la girl glazed lip paint - review and swatches

After loving LA Girl's matte pigment gloss (reviewed here) and luxury crème lipstick (reviewed here), I figured I'd try out their glazed lip paint, which is meant to be a kind of similar product to the Too Faced Melted lippies. I picked up the shade 'coy', which is a lovely violet shade.

 



I'm gonna be straight up here: I didn't like it. The packaging looks pretty cool, but isn't really functional. It's got a plastic slanted tip applicator which makes spreading the colour evenly impossible. It just makes a mess. So, I tried a lip brush. I found the consistency to be thin and liquidy, and to be fair, I liked how it could be applied sheerer or more opaque depending on how much I put on, and I did love the colour. But it bled. Not a huge amount, but if a shade like this has noticeable bleeding, imagine how the darker shades would fare. Not great, I'm guessing.

The worst thing for me was the mintiness. Now don't get me wrong, a little bit of mint scent or taste is fine by me. But this was pretty overwhelming and difficult to ignore, and it was so strong that it made my lips buzz.

On the plus side, it's affordable and a unique colour. In fact, it's a pretty close dupe to Lime Crime's Airborne Unicorn lipstick (reviewed here) , though a smidge darker, and an alternative to Lunatick Cosmetic Labs Apocalipslick in Grave Heart Shift (reviewed here). Me? I'm still not won over.

la girl glazed lip paint- coy

 

 In the above picture, the lip swatch shows LA Girl glazed lip paint in Coy, and the swipes below show comparisons in the following order: Lime Crime Airborn Unicorn, LA Girl Coy, LCC Grave Heart Shift.

 

Have you tried LA Girl's lip paint? What did you think?

 



fyrinnae lip lustres- review and swatches.

I've had my Fyrinnae lip lustres for quite a while now and have really loved them. I always intended to review them, but I just never got round to it. So what finally pushed me? Well, rumour has it, they're going to be discontinued and replaced with liquid to matte and traditional lipsticks. NOOOOO. I really hope it is just a rumour, because these lip lustres are among the most unique lip products I own (though obviously I'm looking forward to the brand's newer releases too). But if it is true, I don't have long to convince you guys that they're awesome and you need them in your life before they're gone forever. Right. Here goes.

   Fyrinnae is an indie brand that sells gorgeous makeup in a rainbow of colours and is refreshingly inclusive, appealing to all genders, races and sexualities. It's really great to see their swatches against dark skin or beards. So far, they've been mostly known for their eye shadows and lip lustres and the cult status shimmer shadow fixer, Pixie Epoxy. However, they now also sell blushers (most are lip safe), matte and shimmer bronzes, illuminating finishing powders, highlighters, primers, and liquid to matte lipsticks, with regular lipsticks soon to make their debut. All products are vegan, the brand is honest and ethical, and the products are of a high quality. But off everything I've tried so far, the lip lustres have to be my favourite.

   But what exactly are they? Well, as I said, they're real unique. They're sort of a semi solid light weight lip colour in tube packaging. There are all sorts of funky colours with funky names, and they can be bought in trial sizes so you can test the ccolours. Some are more sheer, some more opaque. Some have shimmer, some are shimmer free. Here, have a look at mine.



Fyrinnae lip lustres- burrowing owl (sample size), ghostly voice, ghost's kiss, dragon's blood

and in reverse order: dragon's blood, ghost's kiss, ghostly voice, burrowing owl

       The formula on these is as fabulous as it is unique. Very. It glides onto your lips like a thin layer of silk and doesn't settle into lines or bleed, and feels comfortable and lightly hydrating through wear. And it's somehow so lightweight. It doesn't even feel like you have anything on your lips. For those of you who hate heavy, tacky or thick lip products- these will change your life. So onto the colours.

 

Burrowing Owl- described on the site as 'cool violet with a grey-mauve hue. May appear somewhat more purple depending on the natural lip colour, and not as cool. Sheer, slightly metallic finish, but no sparkle'. On me, it looks very violet-grey-mauve applied sheer, but built up with a few more coats, it looks almost navy with a smidgen of purple. This is such a unique shade and I wish I'd bought a full size. You can definitely pull on the tones you want by pairing with a lipliner. I like to wear it full on navy-ish at home, but being a whimp, if I'm going out,  I tend to bring out the purple tones with a smidge of pink liner rubbed in to make it more wearable.

 

Ghostly Voice- described on the site as 'silvery with a greenish cast, this semi sheer Lustre changes to a rose-pink hue as it gets close to light. In low light, or over dark lipstick, the effect tends to show up even more'. How cool! This one makes me feel like a space mermaid creature thing. As suggested, it is great for experimentation and layering with other lipsticks. I do think that it would be more accurate to describe it as 'duochrome' rather than 'colour changing' though, because you won't see any kind of magical metamorphosis. What you will get, though, is a dynamic colour with shifting tones as it catches the light.

 

Ghost's Kiss-  I actually can't find the description of this one on the sight- probably it's out of stock- so I'll tell you what it looks like to me. It's a medium pigmented nude peach with gold and pink shimmer (not glitter). It is absolutely bloody gorgeous, and it simply GLOWS. I think it's probably the most wearable of the shades I own, and is a great luminous and dynamic alternative to the boring standards nudes out there.

 

Dragon's Blood- described on the site as a 'deep, rich, maroon red'. Rich is the word. This shade is fully opaque and is absolutely stunning. No shimmer, just beautiful blood red. I love this one as a winter shade- it's got an almost jewel like quality to it. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite capture the depth or the darkness of it on my shitty camera as it bleached out the colour, so you're just gonna have to trust me on this one.

 

SWATCHES!

fyrinnae lip lustres- ghost's kiss, burrowing owl, ghostly voice, dargon's blood

   Oh, one final note. As mentioned, these are a semi solid product and are prone to stiffening a little in the tube. If you find you're struggling to get much colour out, try warming the tube a little. It'll do wonders. The lip lustres are available from fyrinnae.com and are priced at a BARGAINOUS $7, so hurry up and snag them in case they become extinct forever.

xx

review and swatches: revlon colorstay moisture stain in london posh

It's the last instalment of the glossy stain posts guys, for now anyway. I thought I'd feature a different colour this time- we've had our fill of reds, haven't we? We have. Introducing the latest offering from Revlon: the colorstay moisture stain. I keep writing 'colour', with a U, then checking myself (before wrecking myself).

  Design-wise, this is a streetwise and funky version of the YSL. We still have the boxy rectangular packaging, but the rounded corners are replaced with unapologetic edges. It's not so posh, but I really like it. It's modern and cool and a bit different to the pretty curves that tend to grace the makeup aisles. Like the YSL too, the moisture stain also has a wide paddle-shaped applicator which handles well and distributes the perfect amount of product.

  As for texture, well, this is where it gets a little weird. It applies thick but really wet feeling, and it looks and feels like spreading a puréed slug over your lips. It's sort of plasticky and gooey and streaky. I was genuinely really disappointed, and was part hoping mine just happened to be dodgy one and that they weren't meant to be all icky. But then, relief! after a few seconds, all that plastic-ness seemed to melt away into a balmy, non-sticky, easy to spread texture, Hurrah! What an emotional whirlwind. I think I might need a lie down.

Revlon colorstay moisture stain - London posh 

  Anyway, yeah. The texture is lovely- just don't be deterred by the first spreadage of gunkery. It's actually really moisturising through wear. Now, onto the colour. London Posh is the palest of the (impressive) shade selection, and the closest to nude territory. It's a warm peach shade- it looks more pink in the tube- with subtle gold iridescence that adds luminosity and a rather glamorous perk to an otherwise unassuming shade. I really love it. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the staining properties of this as the shade is too light to really do anything to my pigmented lips, but some of the deeper shades look like they could pack a punch, or ten.  

    It's a thumbs up from me, and at £7.99, they're not gonna break the bank. If you've tried any other shades, let me know how they fared in the staining stakes yeah? Ta. x

topshop gloss ink relentless: review and swatches

It's another shade of red in gloss stain series! First up, we had a wine  red with the YSL glossy stain. Then it was an apple red with the Baviphat Urban Dollkiss. Now, we have jewel toned, ruby-esque, blue toned, brilliant red brought to us by Topshop, in their Gloss Ink stained gloss, in the shade 'relentless'. I'll tell you a secret. I thought I was buying an orange shade! Never mind though, because I'm finding this shade beautiful indeed. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

   Topshop's beauty line manages to combine 'minimalism' with 'cute' and 'cool'. Think spots and stripes. The gloss inks are no exception- with matte, rubber look packaging with shiney black detailing, it's classic Topshop goodness. Ok, it might be prone to catching dust, but it's no biggie. It comes with a standard doefoot which I found easy to use, and the formula is of a super glossy richly pigmented gloss which stains the lips. It does, and does so very well. Longevity, like the previous gloss stains reviewed, was impressive. 

    But. There is a but. The reason I can't completely gush about this product is because it has two flaws that the other products don't have. One, it's sticky. Not  pva glue-lipgloss-nightmare sticky, but there is a slight tackiness which just ain't as lovely as the sliky, creamy feel of its contenders. And, secondly, it feathers, Again, it's not a huge amount- in fact it's only noticeable up close, but it's strange for me as lip products very rarely feather on me. 

    I don't want to be too negative here because I do love the shade, and can in fact see my self finishing up the tube. But I would bear in mind that the formula isn't foolproof. That said, it's only £8, so beats the YSL and Baviphat in terms of affordability and availability. 

   Finally, some swatches. It looked way more vivid in real life. *shakes fist at camera*

what do you reckon? Will you be giving it a whirl?

x

Baviphat urban dollkiss I love tint gloss, a review and swatches.

Well, it's the second instalment of my gloss stain series. Bet you thought it'd be the L'oreal glam shine stain splash, huh? But that would be predictable, and I'm edgy and like to keep my readers on their toes. And, er, I don't own it. I do however own a little known product by Asian brand Baviphat. Introducing the Urban Dollkiss I Love Tint Gloss.

  Uwrapping my parcel, I was confronted a with cute and very ludicrously packaged thingamibob. It looked like something from the sugary girl's aisle in a toy shop.

 But, bless my socks, isn't it cute? In fact, I might even stretch to call it 'kawaii'. It's shaped like a little apple! The stem twists open to reveal a short, dinky little applicator with a groove in the paddle for getting the right amount of product on. It comes in a variety of shades- orange, peach, etc- but mine is in the shade 'cherry', which is bright happy red. Surely it could've just been called...apple? Humph. Whatever.

  I'm gonna say this now: I actually prefer this to the Yves Saint Laurent offering. Not only is it miles cheaper (I got mine for around a fiver on ebay), but its texture and appearance on the lips is better, I think. Though not as glossy as the YSL, and probably not as sophisticated, this apple gunk looks vibrant and youthful, and manages to last fairly well for a gloss product. The main difference between this baby and the YSL is the texture: The YSL is a true gloss that happens to stain, whereas this has more of a creamy liquid lipstick-ish consistency. It still has minor staining properties, but the finish is more of a sheen than out and out glossiness. Like the YSL though, it's not sticky at all.

  I tend to wear just this with one dip of the wand, and find it gives me enough product to spread all over my lips with sheer but still noticeably flushed coverage. This does layer really well though, so you could totally add on another coat if you want to amp up the vibrancy and glossiness.

Baviphat urban dollkiss I love tint gloss 

This was my first foray into the brand, and it was a positive one. Will you be trying this or other Baviphat products? Let me know! 

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Lip Stain (Vernis A Levres), review and swatches.

Right, so you know how I said I was gonna do some themed posts? I'm thinking of covering lip velvet products and lip and cheek products, but I'm gonna start off with some staining gloss products. And what better product to kick this off than the now cult status lippie, the YSL glossy stain. With a fluffy, ergonomically shaped paddle-style applicator that hugs the lip contour precisely, the brand's trademark gold casing embellished with the logo, and a handy little window to show the colour, this is well designed and looks as expensive as it is. £21.25 from feelunique.com, but usually at £25. Ouch. That said, it's not as show-off-ish as some other YSL offerings, and I know you know I'm thinking of the Rouge Voluptes, which are almost too beautiful to use.

    Now, I'm not much of a gloss fan. I don't like the stickiness or the transfer or the lack of wear time or the lack of pigment. That's why I'm loving this; It combines the best bits about gloss (er, glossiness) with the pigmentation of a lipstick and the hydration of a balm and the longevity of a stain. Pretty good, huh?

ysl rouge our couture glossy lip stain- shade 33

  Really, the texture and finish are great. The formula glides on and somehow manages to stay glossy for a long time, whilst magically locking the colour to your lips. If you've tried other felt pen type lip stains, you'll know that the fade is often unattractive and the finish is uneven, or they just don't last like they promise. So a fabulous stain formula is no small feat. And did I mention it's not sticky? It's not sticky.

   I have shade 33, Bourogne Artistique, which is a deep berry stain that looks lovely aound this time of year. I find it really brightens up my face.

So yeah, I like it. But hot damn is it pricey. And there are much cheaper products that promise similar things. But are they any good?

Ah. You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? :) 

Review and swatches: lime crime carousel gloss

Well, the best way to kickstart my blog and attract a good readership probably would've been  to make my first post  a fool proof one- a popular product by a well known and well loved brand. But then, I've always been a contrary mary. It’s gonna be Lime Crime folks. The controversial-est brand out there, proper marmite territory.

      I’m gonna do the chicken thing and just focus on the products, which, incidentally, I adore. I've got a couple of the carousel glosses for you today. 

     Lime Crime’s carousel glosses are slick but not sticky at all, packed full of glitter, and have the kind of pigmentation you’d expect from a liquid lipstick-type product. The brush is tiny compared to other gloss wands, but that allows for more precise application- which you need with these mucky pups.

    Lime Crime’s characteristic whacky colours reach into their gloss collection, you’ll either be happy or unbothered to hear. There’s a green (Hollygram), a blue (loop-de-loop), a GORGEOUS gold (golden ticket), and a dark purple (kaleidoscope). I have none of these shades. Much weeping. On the bright side though, I do have:

• ·         Cherry on top- a bright cherry red
• ·         Candy Apple- deep apple red
• ·         Present- deep magenta-pink
• ·         Snowsicle- clear with rainbow sparkle

Here are some swatches. Pretty, innit?

   'Candy apple' is definitely my favourite. Can you see why? 

Lime crime carousel gloss - candy apple

   So, do I recommend these sticks of pretty? Yes, internet. I do. Though a tad pricey, you get a generous amount of product for your dolla in unique and impressively pigmented shades, which dodge the shudder-inducing stickiness that we tend to associate with gloss. Considering their texture, they last quite well too (more due to their colour intensity than the formulation) and fade well too. And they’re vegan and cruelty free! Massive yes. And, last but not least... have you seen how pretty the packaging is? SO BLOODY PRETTY. Swirly whirly lilacy unicorn girliness.

   Do you love them as much as I do? I hear some of the other shades are a bit cruddy- what have your experiences been?

Talk to me xx