LIPSTICK

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks Review and Swatch – Lolita, Lolita II, Berlin, Lovesick and Mother

July 27, 2016

Ever since Sephora was launched in Australia, I have definitely become more interested in their exclusive makeup brands such as the Kat Von D, as opposed to the usual high end department store brands. Today’s post is for Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks – needless for me to say how popular these are! If you’ve ever been to the shop, you would notice the never-ending crowd at the Kat Von D, and these liquid lipsticks are always out-of-stock! I bought them online, and picked the colors based on the swatch without having any research done as I was confident that they would work for me!

I picked some highly popular colors from this range, including Mother, Lovesick, Berlin, and Lolita and Lolita II with the latter two being the best sellers. All the colors are in line with my expectations, and I truly love every single one of them.

The Liquid Lipstick has a lovely creamy and velvety consistency on application that feels lightweight on the lips. Pigmentation is intense and opaque, so a little product goes a long way. It doesn’t bleed nor feather, and it takes about 10 seconds for the formula to completely sink into the lips, and dries down to a stain-like matte finish. It doesn’t make your lips appear dryer, but if you already have dry and flakey lips to begin with, be aware this formula doesn’t moisturize and will not hide the dry lips condition. This lipstick lasts forever, and stays put for about 4-5 hours before it is totally worn off.

I find that the application with Kat Von D is much easier than the MAC matte liquid lipcolors, as it applies evenly (non patchy), and it allows for enough time to blend and make it look perfect. With this formula , I personally prefer to line the lips and apply the color with a lip brush for a more precise and sophisticated finish.

Color Description and Swatch

Mother – Medium mauve pink

Lovesick – Nude dusty pink. I have a thing for muted dusty pink lip color. Lovesick leans cool and slightly nude. My preferred application is to fill my lips with the Chanel lip liner in Rose Delicate, and then apply lovesick on top for the prettiest MLBB pink mauve lip color.

Lolita – Chestnut brown color with a hint of mauve undertone. The most wearable brown lip color I have ever come cross! It’s such a fashionable and edgy color to wear without looking too bold and vampy. Absolutely love it!

Lolita II – Peachy terracotta color. It is the everyday version of Lolita, and color is more nude, and would suit most complexions.

Berlin – Warm coral red that is so beautiful and brightens up the complexion instantly

Group Swatch

just applied

once it dries to matte finish

Bottom Line: Must have! Reasonably priced with a pleasant formula that lasts like ink, and it comes in a huge color selection.

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Labels: Kat Von D • LIPSTICK • LIPTINT

Tom Ford Soleil Color Collection – Soleil Contouring Compact, Bicoastal Sheer Cheek Duo, Ultra Rich Lip Color Review, Swatch and FOTD

June 12, 2016

Believe it or not, Tom Ford Soleil Color is the only 2016 summer collection that I picked up this year! (yep I skipped the Chanel..and many others) Normally summer collection involves lots of bright colors and bronzers which are not of my best interest, so for me it’s the easiest season that I can save my money from lol! With the exception of the always breathtaking release from Tom Ford. I managed to pick up some highly popular items including two beautiful face palettes – the Contouring Compact (limited edition) and Bicoastal Sheer Cheek Duo, and one lip color in Les Mepris on the first day of release. The entire collection is available on David Jones Online in Australia.

The Soleil Contouring Compact in The Afternooner is beyond gorgeous. If you own the Illuminating Powder Duo (reviewed here), you will love this palette too, as it includes a highlighter and a bronzer that are just as gorgeous as the duos, with an additional blush that makes this palette very versatile and practical to use. I won’t go into the details of the quality in this post, as they are always consistent with Tom Ford’s items from the past and permanent collections which I have reviewed many times. Overall Tom Ford is known for their cream-like powder based makeup with an ultra buttery and smooth texture for an effortless application.

Color description:

Highlighter: A soft nude shimmer highlighter with a pale gold undertone. On the swatch it leans slightly warm. However on my cool toned NC15 complexion, I am glad that it doesn’t pull too warm on me as some other golden highlighters do. I normally apply a sheer layer on top of the cheekbone, and it goes on translucent and gives a beautiful natural looking glow.

Blush: A semi-matte coral pink blush that gives a pretty flush of color and looks flattering on any skin tones.

Bronzer: A semi-matte sable brown color that compliments my skin-tone. It particularly goes well with the blush and highlighter – when all three colors are applied, they give a harmonious and sophisticated finish. The bronzer looks great for contouring the cheekbone, or dust a little all over the face for a bit of sun-kissed look. The color is too warm for my complexion as a real contouring product for the jaws and nose.

Swatch

The Tom Ford Bicoastal Sheer Cheek Duo is another palette not to be missed from the collection! It’s my kind of blush color that I can wear all year around. It has the two prettiest shades of pink in different finishes housed in the signature TF white and gold compact. On the top is a baby peachy pink shimmer highlighter. The blush at the bottom is a semi-matte rosy pink. I like to mix the two colors together for a natural and pretty glowy effect . Both colors go on sheer, so I prefer to use a dense powder blush for application, and they can be easily build up to a more vibrant finish.

Group Swatch

Tom Ford released two sets of lip color collections in this release. I passed on the entire Moisturecore Lip Colors as I just did not like the finish on me. With the white tube Ultra Rich Lip Color, I have an eternal affinity with them. They are beautifully packaged, feel luxurious with a creamy and silky formula. I only picked up the color Les Mepris so far, but in the back of my mind I kept on thinking about Purple Noon and Revolve Around Me which are more edgy colors. Les Mepris is a go-to pretty pink coral color that is universally flattering for all complexions. It goes well with any makeup look, and it instantly brightens up my complexion for a youthful appeal.

Sharing some of my FOTDs wearing the Soleil Compact with all three colors applied and Lip Color Les Mepris.

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Labels: BLUSH • FOTD • HIGHLIGHTER • LIPSTICK • Tom Ford

Hooray to New SUQQU! Blend Colour Eyeshadow EX31 and Creamy Glow Lipstick EX21 Review and Swatch

May 29, 2016

This summer Suqqu has released an exclusive collection for Selfridges UK only. I was thrilled to receive the limited edition blend Colour Eyeshadow EX31 and the gorgeous Creamy Glow Lipstick EX21. Long time readers would know how much I am obsessed with Suqqu, and they are my most loved and treasured makeup collection.

As with most summer makeup collections, the Suqqu Blend Colour Eye Shadow EX31 is a more colorful palette than the usual color themes from other seasons. First thought of the palette was that the burst of orange eye shadow was definitely not in my comfort zone. However after playing with the palette for a few weeks, my worry was eased as the rest of the 3 neutral colors were extremely easy to work with, and they helped to ‘soften’ the pop of orange and make it more flattering. I am not the most creative person with colorful bright eye shadows, so I googled for orange matte eye shadow inspirations, and I found some really great looks that I thought I’d share. It is actually getting more fun to wear this palette, and my preferred application is to softly apply the orange shade over the crease area, then apply and blend the golden shade over all the lid (similar to look 1).

The quality of this palette is consistent with the permanent line. It contains 3 matte and 1 shimmer shades. Suqqu’s matte eye shadow is the best of the best – they are very smooth and even to apply and blend like a dream. Their shimmer eye shadow is also no exceptions – silky buttery smooth with a beautiful satin sheen. All the shades in this palette are very highly pigmented, so a little goes a long way.

Color Description (clockwise)

soft shimmer gold

matte off white

matte dark chocolate brown

matte burnt orange

Swatch

On to the Creamy Glow EX21 Lipstick, which is my holy grail lipstick out of all the brands I have (more review here). Suqqu’s lipsticks have the most nourishing, hydrating formula, and it has a lightweight, creamy and silky consistency without being overly slippery. It gives the most plumping, and hydrating effect to the lips immediately after application, and keeps the lips moist for hours. EX-21 is an ultra pigmented bright raspberry pink with a hint of plummy undertone in full coat. The color becomes more of a soft rosy pink for a sheer coat, and it looks more soft and girly.

Full coat

Sheer coat – applied with a lip brush

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Labels: EYESHADOW • LIPSTICK • SUQQU

My Current Favorite Lip Colors

May 9, 2016

When it comes to makeup, I change my lip colors much more diligently than any other makeups. I can get away with wearing the same foundation and eye shadow for a long time, whilst for lip colors, I like to keep my many lipsticks on high rotation for an updated look. Lately I am a little over the pink and coral phase, and have become besotted with more neutral lip colors again. Perhaps it was to do with the current fashion trend, anything with a muted tone such as MLBB or browns in matte finish has my heart fluttered!

Here is an array of my current favorite lipsticks!

Top row from the lip swatch collage is the MLBB shades with a dusty pink undertone – absolutely obsessed with this shade.

Illamasqua Lipstick in Climax – One of my favorite colors from Illamasqua. Their quality is slightly better than MAC – very pigmented and smooth to apply without streaks. Climax is the most beautiful MLBB shade I own – it’s a tad darker than my own natural lip color with a peachy pink undertone in creme semi-matte finish. Think about your flushed lip color when you just step out of the shower.

MAC Lipstick Please Me (Matte) – My Holy Grail lip color, If I could only live with 3 lipsticks ‘Please Me’ would be one of them. It’s a MLBB with a dusty rose undertone in semi-matte finish. Just a natural but sexy color with a fashion spin and is easy to wear with different makeup looks.

Second Row is the cool toned dusty pink shades

MAC Lipstick Snob (Matte) – One of the top sellers from MAC. It’s a cool toned milky dusty pink color. Not an easy color to pull off, as it can look a little streaky on the lips, and the key for application is to blend and blend until the color is completely blended into the lips. I would say it is a stunning color on blondes with cool skin tone and blue/green eyes. On me, since I have cool skin tone, I can still manage to pull of this color. It does wash me out a little, and I tend to use Snob on top of having my lips colored with a darker lip liner such as the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Liner in Iconic Nude (reviewed here), and together they look perfect.

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Supreme Matte PK 335 – Similar to Snob, but a tad darker in a complete matte finish, and it’s much easier to pull off. I love wearing this color alone, or mixing it with other colors. I actually bought this color after I saw the Shu gal had this lip color mixed a plummy lip liner, and it looked beautiful on her which resulted in this purchase!

Third row is the brown and nude shades

Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick B*tch Perfect (CT KISSING Lipsticks reviewed here)- A delicate peachy pink color with a tiny tinge of nude brown undertone in a satin sheen finish. It’s a very easy color to wear for all skin tones, and leaves a luminous finish to the lips if matte is not your thing.

MAC Velvet Teddy (Matte) – Possibly the world’s most famous and wanted shade because of Kylie Jenner who swears by this lip color. I love it too. It’s such an edgy and high-fashion color – a pure deep beige brick brown shade that is on every IT girl’s lips at the moment.

Group Swatch

You can purchase MAC and Shu Uemura beauty products at David Jones Online in Australia.

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Labels: Charlotte Tilbury • ILLAMASQUA • LIPSTICK • MAC • My Favorites • Shu Uemura

Chanel Rouge Coco Stylo Complete Lipshine Review and Swatches – 206 Histoire and 208 Roman

April 13, 2016

Today’s review is for the newly released Chanel Rouge Coco Stylo Lipshine which comes in 12 new shades (available online here in Australia). I picked up 2 colors – the 208 Roman and 206 Histoire. I wasn’t super excited when I first played with the testers, as I thought they were very similar to the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in terms of finish and texture, just packaged differently. Glad that I went ahead and bought some as once I tried them on the lips I felt the formula was definitely more superior than conventional glossy lipsticks and comparable to all the lip products from other premium luxury beauty brands of recent releases.

The Rouge Coco Stylo comes in a twistable pen style, so they are very easy to be carried around. One pet peeve is that the lipstick doesn’t twist back as with most pen style makeup products. It has a silky and melting formula that feels very hydrating and lightweight, and it glides on silky smooth with a slippery feel to the lips like a lip balm. My lips are in an extreme dry state at the moment during the transition season, and this lipstick pretty much conceals all the dry lines and flakiness and make them appear ultra pouty and plump!

I love the new stylos more than the Rouge Coco Shine because they are much more pigmented and long lasting, and it allows for different ways of application. You only need 2 swipes to achieve an intense full opaque glossy finish. As usual my preference is to just apply a wash of color, and it blends into the lips effortlessly until it becomes a stain-like finish in a satiny sheen. To my pleasant surprises, it lasts about 4-5 hours on me even with having drinks in between! Normal long lasting lipstick/lipstain tend to dry out the lips over a period of time, but this new formula (as well as the Tom Ford Patent Lip Color which also blew me away – reviewed here) are so intense and lightweight, and they can create the same effect whilst keeping your lips looking moist and supple.

206 Histoire is a bright coral with red undertone in a glossy cream finish. It’s a bright color but easy to pull off with most complexions. A full coat gives a more bold and glamorous color, or wear sheer for a youthful look.

208 Roman is a rosy fuchsia pink in a glossy cream finish. One of the most beautiful pink colors I found from this range. A very wearable pink that can be worn bright or can be toned down for a softer look.

Group swatch

The Chanel Rouge Coco Stylo Lipshine are available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Chanel Online in the US, and David Jones in Australia.

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Labels: CHANEL • LIPSTICK

Tom Ford Patent Lip Color Review and Swatch – Stolen Cherry, No Vacancy and Erotic

February 23, 2016

This spring, Tom Ford released some stellar makeups from the Spring 2016 collection that just completely swept me off my feet. I have raved about their new eye quad in this post, and here I am gushing about their newest lip products which I adore even more – the Patent Finish Lip Colors. I bought the colors Stolen Cherry, Erotic and No Vacancy. These are the latest liquid lipsticks which a lot of brands seem to be doing at the moment. The Tom Ford is perfection – it is almost like my dream lip product that has finally come true as it has the intense pigmentation of a lipstick, the shine of a lip gloss, and the lasting power of a lip stain.

The Patent Lip Color comes in a click pen style with a slanted sponge applicator. As warned by the SA, first time use will require about 100 clicks to dispense the product. It has a milky and fluid consistency that feels luxuriously creamy and silky on the lips. Goes on weightless and conceals all the dry lines and flaky skin on the lips. It glides on like a lipstick as it doesn’t feel sticky nor does it feather and bleed like a typical lip gloss. The pigmentation is so rich so a little product goes a very long way.

For application, I would prefer to use a lip brush for a precise finish. Or the sponge applicator to dab the color on to the lip and quickly use the fingers to smear the color over the lips for a stain-like finish. As with all liquid lipsticks, the formula of this dries quickly during application, so it requires some attention for an even and well defined look. It looks ultra shiny when it is first applied, and takes about 15 seconds to completely settle into a semi glossy and creamy finish with a stain effect. Last but not least the lasting power is blowing me away. I normally apply this in the morning, and by noon (after about 5 cups of coffee), the color is still intact!

From left to right: Stolen Cherry, Erotic and No Vacancy

Stolen Cherry is a true bright red with a hint of cherry undertone. It is a very natural red, and I like to wear the color sheer to give a ‘just bitten’ lip look.

Erotic is a stunning bright pink that leans slightly cool. It has very fine magenta shimmer in it but is not detectable once applied on the lips.

No Vacancy is my favorite color of the three. It’s a bright coral red with a warm pink undertone. It is a fool proof bright color that would suit most complexions.

Group Swatch (taken with indoor lighting). The above lip swatches were taken under natural sun light.

I bought the Tom Ford Patent Lip Colors at Neiman Marcus. You can also find them online on Nordstrom in the US.

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Labels: LIP GLOSS • LIPSTICK • Tom Ford

Tom Ford Lips and Boys Lip Colors Patrick, Michael and Rafael Review and Swatch

December 14, 2015

It has been a busy week for me with lots of social gatherings and functions so the delay in posting a review for the Tom Ford Lips and Boys Lip Color collection. Tom Ford has released the collection again for this holiday, and this is delightful news for anyone who missed out on the first release last year. Unfortunately the same goes for the second round, as most of the popular shades were snatched up within hours in Australia. I managed to get hold of some of the colors I had on my wishlist from Selfridges. This review I will be covering Patrick, Michael and Rafael as they are in the pink and red range. For the next review I will show the nude colors.

Left to Right: Patrick; Rafael; Michael

Tom Ford lipsticks are truly the cream de la cream of lipsticks, and the mini sized lip colors are just as good as the full size ones. I have done many detail reviews in the past, and in summary it is almost impossible for you not to like them!

Patrick is a bright milky peachy pink with no shimmer. It is a young and pretty shade, but slightly challenging for me to pull it off.

Lip Swatch for Patrick

FOTD

Michael is an extremely popular shade. It is a fool proof neutral pink shade in a semi-satin finish that would look lovely on most complexions. It has tiny shimmer in the tube, but they can’t be seen once applied. This is absolutely one of my favorite shades from the range which needs a backup!

Lip Swatch of Michael

FOTD – I was doing lots of lip swatches on the day, and the FOTD for Michael was taken last after other colors so the color is not as accurate as the above lip swatch as they were taken on different days!

Rafael is a fiery orange red shade in cream finish, and it looks more stunning on the lips than what it looks in the tube. On me it shows up more of a warm red that just instantly brightens up my complexion. Another favorite shade for me!

Lip Swatch of Rafael

FOTD

Other products used in the FOTD include

Base: Chanel Illuminating Makeup Base; MUFE Ultra HD foundation (reviewed here), 3CE Waterful Concealer (best drugstore concealer ever used – reviewed here)

Eyes: Suqqu Eye Shadow EX03 from the 2015 Christmas Kit A (reviewed here), Chanel Le Volume waterproof mascara; Inglot brow gel

Cheeks: Bobbi Brown blush in pale pink (swatched in this post) using Hakuhodo blush brush

You can find all the shades in the TOM FORD Lips&Boys on Nordstrom Online, as well as on NAP in the US. I bought mine from Selfridges which ship internationally, and all the colors were available at the time I was shopping. There are still some colors left on David Jones Online in Australia as of now.

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Labels: FOTD • LIPSTICK • Tom Ford

Tom Ford Lipstick Flash of Pink Lip Color Review, Swatch and FOTD

September 27, 2015

Tom Ford recently added new colors to his permanent lip color collection. I tested all of them out at the counter, and in the end I just brought back Flash of Pink which was a gorgeous and unique pink color that looked very flattering on me. There was no tester for something wild which was the other shade I planned to purchase, so I’ll probably go back for another visit soon! The new colors are now available here online in Australia.

The reign of the world’s most expensive lipstick has recently been taken over by Louboutin Beaute from Tom Ford (albeit I think the packaging of the former is a little OTT..). Splurging AUD$70 on a tube of lipstick does make me feel better, as I think the packaging of Tom Ford still tops every other brand, and the formulation is also flawless. Flash of Pink is a rosy fuchsia pink with a hint of metallic sheen. It contains micro magenta shimmer and it still has the same luxurious creamy texture as with all the other colors from the range – it goes on silky smooth in a satin finish, and I don’t feel any glitter on my sensitive lips when I wear it.

The Tom Ford SA described Flash of Pink as an expensive pink lip color with an edge. I wasn’t so sure when I saw the color from the tube, but on the lips it didn’t look as metallic as I thought . As you can see from my swatch below, it looks shimmery with frost on hand, but on the lips there was just a hint of metallic sheen at certain angles that actually makes the color pop and unique. It is intensely pigmented and has a lasting power of 4-5 hours.

Close up swatch