The Perfect Red Lip

I promised you another cheerfully Valentine's-themed post and here it is.

A few of my favourite red lipsticks perfect for a romantic evening.

So once you've gotten your lips Valentine's ready (see my post on that lovely topic HERE), you're all set to channel your inner Marilyn with a vampy red lip.

Now, I have some other red lip products that I am quite a fan of as well, but I already yammered on about them for quite a while in my Lipstick Alternatives Post which features glosses, liquid lipsticks and stains- perfect for any *ahem* post-date activities.

The only one that I repeated was my Maybelline Baby Lips in Cherry Me, which I thought I would include so this post can at least mention a lighter, tastier alternative.

So, from L-R we have:

Maybelline Baby Lips (Cherry Me)

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss (10,11)

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick: (725) Love That Red, (006) Really Red, (720) Fire & Ice

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter (070) Cherry Tart

Maybelline The Vivids (895) On Fire Red

Not Pictured: MAC Lipstick in Russian Red

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss (10,11)

These lipsticks really are quite long-lasting and are a favourite in the beauty community.  Shade 10 is a bit deeper and more vampy while 11 is brighter, more of a cherry red.  I think if you mixed the two, the shade would be very comparable to MAC's Russian Red

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick: (725) Love That Red, (006) Really Red, (720) Fire & Ice

Love That Red is a creamy, bright red, a bit on the orange side but quite easy to work with. 

Love That Red is a matte finish, making it a little more tricky to get a perfect application with, but the result is a very true, strong red that is flattering on a lot of skin tones.

Fire & Ice is almost a red-coral, very much towards the orange side of things that I think would look lovely on those with olive or medium skin.  I don't usually wear this colour when it's not summer but it still has a place in my heart.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter (070) Cherry Tart, Maybelline The Vivids (895) On Fire Red, MAC Lipstick in Russian Red, Maybelline Baby Lips Cherry Me

Cherry Tart, as a lip butter is super comfortable and moisturizing, great if you don't have a lot of time for touch-ups or are doing something that might mess up a carefully applied red lip.  Same goes for the Baby Lips of course.

I only picked up On Fire Red a few days ago, but I am loving the formula so far; it's very comfortable and definitely not too drying.

Of course, Russian Red is the quintessential red lipstick and I can definitely see why.  A creamy matte finish and deep, true red tone means it is the perfect sophisticated red lipstick.  Just for reference, in my little blog photo, this is what I'm wearing.

Maybelline The Vivids (895) On Fire Red

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick (006) Really Red

Application Tips:

Apparently, back in the day, my grandma was envied for her ability to make a single application of lipstick last the whole day.  The trick she swears by is very simple, but I find it usually can add a good amount of wear time.  Apply your first coat of lipstick then go do something else for a few minutes- maybe 5 or 10.  Then grab yourself a tissue, give it a kiss (or blot if you prefer but my grandma swears kissing the tissue works better) then apply another coat.  You can also take this one step further by patting on some loose translucent powder over your first coat, then applying the colour again over it.  I like to use a flat, stiff (not-fluffy) eyeshadow brush for this.

When it comes to lipliner, honestly, I'm not too fussed.  If you are going to apply it, my only tip would be to fill in your whole lip- no one likes the 'ring around the lips' look plus it will probably give you more wear time and a sharper finish.  MAC's Brick is a really great liner that I actually think matches Russian Red a little better than the crowd favourite Cherry.

Finally, if you like the glossy look, my favourite finisher is Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Gloss in the clear shade because it's not too thick or sticky, plus it smells like mint- an advantage for everyone!

Well, I think I am officially out of Valentine's Day-themed things to talk about (or more accurately, I've run out of time to talk about them).

I hope you enjoyed reading about the makeup staple that is the red lip.  If you have a favourite in this post, or one that you think I should check out, let me know in the comments below.

Hopefully you have a great Valentine's Day, no matter what you get up to!

Kendall

x

I Was Bad Again: Another Haul

For some reason, the other day I decided it was time to knock off a few of the items on my ever-growing "products to pick up" list.  Probably because I had gone at least a solid week without purchasing any type of cosmetic product and it was killing me.

Most of the damage was done at Shopper's (a Canadian drugstore for my non-Canadian friends) but I also managed to give my bank card a workout at Sephora and Lush.

I'm planning on reviewing most of the products I purchased at Lush, so to avoid being redundant, I am leaving those as a surprise for next time.

I'm also planning a little review and compare of a few of the products pictured above, so stay tuned for that!

So starting my little reign of terror at Shopper's, I picked up a L'Oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadow in Hourglass Beige.  In my recent drugstore favourites (which you can check out HERE) I mentioned the colour Iced Latte as one of my favourites. If you were wondering if the two colours are the same, they sort of are; you probably don't need both.  But for some reason I felt like I did.

I finally got my hands on a Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfecter in (01), a rosy pink shade. 

Next were two colours from Maybelline's new Vivids collection in (870) Shocking Coral and (895) On Fire Red.  I am really excited to try these and if they are particularly good or bad, I'll be sure to do a review with swatches. So far, I've noticed they smell a bit like fruit-scented Play Dough.  So take from that what you will.

Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara was the next to make it into my basket.  I usually am not one to branch out mascara-wise, but spidery, clumpy lashes are one of my biggest annoyances, so I decided to give it a go.

I also picked up two more shades of Maybelline Baby Lips in Yummy Plummy  and Coral Crush.

Moving on to Sephora, where I was very pleased with my restraint.  I picked up a gift for a friend and for myself a YSL Glossy Stain in 10, a gorgeous red.  In my Lipstick Alternatives post, I mentioned that I had a couple of L'Oreal's Aqua Lip Lacquers which are supposed to be a dupe for YSL's Glossy Stains.  It was killing me a little bit that I hadn't even tried to original so I gave in.  

Finally, I just wanted to share with you this friggin' amazing 100 point gift Sephora is currently giving out!

Look at this!! 

Yes that is a full sized Benefit High Beam ($30 CDN)! For (sort of) free.  Even though I already have one of these and it will likely last me quite a while, I just love getting full-sized products for free.  It also came with a Benetint and a mini the POREfessional primer, which I have been wanting to try.  This is definitely one of Sephora's better moves in my opinion.

So that is (mostly) all of the damage I did.  I hope you got some enjoyment out of my complete lack of willpower.

Kendall

x