It's a hot afternoon here in Maryland, so naturally it's a great time to review another candidate for The Perfect Lipstick. This one's for MAX Factor's Colour Perfection Lipstick #265, "Rouge".
The short review: Great color from an old favorite, but the longterm wear leaves much to be desired.
Longer review follows the jump-cut...
Candidate: MAX Factor Colour Perfection Lipstick, #265, "Rouge" (MAX Factor Cosmetics)
Purchased: Drugstore.com
Cost: $6.19 per tube
Brand Info: The New MAX Factor
Founded in 1909 by Max Factor, Sr., former makeup artist for the Russian Royal Ballet who emigrated to America in 1904. Factor soon found work in Hollywood just as the moviemaking industry took off. He created the first makeup for on-screen use in panchromatic movies--Pan-Cake, a matte-finish solid foundation cake that allowed women's makeup on-screen to highlight the actresses' faces instead of being completely washed out by the heavy lighting used in movies. Factor also developed the mascara wand, combining the comb and brush of cake mascara into one tool. Most importantly, Factor developed the first concealer to provide extra coverage for facial flaws, giving the face an overall coloration balance. For years in Hollywood, the name "Max Factor" was synonymous with "performance makeup"; even today, MAX Factor TV commercials often feature highly recognizable movies where their makeups are used. Today, MAX Factor is a part of Procter & Gamble, along with its fellow drugstore/grocery store/discount department store brand, CoverGirl.
As a side note, two of Factor's grandsons, Davis and Dean, founded Smashbox Cosmetics in 1997.
The Tube: Pewter grey plastic cylinder, with larger ends that taper to a more traditionally shaped middle. The join is a polished aluminum band. The top is squared off with an elongated aluminum diamond at an approximately 50-degree angle with the letter "MF" stamped on the top. At the bottom of the tube is an acrylic piece beveled to a circular bottom roughly the same color as the product inside. A clear sticker on the bottom has the color number (265), while a UPS-coded sticker on the side of the bottom half of the tube has both the color number and the color name.
The Product: American Beauty Rose Red. The product itself is a cylindrical shape, with an oval-shaped flat edge delivery point carved at about a 50-degree angle.
The Application: Very smooth application. The fact that the product itself is not as thick as the traditional bullet shape is concerning regarding durability (the thick bullet shape does not crack as easily as a thinner cylinder), but as long as the product isn't advanced out of the tube too far, it shouldn't crack. The lack of a sharp pointed delivery point makes it difficult to sculp into the corners and Cupid's Bow. Shiny but not metallic or shimmery; it's almost, but not quite, a satiny-looking matte. Goes on much lighter than it appears in the tube.
The Taste: Slightly waxy/crayon-like.
The Blot: The first blot removes most of the shine, making the final product appear more matte. Nice, bold rubelite pink blot. Second blot produces a little color, but nothing to be concerned about.
The Wear: Comes off on the rim of a cup or on eating utensils, but won't badly stain fingers while eating finger foods. This is a good thing and a bad thing, since unfortunately it doesn't hang around on the lips very long, either. The color it leaves on the lips after the product fully comes off stays for a little longer, but in the three-plus hours I've been working on the computer today, I've had to reapply twice. Not good.
The Verdict: Great color from an old favorite, but the product just doesn't last. I recommend it for a quick-change lipstick--that is, the kind you put on when you're running out of the house for errands and you don't want to be completely sans makeup--but that's about all I'd recommend it for.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- MAX Factor Colour Perfection Lipstick #265 ("Rouge")
Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- M-A-C Satin Lipstick #A76 ("Cyber")
I'm about to head out shopping, but first, a couple of quick lipstick reviews. This one's about M-A-C Satin Lipstick #A76, "Cyber".
The short review: The color absolutely blew me away in a good way--I really liked it. It's shocking because it goes on so differently than what's in the tube, and the finish is excellent. But it's not for everyone--if you aren't a fan of really dark lipstick, this one isn't for you.
Longer review follows the jump-cut...
Candidate: M-A-C Satin Lipstick, #A76, "Cyber" (Make-up Art Cosmetics, Inc.)
Purchased: M-A-C Store, Columbia, MD
Cost: $14.00 per tube
Brand Info: M-A-C Cosmetics, Inc.
Founded in 1985 by Frank Toskan (a Canadian photographer and makeup artist) and Frank Angelo (Canadian salon owner). Both men shared a frustration with the quality of cosmetics available to customers and even noted major weaknesses in so-called "professional" cosmetics that didn't hold up under bright lights, hot sets, TV appearances, etc. Together with Toskan's brother-in-law, chemist Vic Casale, the three men began designing a new line of high-pigment and long-wearing cosmetics for "All ages, all races, all sex" (the company's first motto) that would later grow into the fashion industry product of choice. (It's a dirty little secret that most celebrities and models who appear on magazine covers wear M-A-C cosmetics, even if another name, such as the brand said spokesmodel/celeb is supposed to be promoting, is credited.) M-A-C was bought by Estee Lauder Cosmetics, Inc., in 1994, and today M-A-C is the "fashionista/edgy" arm of ELC.
M-A-C's lipsticks are mostly wax-based, making them far more durable than the petroleum jelly/lanolin/water/touch-of-paraffin lipsticks other companies make. They also come in over 120 colors and 8 formulas:
-- Amplified (lip plumper + matte finish)
-- Amplified Creme (lip plumper + creme finish)
-- Frost (intense color pigment + high frosty pigment content)
-- Glaze (sheer)
-- Lustre (intense color pigment + lower frosty pigment content)
-- Matte (intense color pigment and no shine)
-- Retro Matte (intense color pigment, no shine, harder and waxier formula--think 1940's red lipstick)
-- Satin (high pigments, creamy texture, no frosty pigments, more water content for shine)
The Tube: Black plastic, matte finish, tubular shape a bullet-shaped top and a silver ring at the mid-tube join. The letters "M-A-C" are written around the top at the join. A pewter sticker with black lettering on the bottom bears the company's official name ("Make-Up Artist Cosmetics"), their country of origin ("Canada"), and the color and color number ("Cyber") (A76).
The Product: Can you say "black"? Thought you could. Seriously, I looked at it a half-dozen times before I finally figured out that it was really just a very deep eggplant purple. The product itself is a traditional bullet shape with a tear-shaped delivery point.
The Application: Very smooth application. Perfect point on the tip makes sculpting around the corners and cupid's bow easy. Because it looks black in the tube, it almost has to go on lighter than it looks, and it does...but not by much. It's still a dark eggplant purple, and has a very light shine due to its water content.
The Taste: Mild vanilla.
The Blot: The first blot removes most of the shine, making the final product appear more matte. Purple lip print that's slightly less shocking than how it first appears as you put it on. A second blot produces only about half the color I expected give the increased water content, which is nice.
The Wear: Typical edge of the cup, top of the chewed-on pen, bite of sandwich stains, but other than that, it wears like iron but feels really light for such an intense lipstick. It fades off gradually but evenly--no blotchyness. And it's really amazing to see that someone with pale blue-red skin like me being able to wear something that dark and not look "goth". The purple gradually mellows as it fades, becoming a pleasant plum, then a wine-stained look, then gone.
The Verdict: If you've got the right skin tones for this (blue-red, on the lighter side of any skin tone spectrum), this lipstick is a great night-time dramatic color selection. The feel is great, and the price is not bad at all for a high-quality lipstick (plus, M-A-C has an environmentally friendly recycling program: Return your empty tubes/eye shadow containers/etc. for a discount off a replacement). This isn't for the faint-of-heart, but if you'd like to be a little daring and dramatic, have at it.
The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- CoverGirl Queen Collection Moisturizing Lip Color #Q435 ("Cherrylicious")
I'm about to head out shopping, but first, a couple of quick lipstick reviews. This one's about CoverGirl Queen Collection Moisturizing Lip Color, #Q435, "Cherrylicious".
The short review: Eh. For all the work CoverGirl's put into advertising over the past few years to make their product more hip, now, relevant, etc. (especially to women of color), the reality is that this is still a drugstore lipstick. No less, no more, and it has all the benefits and limitations that come with such.
Longer review follows the jump-cut...
Candidate: CoverGirl Queen Collection Moisturizing Lip Color, #Q435, "Cherrylicious" (Proctor & Gamble, Inc.)
Purchased: Safeway, Laurel, MD
Cost: $4.89 per tube
Brand Info: CoverGirl Cosmetics
"Easy, Breezy, Beautiful...CoverGirl" was originally founded in 1958 by the Noxzema Chemical Company (later renamed Noxell) in Baltimore, Maryland. The company got its name from its days of allowing "Cover Girls" (fashion models on the front pages of magazines) to have their products for free in exchange for advertising, making it the forerunner of M-A-C cosmetics in a way. Their original 6 products (including "medicated face makeup" in keeping with Noxzema's product theme) caught on with the public and took off rapidly after a 1976 ad campaign featuring Christie Brinkley (who recently returned to CoverGirl to promote their anti-aging foundation). The company diversified its line vastly, featuring virtually every cosmetic a woman would ever wear, and Brinkley stayed with the company for almost 20 years, making hers one of the longest continuous sponsorship deals with a single spokesperson in advertising history. Today, CoverGirl is owned by Proctor & Gamble (since 1989) and is the main sponsor of the CWTV show America's Next Top Model.
This particular collection, named for current CoverGirl spokeswoman Queen Latifah, is designed to compliment the skin tones of "women of color", and Latifah has said that includes "all colors", including caucasian.
The Tube: Grey pearlized plastic, shiny finish, bulging-side square shape with a silver ring at the mid-tube join. The overlapping "CG" CoverGirl logo is imprinted in silver on one side of the bottom section of the tube. A red/maroon sticker with white lettering on the bottom bears the color number (Q435), the color name in almost microscopic font ("Cherrylicious"), and the manufacturing center information rings three sides of the label (P&G, Hunt Valley, MD, USA).
The Product: Maroon, with the appearance of shimmering pigments swirled within. The product itself is a traditional bullet shape with a concave tear-shaped delivery point.
The Application: I've commented enough times on how much I dislike concave application tips, so suffice it to say that you should probably keep a Q-Tip handy to clean up the edges of the lips after application. That said, it goes on very easily (and much redder than it appears in the tube--unexpected and very pretty) and gives full coverage with a very nice cream finish.
The Taste: Almost none. CoverGirl has really come a long way from its Noxzema days where everything smelled medicine-like.
The Blot: The first blot removes most of the shine, making the final product appear more matte. Nice, blue-red lip print. A second blot produces only minimal color.
The Wear: Typical edge of the cup, top of the chewed-on pen, bite of sandwich stains, and it does come off on your fingers when you eat finger food. As for lasting...forget it. I put it on early this morning, ate practically nothing for two hours, then had a small breakfast, and by the time I checked for touch-ups, it was virtually gone. This is really disappointing, as CoverGirl is continually touting their long-lasting glosses but appear to have done nothing to add to the wear of their lipsticks.
The Verdict: Normally this is the point where I say about even a short-lasting lipstick that they make great one-errand lipsticks when you can't stand to go out of the house with no makeup, but frankly, CoverGirl should be better than this by now. They have "Stay-Shine", "Outlast", "Long-Lasting" all over the rest of their cosmetic line; when are they going to fix their lipsticks to go along with this image they're pushing? Teens love CoverGirl because it's cheap and it's sold in WalMart/Target/grocery/drugstores, so it's easy to find and easy to purchase; however, as a parent, I think you'd be better off letting your teen find a shade she likes in one of these and then going to a higher-end cosmetic like Bobbi Brown, M-A-C, Sephora, etc. and finding a matching shade there. The cost-per-tube will be higher, but it'll last longer and be a better deal.
The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- M-A-C Satin Lipstick #AB6 ("M-A-C
It's 0100 and most sane folks are asleep. Me? I'm writing makeup reviews. Today, I'm writing about M-A-C Satin Lipstick #AB6, "M-A-C Red".
The short review: Really very nice, considering I'm not a big fan of satin makeup. M-A-C is starting to become my go-to brand these days for quality facial makeup, and the fact that they've got such a huge bunch of lipsticks to choose from makes them even better.
Longer review follows the jump-cut...
Candidate: M-A-C Satin Lipstick, #AB6, "M-A-C Red" (Make-up Art Cosmetics, Inc.)
Purchased: M-A-C Store, Columbia, MD
Cost: $14.00 per tube
Brand Info: M-A-C Cosmetics, Inc.
Founded in 1985 by Frank Toskan (a Canadian photographer and makeup artist) and Frank Angelo (Canadian salon owner). Both men shared a frustration with the quality of cosmetics available to customers and even noted major weaknesses in so-called "professional" cosmetics that didn't hold up under bright lights, hot sets, TV appearances, etc. Together with Toskan's brother-in-law, chemist Vic Casale, the three men began designing a new line of high-pigment and long-wearing cosmetics for "All ages, all races, all sex" (the company's first motto) that would later grow into the fashion industry product of choice. (It's a dirty little secret that most celebrities and models who appear on magazine covers wear M-A-C cosmetics, even if another name, such as the brand said spokesmodel/celeb is supposed to be promoting, is credited.) M-A-C was bought by Estee Lauder Cosmetics, Inc., in 1994, and today M-A-C is the "fashionista/edgy" arm of ELC.
M-A-C's lipsticks are mostly wax-based, making them far more durable than the petroleum jelly/lanolin/water/touch-of-paraffin lipsticks other companies make. They also come in over 120 colors and 8 formulas:
-- Amplified (lip plumper + matte finish)
-- Amplified Creme (lip plumper + creme finish)
-- Frost (intense color pigment + high frosty pigment content)
-- Glaze (sheer)
-- Lustre (intense color pigment + lower frosty pigment content)
-- Matte (intense color pigment and no shine)
-- Retro Matte (intense color pigment, no shine, harder and waxier formula--think 1940's red lipstick)
-- Satin (high pigments, creamy texture, no frosty pigments, more water content for shine)
The Tube: Black plastic, matte finish, tubular shape a bullet-shaped top and a silver ring at the mid-tube join. The letters "M-A-C" are written around the top at the join. A pewter sticker with black lettering on the bottom bears the company's official name ("Make-Up Artist Cosmetics"), their country of origin ("Canada"), and the color and color number ("M-A-C Red") (AB6).
The Product: As cherry red as cherry red gets. The product itself is a traditional bullet shape with a tear-shaped delivery point.
The Application: Very smooth application. Perfect point on the tip makes sculpting around the corners and cupid's bow easy. Goes on almost exactly like it looks in the tube, and has a very light shine due to its water content.
The Taste: Mild vanilla.
The Blot: The first blot removes most of the shine, making the final product appear more matte. Nice, cherry lip print. A second blot produces only about half the color I expected give the increased water content, which is nice.
The Wear: Typical edge of the cup, top of the chewed-on pen, bite of sandwich stains, but other than that, it wears like iron but feels really light for such an intense lipstick. It fades off gradually but evenly--no blotchyness.
The Verdict: The color is awesome, the feel is great, and the price is not bad at all for a high-quality lipstick (plus, M-A-C has an environmentally friendly recycling program: Return your empty tubes/eye shadow containers/etc. for a discount off a replacement). I'm in love with M-A-C, and if you haven't tried it, you should. This lipstick is a great place to start.
