

this red is a little too dark for my liking though, more maroonish than red
so i always blend with my orange lipstick, or dab it lightly whenever i need some colour on my lips
blended or dabbed, it comes out beautifully, i promise



Too Cool For School Hot Girl Lip Stickers

i bought these babies in korea last year at 7,000원 per pop
THEY ARE REALLY WORTH YOUR 7,000원

i love all 3 colours almost equally
the colours produced are all vivid and vibrant and makes my lips looks so good i wanna smooch myself heh
however, the lasting effect isnt as good as my MAC one
they can withstand at most 5hrs tops?
definitely reapplication is needed after meals or drinks
and coverage is just average, not as thick as you would expect
but then again at 7bucks, what more can you ask for really
im just really thankful and embracing such lovely colours

i use the tangerine one the most under my MAC for work to create a orangey-red finish
i usually do this by applying lipcare, then smother on my tcfs tangerine all over til my lips are entirely orange, then dab my MAC over it
and walah! perfect orangey-red colour!
currently im on my 2nd stick bcos i finished my first one and got a friend (who happened to be going to korea!) to get one more for me

my red one i use as a substitute for my MAC on days where i dont need my lipstick to last that long
this is also my 2nd one but only bcos i lost my first stick );
it still looks brand new bcos recently i've been trying to finish up my MAC one so that i can get a new holy grail
2 years is a long time to be using the same lipstick :O

and my salmon one i use on days where i dont feel like having red lips, but still need some natural looking lip colour because i have naturally dark lips so i need to brighten them up to a more normal shade



Banila Co. De La Rouge

honestly i havent not started on this product so i cant say anything for now
but the sales assistant in banila co seoul was raving about how good this product works (they all do anw)
so lets see how true this is when i start on it SOON (:
im thinking that this would make an awesome substitute for my MAC too bcos it is brighter than my MAC



Holika Holika Face 2 Change Red Queen

omg this product was such a letdown
it isnt even true to its colour
while it looks like an orangey-red in product, it actually turned out very pinkish,  sort of like fuschia, in real life upon application
its the exact colour i hate

furthermore, this product is FAR from a lipstick
it actually does more as a gloss bcos of the high water content and texture
its a product i have been trying to use under my other sticks just so that i can actually finish it (seems impossibly seriously)
but if one day i should ever get irritated with it, im all ready to chuck it

this was actually the first lipstick i bought during my major trip to korea last year
but turned out to be the worst ):


so that was all for my lipstick collection at the moment
im heading to korea again in a few weeks time and can already foresee myself getting more sticks (right ones this time i hope) to try out in the name of beauty

when it comes to lipsticks, so far my experience is that, what you pay for is really worth what you get
my most expensive stick, the MAC one, is seriously awesome
i really cant live without it and will recommend it to everyone out there looking for lipsticks to try
it is good to invest in a solid lipstick which will bring you through tough and smooth times
getting cheaper alternatives to play up different looks and shades is fun too, but nothing beats the consistency that you can trust a solid lipstick to deliver

and one trick about making your lip colour last is definitely BLOTTING
always blot your lips after each application so that the colour can be absorbed and stays longer

however, i heard that applying too much colours to your lips can cause them to turn purple?
IS THIS TRUE?!