KimberlyKnits' Purls Of Wisdom

Miracle the Kitten

2010-10-23T09:09:00.000-04:00

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The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick: Estee Lauder Electric Intense Lip Creme, #726 ("Fury")

2008-03-02T20:52:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, after experimenting with new choices, it's best to go back to old standbys. Though I love trying out the new brands on the market--AWAKE, Napoleon Perdis, InsertHotMakeupBrandHere--I'm reminded every so often that the reason such brands as Estée Lauder are still around is that they make really quality products. I've almost never been disappointed by an Estée Lauder lipstick, and been very surprised by several as to their high quality and lasting nature. Here's a look at one of Estée's more recent line changes, the "Electric Intense" lipsticks, in color #726, "Fury".

The short version: The name's right on--this is a bright, furious red. It's electric, intense, long-lasting, and darned attractive to boot.

Candidate: Estée Lauder Electric Intense Lip Créme, #726 (Fury)

Purchased: Gloss.com Presented by Estée Lauder and the House of Chanel

Cost: $22.00

Brand Info: Estée Lauder Cosmetics, Inc.
Founded in 1946 by Joseph and Estée Lauder, the company that would eventually become a US$5B corporation started out with only four products: "super rich all-purpose cream", "cream pack", cleansing oil, and skin lotion. Two years later, they established their first presence at a department store, Saks Fifth Avenue, in New York. The company expanded and went international in 1960, then diversified into a number of specialized brands--Aramis for men, Clinique for specialized skin care, Prescriptives for custom-blend colors, etc.--and purchased others, such as M-A-C and Bobbi Brown. But Estée Lauder maintains its own brand of foundation, lipstick, face makeup, skin care, and a huge range of perfumes.

The Tube: Rectangular. Blue lacquer plastic, with a gold-toned corner of the column that extends from top to bottom on the right front edge. The interior tube is metallic gold. On the bottom is a gold sticker with black print with lots of small print, but the color name and color code number are in good-sized print in the center of the sticker.

The Product: True Red, as red as red gets. The lipstick itself appears almost matte, with a teardrop-shaped delivery point (and a slight concave edge...#sigh#).

The Application: Incredibly smooth. The product name isn't misleading--it goes on Electric Intense in its coloring. Only problem is the slightly concaved edge on the delivery tip sometimes colors outside the lip lines. Color is cherry red, a nice change from what I expected (colors named for fiery things like "Fury" sometimes go on more orange than cherry).

The Taste: Figs. I happen to really love the taste of fig preserves--my paternal grandmother had a fig tree in her backyard and she made "mock strawberry preserves" using figs and strawberry jello, and to this date I still think it's the best jelly I've every had--so I have a special affinity to Estée Lauder's lip products, since they all smell and taste like figs. My mother, OTOH, hates figs, so she gives me all the EL lipsticks she gets in GWP assortments.

The Blot: Bold, bright, cherry red. A second blot is also strong.

The Wear: One of the few things I didn't like about this lipstick was that it does tend to come off easily after application, and you end up staining your fingers if you're eating finger food. Worse, it has a tendency to smear until it sets up, meaning if you wipe off a smudge near your lips, sometimes another smudge gets left behind if your tissue touches the lips while smudging. However, once you've blotted enough to take off the loose coloration, the remaining lipstick has a good 2-3 hour wear time, and because the color is so bright, it gives the lips a bit of a stain so that the wear-down isn't as noticeable.

The Verdict: Not perfect, but pretty darn great. And I love a great red lipstick.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick: AWAKE Lip Gloss Brilliance Stardom ("Fairly Pink")

2008-03-02T19:51:00.003-05:00

When purchasing Christmas gifts, I usually tried to take advantage of sales going on to pick up brands of cosmetics I might not have tried previously. Such was the case in this purchase, a gift-boxed collection of AWAKE Cosmetics' Stardom Color series. The box, a fiberboard box with a slab of cedar in the base, covered with metallic red and silver cardstock covering and light padding, with a sheet of etched plexiglass (with the AWAKE logo, an unfurling fern leaf) in the lid. The box is gorgeous. The items in it are quite pretty, though rather small, even for samples. In the sample selection is a tube of AWAKE's Lip Gloss Brilliance in "Fairly Pink".

The short version: Don't bother. Pretty exterior, lacking product.

Candidate: AWAKE Lip Gloss Brilliance Stardom (Fairly Pink)

Purchased: The Neiman Marcus Group, Inc.

Cost: $24.00

Brand Info: AWAKE by KOSE America, Inc.
A leading cosmetic company in Japan and the creator of the AWAKE brand, KOSE has been pioneering cosmetics and skin care products in Japan since 1946 and has grown to become the third largest cosmetics company in Japan. With its roots as an established brand in Japan, AWAKE launched in the U.S. in 1997 at Henri Bendel in New York. The brand has since opened up in prestige department stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, specialty stores Bath & Body Works and C.O. Bigelows, and is also available on beauty websites including NeimanMarcus.com and Beauty.com.

The Tube: Clear PETE plastic, pinch-sealed at the end like a standard tube of toothpaste (or inexpensive lip glosses). Metallic red screw-on lid covers a molded plastic delivery point, again like inexpensive lip glosses. Print on the tube is silver, which makes it very hard to read when the product inside is a pearlized silver/white pink.

The Product: Pearlized pale pink in color. Also looks to be filled with shimmering pigments.

The Application: Wow. Goes on heavy, gloppy, slick. Smells like cedar or pine, and I can't tell if that's the product itself or an artifact from the interior of the box having that same aroma. Once it's smoothed out, it becomes sheer with a little bit of shimmer; not much color at all.

The Taste: Cedar/pine. It's somewhat harsh and very unexpected. I've read elsewhere that AWAKE tastes strongly of "botanicals" (code for "tastes like grass or plants"), but this was not what I expected to taste.

The Blot: Colorless blot (a tiny bit of the pale pink color shows up on the tissue).

The Wear: Gets stickier the longer it's on. Fortunately, that won't be long; it's gone rapidly when you eat, drink, lick lips, etc.

The Verdict: Seriously, don't bother, unless you like sticky pine tar on your lips.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick: Five From Maybelline

2008-03-01T18:10:00.003-05:00

I've become something of a lipstick snob during this hunting process, I'll admit. I miss the old days when I thought of "lipstick" as just something you pick up in aisle 15 along with the rest of the health/beauty supplies. There are some great lipsticks in the aisles of Target, Walmart, grocery stores, etc. But most of them can't hold a candle to their counterparts at department stores.

Case in point: This quintet from Maybelline New York. They're not bad lipsticks, but they're also not good lipsticks, and for the money I spent to buy these five tubes, I could have gotten a tube or two of my favorite M-A-C colors. I remember wearing Maybelline as a kid. But I don't remember the heavy cucumber taste or the distinct lack of appreciable weartime.

Anyway, onto the reviews...

Candidate #1: Maybelline New York Moisture Extreme Lipcolor, #190 (Royal Red)

Purchased: Target (Arlington, VA)

Cost: $6.50

Candidate #2: Maybelline New York Moisture Extreme Lipcolor, #215 (Midnight Red)

Purchased: Wegman's (Dulles, VA)

Cost: $6.50

Candidate #3: Maybelline New York Moisture Extreme Lipcolor, #360 (Cherry Brown)

Purchased: Wegman's (Dulles, VA)

Cost: $6.50

Candidate #4: Maybelline New York Wet Shine Diamonds Liquid, #30 (Plum Solitaire)

Purchased: Big Lots (Sterling, VA)

Cost: $1.00

Candidate: Maybelline New York Wet Shine Diamonds Liquid, #50 (Mauvey Rock)

Purchased: Big Lots (Sterling, VA)

Cost: $1.00

Brand Info: Maybelline New York, Inc.
Founded as a mail order business in 1915 by Chicago businessman T.L. Williams, who had created a mascara for his sister Mabel two years earlier, Maybelline (a combination of "Mabel" and "Vaseline") soon became one of the early success stories in the cosmetics industry. By 1920, the company was selling eyeshadow and added eyeliner to its list of products in 1930. By 1932, Maybelline had expanded to retail stores and grew into a nationwide company. With the invention of the first mass-market automatic mascara (that is, premoistened in a tube with an embedded brush), Ultra Lash, in the 1960s, Maybelline had hit the big time and was bought by Plough, Inc. (later Schering-Plough) in Memphis, TN. The company remained headquartered in the Memphis/Little Rock area until it was sold by its next owners, Wasserstein Perella, in 1996; its headquarters moved to New York City and the company took on the brand name "Maybelline New York". Celebrities such as Lynda Carter, Christy Turlington, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Zhang Ziyi, and Kristin Davis have appeared in Maybelline ads through the years. Today, Maybelline is a part of the L'Oréal group, along with a number of supermarket and department store cosmetic brands, making L'Oréal the largest conglomerate in the cosmetic marketplace.

The Tubes: The "Moisture Extreme" lipsticks come in a pearlized burgundy plastic tube, with a chrome ring at the midpoint join, and an odd curved top almost like a saddleback to the lid of the tube. On the bottom of each tube is a sticker whose color approximates the color of the lipstick inside, upon which appears white print ringing the color number and color name ("Maybelline" on the top of the ring, "Maybelline LLC, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A." on the bottom of the ring). The "We Slick Diamonds Liquid" tubes are clear PETE plastic content holders with chrome tops to act as a handle for the applicator; each takes up approximately half the length of the top itself. The clear tubes are printed in silver writing with the name of the product; on the bottom of the tube is a clear sticker with the tiniest white print bearing the name of the product and the manufacturer's name in a ring, and the color number and name inside the ring of text.

The Products: Royal Red looks true red. Midnight Red looks burgundy. Cherry Brown looks like a cherry coca-cola. So far, so good. However, "Plum Solitaire" looks like hot pink bubble gum with a ton of glitter dumped into it, and "Mauvey Rock" looks like a dusty rose paste also with a ton of glitter dumped into it. Somebody working the "Wet Slicks" department needs to take color ID 101.

The Application: The three lipsticks go on really smooth and really dense in pigment, but they have concave tips, and I don't think I need to go there again. The two lip glosses have doe-foot sponge applicators that hardly hold any pigment at all--seriously, just the tiniest dot remains even after you dip and swab hard against the side of the product reservoirs. And don't even try putting them on top of existing lipsticks; the undercoat will smear and get stuck to the wand, and you'll hardly get any gloss at all. HATE.

The Taste: The lipsticks taste like cucumbers. If you like that, great. I don't. The Wet Slicks have no taste, but they are gritty as all-get-out. Seriously, it's like rubbing fine-grain sand into your lips. HATE.

The Blot: Heavy, heavy blots. Royal Red turns tomato red on my lips, which is very disappointing. The lip glosses blot decently.

The Wear: Pigment from the lipsticks gets all over everything, especially your hands if you're eating finger food. Worse, if you sip from a bottle of water or coffee cup, you'll end up with a lip print that stays on the bottle and reprints itself onto your face when you take your next sip. The lipstick color does seem to hold on for a while, but only as a dye and not as a true lipstick cover. The lip glosses hold on a while longer, but start feeling tacky as well as gritty after a while.

The Verdict: Unless you like cucumber-flavored lipsticks or gritty lip gloss, my advice is to stay far, far away from these Maybelline products.

Finding A Favorite Fragrance: Etienne Aigner for Women

2008-01-23T23:56:00.000-05:00

When I first started my Hunt for the Perfect Lipstick, I mentioned I'd found my ideal foundation (M-A-C Studio Fix) and my ideal mascara (Urban Decay Skyscraper Mascara).

That said, I'm a major perfume junkie. Thank a very close friend of mine who was once fragrance department manager at a high-end department store for this addiction. Fragrances rule, and she kept me in supply until she changed jobs and now manages the Laura Mercier department at a DC-area Bloomingdales.

My first review in this new feature is a parfum by one of my favorite designers, Etienne Aigner's "Aigner Black for Women".

Candidate: Etienne Aigner's "Aigner Black for Women" (Etienne Aigner International)

Purchased: 99Perfume.com

Cost: $55.00 for 4.2 fluid ounces

Brand Info: Etienne Aigner International
Italian fashion designer Etienne Aigner, who designed a line of handbags used by Christian Dior and other 1950s European designers, launched his own business in 1959. Today, Etienne Aigner is synonymous with quality Italian leathers shoes, gloves, handbags, and more.

The Bottle: Short oval black glass bottle, large oval top with gold rim and black leather insert with "Aigner" on the lid. Remove the lid to spray the parfum

The Fragrant Notes: Incense, Mandarin, Vanilla, Rose (Damascone), Musk (black), Leather (Cashmere). An intense blend of scents that's not for everyone.

The Application: Goes on bold and strong. Warms up well. Last hours.

The Wear: The florals and vanilla keep the fragrance from turning sour, the opposite of many fruit-based fragrances. Also, you just can't go wrong with Damascone Rose Water.

The Verdict: Really for winter, feels "heavy" and probably would not work in the spring. That said, it's well worth a try if you're into Vanilla, Rose, and Musk.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick: Pajamas For The Lipstick Queen

2007-12-03T21:47:00.000-05:00

O.K., this is clearly just a frivolous purchase. But they're warm in winter, so they're worth it.

(That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

Victoria's Secret has a sale going on with their flannel pajamas.

I know. Victoria's Secret and flannel PJs. The two don't mesh.

Or do they?

Behold, the VS flannel PJs for the lipstick queen in all of us.

When I got them, I only had one question: Where can I find the navy blue lipstick that's left its lip print on my PJs? I have every other color.

Trust me, the model in them on the page looks far better than I do in them. But I still love them.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick: A Trio of Avon Flavor Savers Lip Glosses

2007-12-03T21:43:00.001-05:00

I'll admit it. I get fooled by online advertising too sometimes. I buy stuff that I look at and say, "Now, wait, that's not what the description said it was..." all the time. Case in point: Three lip glosses from Avon's "Flavor Savers" series. I bought them even though their tube looked just like a Chap-Stick tube.

(Side note: Growing up, we didn't use Chap-Stick in my house. My mother was an Avon Lady for a while, and she got addicted to Avon's Care Deeply Lip Balm; when she left Avon, she still would make a mass purchase of Care Deeply once a year, and we got several tubes in our Christmas stockings. I got addicted, too. I also found it made an excellent cork grease for my clarinet as I went through college on a band scholarship.)

Anyway, the lip glosses. Avon's lip gloss tubes tend to be small anyway and look like lip balm tubes with their tops on, so I figured this was just another example, and I ordered them.

I got...three flavored lip balms.

After my initial "Wow, you're really dumb" self-chastisement, I actually tried them.

No, they're not lip glosses, not by a long shot. That said, they're darned good lip balms, and a better choice than any flavored balm out there.

Candidate #1: Avon Flavor Savers Lip Gloss, #255221 (Strawberry)

Purchased: Avon Products, Inc.

Cost: $0.69

Candidate #2: Avon Flavor Savers Lip Gloss, #256202 (Cherry)

Purchased: Avon Products, Inc.

Cost: $0.69

Candidate #3: Avon Flavor Savers Lip Gloss, #256274 (Bubble Gum)

Purchased: Avon Products, Inc.

Cost: $0.69

Brand Info: Avon Products, Inc.
Founded in 1886 by then 28-year-old David H. McConnell as the California Perfume Company (CPC) in New York City in a 500 square foot manufacturing and shipping office on Chambers Street, Avon revolutionized cosmetic sale and distribution, growing to a $2M business in 1918, thanks to an innovated marketing technique: The "Avon Lady", a woman who would go door-to-door in neighborhoods, allowing customers to check out and try new makeup in the privacy of their own home. Today, Avon is a $8.1B worldwide company, selling cosmetics, clothing, toys, and other items that allow them to sell their products to men and women of all ages.

(Side note again: My mother was an Avon Lady in the late 1960s, and my first lipsticks were from my mother's old Avon lipstick sample box, tiny bullet-shaped lipsticks in a potpourri of colors. I eventually melted a lot of them down to custom-blend my own lipstick, my first experiments with color mixing.)

The Tube: Sheer plastic Chap-Stick tubes with pink and purple labels, bearing the name of the color/flavor in English and French. Really. These may be called "lip glosses", but they're little more than flavored lip balms with barely a hint of sheer color. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but a little truth in labeling would have been nice.

The Product: #1 looks like creamy strawberry chiffon; #2 is a cherry candy color; #3 is bubble gum pink. Pleasant colors, but again it's obvious they're merely colored/flavored lip balms.

The Application: Chap-Stick application; creamy lipstick smooth. No tapered tops, no fancy applicators; open the tube and smear it across your lips just like Chap-Stick. Goes on very sheer with only a hint of any color whatsoever.

The Taste: Here's where the superiority of Avon's lip balm products to Chap-Stick lies: The tastes are magnificent. You can actually taste strawberry candy, cherry kool-aid, super-sweet bubble gum.

The Blot: What blot? Seriously, you'd blot lip balm? O.K., yes, I blotted it, and there's no color in the blot at all.

The Wear: They serve their purpose (that is, they last about as long as a Chap-Stick application). Don't count on a lot of wear from these, but at under a dollar a tube, you can afford to reapply as often as you need to.

The Verdict: After I got over the mislabeling issue--seriously, these are not lip glosses, not by any stretch of the imagination--I fell in love and have re-purchased them 3 or 4 times since to fill my purse for the winter. Again, at under $1 a tube, it's cheaper than just about any lip balm out there and works very well.

The Hunt for the Perfect Lipstick: A Duo from M-A-C ("Russian Red", "Fanplastico")

2007-11-29T22:33:00.001-05:00

I have pretty much reached the conclusion that M-A-C is cornering the market on near-perfect lip products. Here's a review of two new M-A-C products I received today. One is from M-A-C's lipglass line (a semi-opaque lipgloss), "Russian Red", and the other is from their lip lacquer line ("Fanplastico").

Short version: These are two of M-A-C's greatest lip products, and two of the reasons I'm starting to like lipgloss again.

Candidate #1: M-A-C Lip Lacquer, #AA6 (Fanplastico)

Purchased: http://www.nordstrom.com/

Cost: $17.00

Candidate: M-A-C Tinted Lipglass, #AB6 (Russian Red)

Purchased: http://www.nordstrom.com/

Cost: $17.00

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), a pair of men in the fashion business who 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 sexes" (the company's first motto) called "Makeup Art Cosmetics", a line 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 160 colors and 11 formulas:

Amplified (lip plumper + matte finish)
Amplified Creme (lip plumper + creme finish)
Frost (intense color pigment + high frosty pigment content)
Lacquer (liquid lipstick formerly called "Lip Varnish"; high pigments, creamy texture, covers like a satin, resembles a satin + lipgloss)
Glaze (sheer)
Lustre (intense color pigment + lower frosty pigment content)
Matte (intense color pigment and no shine)
Mattene (intense color pigment, no shine, creamier formulation in a pen-like applicator)
Pro Longwear Lipcolour (lipstain plus top coat; comes in two formulas, satin and lustre; top coat can be reapplied to protect the lipstain and extend weartime)
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)
Slimshine (sheer with creamy texture in a pen-like applicator)

M-A-C also has an extensive lipgloss line, collectively known as "Lipglass", to accent and augment their lipstick line. Their lipglosses come in over 130 colors and 8 formulas:

3-D Glass (semi-sheer, heavy pearl pigmentation and high shine)
Lipglass (comes in either clear or tinted formulation; high shine, glass-like finish; tinted lipglass products are heavily pigmented with no shine pigments and gives nearly opaque coverage)
Plushglass (sheer; pearlized shimmer plus glass-like finish)
Chromeglass (semi-sheer, "chrome" shimmer plus heavy pigmentation)
Lustreglass (semi-sheer, heavy frost shimmer pigments plus color pigment plus glass-like finish)
Lipgelee (sheer; jelly textured; "wet" finish)
Pro Longwear Gloss Coat (clear; meant to be applied atop Pro Longwear Lipcolour)

The Tube: Both products come in clear tubes with black applicator lids. The company name and the name of the product are printed in black on the tube. At the bottom of each tube is a silver sticker with the company name ("Makeup Art Cosmetics, Inc."), the product name, and the product identification code in black print. The tinted lipglass tube is a good 3/4" shorter than the lacquer tube.

The Product: Russian Red is a bright cherry red, about as cherry red as cherry red gets. Fanplastico is a darker version of the same red, slightly lighter than what is commonly called "black cherry".

The Application: Russian Red has a traditional sponge-tipped doefoot applicator; Fanplastico has my favorite lip product applicator ever, the mini-brush. Both products cover extremely well; even the doefoot applicator supplies good color. Both products are thicker than one would expect from even liquid lipstick; I could almost get away with wearing Russian Red solo instead of over lipstick. Colors are true to their look in the tube.

The Taste: Most M-A-C lip products taste like vanilla sugar, and these are no exception.

The Blot: Like most glosses/liquid lip products, let these sit about 20-30 secs. before blotting. After that, the blot is true to color, and only the first blot is heavy.

The Wear: Excellent. Applied both products around 2300; it's 0115 here and they're still on and still look good. That said, I haven't done much eating and only a little sipping from a water glass, so YMMV.

The Verdict: If M-A-C made a lacquer line that was comparable with their lipstick line in terms of sheer color volume, I'd pronounce this hunt to be "Game over, drive home safely". As is, Fanplastico is an excellent darker red color and deserves a place in your makeup case if you like darker reds. As for Russian Red Lipglass, I'm definitely keeping it for the covering of my winning red lipstick, whichever it happens to be.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick: Makeup Application When You've No Time For Makeup

2007-11-25T03:24:00.001-05:00

Makeup is fun. Applying it can be time-consuming, especially when trying to get ready to go out into the daily workforce. I have my makeup routine down under five minutes, with only three steps.

Step 1: Put on mascara first. Most makeup wearers, when they first learned to apply makeup, did whatever the person who taught them did, and most professional makeup artists put mascara on after applying practically everything else. I've run into makeup guides purported to be for the average makeup wearer that have mascara on the list as #7 out of ten (?!?) steps. Trust me, I have made every single mistake you can make in learning to apply makeup, and none are more damaging than getting spots of mascara all over the smoky eye layers of eyeshadow you've just spent five minutes putting in just the right place. Not only do you have to take off all your eye makeup on that eye to fix the problem, you've now just wasted five minutes of your precious time (and everybody's time is precious these days). By applying mascara first, you're still working on a blank slate and thus any mistakes can be easily fixed. For a daytime look, you only need one coat of mascara on the top lashes only, and it takes about 30 seconds per eye. Give your mascara a quick blot by putting a tissue under each eye against the lower eyelid and giving two or three blinks.

Step 2: With a good powder brush or a cosmetic puff, brush on one coat of a powdered foundation or translucent face powder. Most powder foundations are enough to smooth out skin tones and give the face a lightly-airbrushed look. My favorite powder foundation is M-A-C Cosmetics' Studio Fix. For problem areas (undereye circles, acne), wet down either a small makeup brush or the tip of a cosmetic sponge, shake off or wring out the excess water, then use the damp applicator to spot-apply a heavier coat in areas that need it. Brushing on the powder takes 30-45 seconds, maybe 60 if you need spot touch-ups. (I brush on in a "Letter T" pattern--two swipes across the forehead and eyes, one swipe down the center of the face--then around my jawbone, across my cheeks, and finally give nose, chin, and lips one or two swipes each to make sure to cover them. Dark circles under my eyes get a bit of a light gold or yellow concealer powder (or my powdered foundation, if I don't have my full makeup kit with me) applied with a damp brush to neutralize the blue/purple skin, then the touched-up areas get another pass with the dry brush to help hide the concealer.)

Step 3: Apply lipstick. I use lipliner first, but a lot of makeup artists are now switching to applying lipliner last to conceal any flaws or to make a hard edge to keep the lipstick from feathering. (Laura Mercier Cosmetics makes a "nude" liner designed to be used to define the edge of the lips, and it is usually applied after lipstick goes on.) Some makeup artists use a lip primer to help the lipstick adhere to the lips better before applying lipstick; if you use a color correcting lip product, it too should be applied before applying the primary shade. I apply one coat of lipstick and blot it twice. If you like lip gloss atop your lipstick, make it the last thing you put on, and allow it time (15-20 seconds) to set up before blotting or applying a finishing powder over it. This entire step takes anywhere from 30-60 seconds.

Voila, your everyday makeup application is done in about 3-5 minutes. I like to use Marutake Rice Powder as a final coat to seal everything; this step can be skipped, or substitute a quick touchup with a bronzing powder on the cheek apples, the tip of the nose, the tip of the chin, and across both eyebrows to bring light-play to areas where lights would naturally hit first.

Notice what I don't use: Eyeshadow, eyeliner, blush. I hardly every use eyeshadow or eyeliner any more and use blush only occasionally. In the daytime, I feel overly made up with eyeshadow and eyeliner; a good coat of mascara can do wonders to make eyes stand out without applying more and more color to the lids. I use a bronzer or an illuminating powder in place of blush in the daytime to make the skin look brighter and sunnier without adding color. There's an old adage that the best makeup jobs look like you're not wearing makeup at all, and I've learned to appreciate that adage in my latter years.

YMMV, of course.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick: Rimmel London Volume Boost Liquid Lipcolour, #010, #060, #070, #190

2007-11-19T07:01:00.001-05:00

2007-11-20: Edited to add info on color #70, "Boast".

As the end-of-year holidays approach, cosmetics manufacturers roll out new products, new colors within their regular product line, special product gift sets, etc., as well as clearance sales on their summer lines. So, I'm going to do several mass updates on a number of lip products I've run across these past few months, starting with Rimmel London's Volume Boost Liquid Lipcolour.

The short version: It goes on great. Its applicator rocks my world. Its color pigmentation is great. Volume boosting? Not so much, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. That said, it's also a Rimmel, with all that entails (including a not-great wear time).

Candidate #1: Rimmel London Volume Boost Liquid Lipcolour, #10 (Bossy)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $6.00

Candidate #2: Rimmel London Volume Boost Liquid Lipcolour, #190 (Breathless)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $6.00

Candidate #3: Rimmel London Volume Boost Liquid Lipcolour, #60 (Plump)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $6.00

Candidate #4: Rimmel London Volume Boost Liquid Lipcolour, #70 (Boast)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $6.00

Brand Info: Rimmel London Cosmetics
Founded in 1834 by Eugene Rimmel, the House of Rimmel invented the first non-toxic mascara product; to this day, the word for "mascara" in many non-English-speaking countries is "rimmel". The cosmetics division of the House of Rimmel is now owned by Coty, who distributes their product worldwide. Rimmel's cosmetic line targets the young cosmetic buyer who wants something "exotic" and "trendy" instead of the traditional drug store/grocery store/discount store cosmetics.

The Product: The names could not possibly be less descriptive of the contents, and the cases don't help. The product is in an opaque plastic cylindrical case, which is supposedly the same color as the contents. The case takes up 2/3 of the overall length; the lid is maroon and has a sticker on it with the product's bar code, color number, and color name. Printing on the opaque case is in Silver. The four colors range from bubble gum pink ("Breathless") to dusty rose ("Bossy") to pinkish brown ("Plump") to chocolate/cherry ("Boast").

The Application: The applicator is a step up from practically every brand
of lip gloss out there: It's a short-bristled fine-tipped brush. Yes,
just like a nail polish brush. It's fantastic. The brush allows practically exact contouring of the lips without having to re-dip for new gloss every few strokes. I'd buy this product over and over and over again just to have that brush. As for the product itself, it's a weird cross between a gloss and a liquid lipstick: It's thick and has great pigmentation like a liquid lipstick does, but upon application, it tends to sheer out, which is one of the things I hate about lip gloss in general. The colors stay true to their first appearance: Breathless is very pink; Bossy is a dusty rose; Plump is a brown with a touch of pink in it; Boast is darker brown with just the barest hint of cherry red.

The Taste: An odd mix of scents: Rimmel's trademarked bubble gum taste with a bit of wintergreen in it, presumably to plump the lips.

The Blot: Let these set up for a minute before blotting, or all the color will come off. However, the blots are very pale once the color has set up.

The Wear: It's a Rimmel product. Do I really have to answer that? O.K., I will anyway. If you don't like the color, taste, or tingle on your lips (no real plumping occurs), just wait about an hour; it'll be gone along with the rest of the product. Even laid over another lip color, it still disappears within about 60-75 minutes, and will usually fade out whatever lipstick you put on underneath with it.

The Verdict: As a lipgloss, it's not bad. As a lip plumper, it's useless. As an everyday color, get used to reapplying every hour or so and you'll be just fine. And at $6 a tube, if you don't like it, throw it out and get a new one.

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The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Revlon LipGlide Lip Color #175 ("Peachy Sheen"), #230 ("Sparkling Sangria")

2007-11-15T20:25:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I updated my lipstick hunt. A lot has happened in my life over the last few months (most notably, I was laid off from my job a month ago), and other things have taken priority over writing about makeup. (But not over using makeup. We all have our priorities.)

Over this hunt, some of my perceptions about makeup and lip products have changed significantly. The biggest is my newfound interest in lip glosses. While I'm still not wild about the sheer, sticky, shiny glosses of old, there are new categories of lipgloss that intrigue me, particularly the category of "liquid lipstick", opaque lipgloss products that provide coverage similar to a lipstick but with the convenience of lipgloss. I've found a number of these that I really like, and this review is about one of them, Revlon's LipGlide.

Candidate Lip Gloss #1: Revlon LipGlide #175 (Peachy Sheen)

Purchased: Big Lots (Sterling, VA)

Cost: $2.99

Candidate Lip Gloss #2: Revlon LipGlide #230 (Sparkling Sangria)

Purchased: Target (Laurel, MD)

Cost: $6.99

Brand Info:
Revlon, Inc., one of the few big-name U.S. cosmetic companies not owned by the big conglomerate brands (P&G, L'Oreal, Estee Lauder), was founded in 1932 by Charles and Joseph Revson, along with a chemist friend, Charles Lachman; the name "Revlon" came from Lachman's chemistry being the lynchpin joining the visions of the two Revson brothers ("Rev", "L", "On"). The Revsons started with a new type of nail enamel based on high pigment content instead of dyes, allowing the enamel to be more opaque with fewer coats. The nail enamel was a big hit at beauty salons, and by 1937 Revlon was a major presence in department stores and drug stores, becoming a multimillion dollar business within 6 years. By 1940, Revlon added full manicure products to its line and brought out its first lipstick. A contract with the War Department had Revlon creating makeup and related products for the U.S. Army, a product line honored in 1944 by the War Department for excellence. Revlon expanded to a full-service manicure product sales group with a purchase of German cutlery manufacturer Graef & Schmidt, and brought out its first perfume in 1952. Revlon went public in 1955, and its stock price jumped to a staggering $30 per share in just 2 months. In the 1960s, Revlon tried to diverisify into different divisions ala General Motors: Princess Marcella Borghese the upscale line; Ultima 2 the premium line; Revlon the mainline brand; Natural Wonder the teen brand; Moon Drops the aging, dry skin line; Etherea the hypoallergenic line. However, Revlon's department store rival Estee Lauder soon began diversifying as well, and many of Revlon's brands began losing ground to Estee Lauder's Clinique and Prescriptive brands. By the 1970s, Revlon's healthcare line (Armour Pharmaceuticals, Coburn Optical Industries, Lewis-Howe Company) was expanding but the beauty brands were getting squeezed from both sides: Estee Lauder was practically eating up the department store beauty counters, and CoverGirl was gaining ground on the drugstore/discount store front. After a disastrous series of takeovers and buyouts, Revlon is now owned by Ron Perelman's MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings. Revlon still owns its own hypoallergenic brand (now called Almay) and the Jeanne Gatineau lines, but its presence in high-end department stores is practically gone. Nonetheless, Revlon routinely sponsors invitations for "it" celebrities to attend awards ceremonies like the Oscars to show off their latest makeup innovations, proving that one of the oldest brands in the U.S. marketplace isn't about to give up without a fight.

The Tube: Opaque plastic, about the size of a fat ballpoint pen, in a color roughly approximating the product color. Domed lid is sheer plastic. Product name and information is written in gold on the opaque plastic portion of the tube.

The Product: "Peachy Sheen" is pinkish-coral; "Sparkling Sangria" is a reddish wine.

The Application: Revlon's LipGlide lip color possesses one of the best designed delivery points ever for lip gloss. Instead of a traditional doe-foot spongy wand or a flat plastic top to a squeeze tube, LipGlide is shaped like a ballpoint pen and has a spongy oval tip set at an angle like a traditional lipstick. Twist the tube at the mid-body join and product emerges on the sponge in small doses. This allows for two things: A smooth application with the spongy top, and absorption by the sponge to allow more even distribution of the color across the lips. The color itself comes across slightly different than it first appears: "Peachy Sheen" actually comes across as more pink than peach, more rose than coral; "Sparkling Sangria" is a dark bluish red, less wine-colored than it first appears when being cranked up into the applicator. The texture is slightly sticky, but not unpleasantly so--more like a very moist lipstick than a traditional lipgloss.

The Taste: Floral, perfume taste. Not unpleasant.

The Blot: Surprisingly light first blot that looks very true to color (Peachy Sheen looks rosy, Sparkling Sangria looks dark red). Second blot is much lighter.

The Wear: Typical edge-of-the-cup, water bottle, etc. stainers, but it stays on pretty well (I got about 2 hrs. wear before needing to touch up most of the time).

The Verdict: Wish it came in more colors (Revlon lists 24 colors, but at Drugstore.com, only one color is still in stock; Amazon.com also has only a handful of colors in stock), but other than that, I have no complaints. Well worth adding to your makeup case and a good value for a drugstore cosmetic product.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Avon mark. Metalluscious Lip Cream

2007-09-13T20:15:00.000-04:00

Normally, in this column, I'd tell you all about how I found Avon's mark. metalluscious lip cream collection, which shades work, which shades don't, etc.

Not today. Today, I'm telling you: If you love dramatic lip color with metallic highlights and really like the convenience of a lipgloss, buy mark. Metalluscious Lip Cream Hook-Ups. All of them. Seriously. Not a bad shade in the bunch. I hate metallics and I wear these things practically non-stop. The metallics eventually fade to a very nice lip color that's truly a thing of beauty.

Seriously. This is one of the few products I can recommend with no hesitations whatsoever. Get it.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Playboy Beauty Products

2007-08-05T19:24:00.000-04:00

I reviewed a Playboy Beauty lipstick I'd gotten as a freebie from Beauty.com way back when I started this hunt. It was their "Calendar Girl" line, and frankly, it sucked. Worst lipstick I'd ever tried.

But, when Beauty.com offered another "Buy x Playboy Beauty items, get y gift item", I decided it was worth trying another product to see if I'd written the line off too soon. Boy, had I ever. Their Red Carpet Lipsticks and Hef's Favorite Lip Glosses are truly the stuff of legends. I'm saying here and now that Hef's Favorite Lip Gloss in Centerfold Red is the best lip gloss I've ever used, bar none. As for the lipsticks, they've got potential.

Here's a write-up on five of them...

Candidate Lip Gloss #1: Playboy Beauty Hef's Favorite Lip Gloss (Centerfold Red)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $16.00

Candidate Lip Gloss #2: Playboy Beauty Mood Gloss (In The Mood)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $16.00

Candidate Lipstick #1: Playboy Beauty Red Carpet Lipstick (Charade)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $14.00

Candidate Lipstick #2: Playboy Beauty Red Carpet Lipstick (Couture)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $14.00

Candidate Lipstick #3: Playboy Beauty Red Carpet Lipstick (Paparazzi)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $14.00

Brand Info: Playboy Beauty Cosmetics by Playboy, Inc.
You don't have to use your imagination here; yes, this is lipstick designed by Playboy to "convey the sex kitten status of the Playboy Bunny".

The Tube: All Playboy Beauty lip products are hot pink (lipstick) or clear plastic (lip gloss) cases with silver Bunny silhouettes down one side. The lipsticks are silver tubes inside the plastic case with a Bunny on the adjustment knob. The lip glosses have silver tops with the Bunny on the top. All products have a black label on the base with the Bunny prominent and the color name in tiny print.

The Product: Gloss #1 is red, red, red. Gloss #2 is translucent pearlized pink. "Charade" is a dark red; "Couture" is a mauve; "Paparazzi" is brick red.

The Application: The three lipsticks are matte finish. Their shapes are traditional bullet with concave teardrop delivery point. (See previous rants about concave delivery points.) They go on heavy with great coverage. Each stays true to tube color on the lips, a nice change of pace from my previous experience with this brand.

Hef's Favorite Gloss has the traditional sponge tipped wand and goes on very smoothly. It's shiny, shiny red and goes with pretty much any reddish lipstick you put it over.

Mood Gloss also has a sponge wand and goes on slightly sticky. It starts out pale pink and darkens slightly (the "mood" part of the mood gloss, like "mood lipstick"). It's much more of a highlighting lip gloss, better on bare lips than over a lipstick.

The Taste: Except for the Mood Gloss, they all have that 60's cosmetic drawer overly-fragranced taste. (That's the only thing I dislike about HFG, for what it's worth.) The Mood Gloss is very citrus-tasting, like a grapefruit/lemon mix. Grapefruit has a tendency to turn foul-smelling and tasting on me, so that's a bad development.

The Blot: All the lipsticks blot the same way--heavy first blot, light second blot. The two lip glosses blot very heavy with the first blot, which takes away most of the product, so you should really let them both sit a moment and "set up" before blotting to avoid removing too much.

The Wear: Lipsticks are typical edge-of-the-cup, water bottle, etc. stainers, but they do stay on pretty well (I got about 2 hrs. wear before needing to touch up most of the time). Hef's Favorite Gloss needs time to set up before you do anything to it, but it has the same wear issues as the lipsticks. That said, it's really one of the most intensely red lip glosses I've ever seen; it's almost opaque enough to go as a solo lip covering. As for the Mood Gloss, it's cute, and wears decently enough for a lip gloss.

The Verdict: Hef's Favorite Gloss is spectacular, and I now stick it in my pocket pretty much every day. As for the lipsticks, I've actually had co-workers say "wow" when I wear them, so that's a good thing. Still don't like concave lip delivery points, though.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- A Pair From Elizabeth Arden

2007-07-23T05:31:00.000-04:00

I've discovered Ulta, a Sephora-like cosmetic chain. Had to check it out. I mean, I can't let you, my faithful readers, buy from a store that doesn't meet my standards. :)

Here's a pair from Elizabeth Arden. For those of you who said "Who?" or "They're still around? I am happy to reply that EA is alive and kicking.

Candidate #1: Elizabeth Arden Ceremide Plump Perfect Lipstick, #15 (Perfect Pink)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $21.50

Candidate #2: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick With SPF 15, #4 (Plum)

Purchased: http://www.beauty.com/

Cost: $16.00

Brand Info: Elizabeth Arden, Inc.
Young Florence Nightingale Graham, a Canadian nursing student born in 1878, forsaw ways to use burn creams and skin salves as not just medicine, but preventative skin care to maintain healthy skin throughout life. At age 30, Florence moved to New York City and befriended a chemist, and together they began researching skin care lotions and potions. Florence also studied facial massage techniques with some of the city's best beauticians, the beginnings of what would become the Red Door Spas. Rechristening herself "Elizabeth Arden" in 1910, Florence opened her first Red Door Salon. She began putting together tinted rouge powders in 1912, and by 1916, Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics was fully born. In the 30s, the company expanded into fragrances; by the 40s, they'd added a clothing line; and by her death in 1966, Elizabeth Arden Beauty was a $60M business. After Arden's death, the company went through various corporate buyers until the board of directors took the company back from Unilever in 2003, creating "Elizabeth Arden, Inc.", a self-contained company once more.

The Tube: #1 is plastic-covered gold-toned and squarish, with slightly rounded edges. #2 is white plastic with a rubbery finish. The white tube has a silver ring mid-join that has "Elizabeth Arden" engraved on it. The gold tube has a gold-metallic disk at the top with the "Red Door", an engraved pic of Arden's "Red Door Salons". #1's top is about 3/4 of length of the whole tube and has "Elizabeth Arden" in gold metallic lettering. #1 has a goldtone sticker with black markings to indicate the color info, while #2 has a smaller white sticker with black print.

The Product: #1 is dark rose in the tube; #2 is plum. Bullet-shaped products with teardrop delivery point.

The Application: Both go on quite well. #1 is far pinker than it first appears. #2 is a sheer, gorgeous plum.

The Taste: #1 has no scent. #2 has a strong citronella scent.

The Blot: Both blot the same way--heavy first blot, light second blot.

The Wear: #1 stays and stays and stays #2, OTOH, comes off with minimal wear and tear (snacking, drinking water).

The Verdict: I'm not a fan of sheers or pink lipstick that screams "Pink!". I'll reserve judgement until after I review a red EA lipstick

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Cargo Plant Love Sheer Lipstick ("Mariska")

2007-07-22T11:34:00.001-04:00

Though I'm a red lipstick person, I enjoy looking at other lipsticks. This one's from CARGO's Plant Love line, an eco-friendly line.

Candidate: CARGO Plant Love Sheer Lipstick (Mariska)

Purchased: Sephora (Columbia, MD)

Cost: $20.00

Brand Info: CARGO Cosmetics of Canada
Cosmetics artist Hana Zalzal had a mission in life that she finally acted upon in 1996: To create a professional color cosmetic line that top makeup artists would covet, yet would be easy enough for all women to enjoy. She recognized that makeup is an intimate part of a woman's identity; it's her "cargo," a form of self-expression that also enhances a woman's well-being, With the 1996 launch of CARGO, she succeeded.

CARGO is constantly making innovative changes in the packaging, especially in its "Plant Love" line of lipsticks--makeup tubes created from a type of corn and boxes made of paper impregnated with wildflower seeds (just plant the box under soil and water well).

The Tube: White, odd-feeling plastic (probably due to the high content of corn syrup in the plastic manufacturing). Decorated in red and orange 60-ish wacky hippy flowers. The word "Plant Love" is in a heart on the tube with the word "CARGO" in red beneath it on the top 2/3 of the tube; a white sticker with pink rimmed printing "CARGO Cosmetics of Canada" surrounding black print that contains the color information "Mariska".

The Product: Brownish red. This lipstick was "inspired" by Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order: SVU), so it's a dark brownish color to go with Mariska's olive complexion. Bullet-shaped product with teardrop delivery point.

The Application: Goes on quite smooth. It's sheer, so it takes several coats to get a real color on the lips. Sculpting is perfect. The finish is matte.

The Taste: Somewhat crayon-like.

The Blot: The first blot is chocolate. That's the best description of the color. The second blot is lighter.

The Wear: Shockingly, it wears like iron for a sheer. It's a matte finish, even for a sheer; if you want shine, put on lip gloss.

The Verdict: It's brown, it costs $20, and it's really not my color. But if you like your lipsticks eco-friendly, check out CARGO cosmetics.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- A Selection From Sephora

2007-07-21T22:07:00.000-04:00

When I started this search for The Perfect Lipstick, I realized I'd be spending a lot of time in Sephora. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

Sephora makes their own brand of makeup that covers the gamut of products, colors, formulations, etc. Here's a set of selections from Sephora that I've used within the past few months.

Candidate #1: Sephora Lipstick Creme, #49

Purchased: Sephora Cosmetics

Cost: $10.00

Candidate #2: Sephora Lipstick Creme, #50

Purchased: Sephora Cosmetics

Cost: $10.00

Candidate #3: Sephora Lipstick Satin, #227

Purchased: Back Street Trader eBay Store

Cost: $0.21

Candidate #4: Sephora Lipstick Satin, #308

Purchased: Back Street Trader eBay Store

Cost: $0.21

Candidate #5: Sephora Lipstick Satin, #436

Purchased: Back Street Trader eBay Store

Cost: $0.21

Candidate #6: Sephora Ultra Brilliance Gloss, #24

Purchased: Sephora Cosmetics

Cost: $10.00

Brand Info: Sephora USA, Inc.
Born in France in 1969, Sephora has become one of the largest cosmetics retail outlets in the world. Since its first store opening in America in Manhattan in 1998, Sephora has filled a niche for the fashionistas who just have to have the latest lipstick/perfume/hair product/etc., which only seems appropriate, as Sephora's parent company is luxury standards corporation LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessy). Sephora has their own house brand of cosmetics with prices well below their counterparts within the store (the average unit of Sephora cosmetics costs $10 or less), including a massive selection of lipsticks in four coverages: Cream, Shimmer, Metallic, and Gloss. The Satin finish lipstick was discontinued several years ago and is often found on the secondary markets like eBay.

The Tube, Lipsticks: Black lacquer tube with a clear acrylic bottom that ostensibly contains a bit of product that resembles the actual product in the tube. Modern Sephora lipsticks have the name "Sephora" in capitals applied in silver ink around the bottom of the lid at the join, and a long, stylized "S" on the bottom of the clear acrylic; earlier versions had neither of these features. On the barrel of the tube is the name "Sephora", the product's code number, and a batch number, written in white on a small black sticker applied to the barrel.

The Tube, Lip Gloss: Long, narrow clear plastic tube with a black lid. Brand information printed in black on the clear tube. Color number is on a clear sticker with black lettering on the bottom of the tube.

The Product: #49 and #50 are deep purple, almost black in color, bullet-shaped products with oval delivery point. #227 is tomato red (slightly orange). #308 is fire engine red (true red with a touch of yellow). #436 is a gorgeous dark red, almost maroon. The three 3-digit products are bullet-shaped with half-oval delivery points. The lipgloss, #24, is true red, with a long sponge-tipped wand for application.

The Application: Sephora lipsticks go on beautifully, smoothly, very moist. Oval and half-oval tips cause some issues with sculpting the Cupid's bow and corners, but that's my only complaint about the application.

#49 and #50 go on deep, dark purple, but clearly purple and not black. It's very striking against my pale skin.

#227 is almost orange, even moreso than it looked in the tube. No, thanks.

#308 is not quite as orange-red as it first appeared, which is a nice change.

#436 is the most gorgeous garnet red shade I've ever seen from a Sephora product.

#24, the lip gloss, goes on bluish red and quickly accents any lip color it's applied to. It's slick and shiny but not sticky at all and stays where you put it, a nice change from most lip glosses.

The Taste: Older Sephora products (#227, #308, #436) have a distinct raspberry taste that's quite pleasant. Newer Sephora products (#49, #50, #24 lip gloss) taste like grape jelly, again a very pleasant and not overpowering taste.

The Blot: One of the great things about Sephora lipsticks is that their blots stay true to the color applied, and these are no exception. The first blot is bright; the second is pale.

The Wear: The only complaint I've ever had about Sephora is that their lipstick wear isn't that long; you have to reapply about once every 2 hours on the lighter colors and about once an hour on the darker colors (when lack of color in spots becomes obvious). Also, #436 broke off in its tube, which was very disappointing; I managed to dig out the remnants of the tube and put it in a small Tupperware container, where I use a lip brush to apply instead. If you can find a matching lip gloss to apply to the color, it will last longer (#24 lip gloss over the top of #308 pushed its wear past 3 hours).

The Verdict: Between Sephora and M-A-C, I've found a great set of everyday lipsticks. If you're still looking for a good lipstick and you haven't been able to find a color you like, try Sephora. For $10, it's hard to go wrong.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick: A Trio from Pout

2007-07-08T00:34:00.001-04:00

Remember back when I first started this that I had a few ground rules, two of which were "No lip gloss" and "no lip plumpers"?

Well, I'm still less interested in lip plumpers, but recently lip glosses have gained some ground.

In fact, follow the jumpcut to a trio from Pout Cosmetics of UK that go together quite well.

Candidate Lip Gloss: Pout Cosmetics of London Lipslick, #LW29 (Prim Girl)

Purchased: Victoria's Secret (Columbia, MD)

Cost: $16.00

Candidate Lip Stick: Pout Cosmetics of London Lipstick, #LS07 (Kinky)

Purchased: Victoria's Secret (Columbia, MD)

Cost: $16.00

Candidate Lip Plumper: Pout Cosmetics of London Pout Plump Colors, #PP10 (Forbidden Fruit)

Purchased: Victoria's Secret (Columbia, MD)

Cost: $24.00

Brand Info: Pout Cosmetics of London
Pout is one of the latest UK brands attempting to break into the U.S. market (along with Rimmel and Boots No.7). Unlike the other two, however, Pout has targeted fashionistas who shop at places like Victoria's Secret and Sephora.

The Tube, Lip Slick: Pale pink, with almost a fishnet stocking pattern over the top half of the tube. Bottom of the tube is clear, giving a glimpse at the product inside. The brand name "Pout" is printed in black ink on the plastic portion of the tube. A stylized pink "P" adorns the top and a very tiny pale pink sticker with the color and brand information resides on the bottom.

The Tube, Lipstick: Pale pink, with almost a fishnet stocking pattern over the entire tube. Tube is metal. A stylized pink "P" adorns the top and a pale pink sticker with the color and brand information resides on the bottom.

The Tube, Lip Plumper: All plastic; tube itself is clear and cover is black. The tube itself is decorated with flourishes and the name of the product "Pout Pout Plump". The packaging is of an overinflated shipping bag, which you have to pop to retrieve the product.

The Product: The lipstick itself is a metallic fuschia, something I normally hate. But I was assured that adding the lip gloss and lip plumper would hide the metallics. Both the lip gloss and lip plumper are rubelite pink. The delivery point for the lipstick is a tear-shaped slant on the bullet shape; the lip gloss has a sponge tip on an long wand, and the lip plumper is basically, squeeze and apply, just like lip balm.

The Application: Lipstick goes on nicely, with the teardrop shape helping to tailor the Cupid's bow and the corners. It's a lot pinker than it looks, and the metallics aren't as in-your-face shimmering.

The Taste: Sugary, vanilla in the lipstick. The lip gloss smells more floral-like (almost rosy). The lip plumper is pepperment.

The Blot: The application of this combo is as follows: Apply lipstick; blot, dust with translucent powder to fix the first layer, add the lip gloss, blot again, then add the lip plumper without blotting. This takes off the metallic shine on the first layer, then removes some of the stickiness of lip gloss. If you don't like the feel of the lip plumper, just blot it lightly. It held for over two hours this way without needing a retouch, which isn't bad for layered lipsticks.

The Wear: All that comes off on things is the lip plumper; this is one of the advantages of layering three products together.

The Verdict: It's nice to be able to compliment these colors and preserve some wear on the base color, but let's face it; you've just spent $56 on lip care. That's a bit much for my taste, but if you're a lip gloss lover, this is probably the best way to wear it.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick #195 ("Bordeaux")

2007-06-14T22:18:00.000-04:00

It's been a very long two weeks recovering from a medical procedure that pretty much threw me for a loop. Time for a lipstick review, this time of Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick #195 ("Bordeaux").

The short review: It's a gorgeous shade of dark wine. Wish it lasted longer.

Longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick, #195 (Bordeaux)

Purchased: Target Greatland (Alexandria, VA)

Cost: $6.00

Brand Info: Rimmel London Cosmetics
Founded in 1834 by Eugene Rimmel, the House of Rimmel invented the first non-toxic mascara product; to this day, the word for "mascara" in many non-English-speaking countries is "rimmel". The cosmetics division of the House of Rimmel is now owned by Coty, who distributes their product worldwide. Rimmel's cosmetic line targets the young cosmetic buyer who wants something "exotic" and "trendy" instead of the traditional drug store/grocery store/discount store cosmetics.

The Tube: Deep purple, almost black, lacquer-finished plastic. Split between top and bottom of tube is at the mid-point and both sides of the tube bevel inward at that point. The top of the tube is spherically curved. The bottom of the tube is beveled to a flat surface, upon which rests a sticker that is supposedly colored the same as the lipstick inside, with a code number and a color name in white print.

The Product: Burgundy. It's easy to see why this was named "Bordeaux", as it really does look like a great glass of dark red wine. The product itself is a traditional bullet shape with a slanted teardrop-shaped flat edge delivery point.

The Application: Nice lip feel. The pointed teardrop tip allows for some sculpting at the Cupid's bow and in the corners of the mouth. Glides on smoothly and covers very evenly. It's not as red-wine-stain colored as it looks in the tube; it goes on rather dark, in fact, slightly brownish. It's not a bad color, but it's not quite what I expected. Satiny cream finish.

The Taste: Bubble gum. I'm not kidding; the taste is super sweet.

The Blot: The first blot removes some of the satiny finish, making the final product slightly more matte, and takes some of the brownish edge off, making it more burgundy. Much better. The second blot produces milder color. This isn't typical of Rimmel lipsticks; they normally leave really heavy color blots no matter how many times you blot, which is something that gets on my nerves. This is a really good Rimmel.

The Wear: Comes off on the rim of a cup, eating utensils, and even fingers. Fortunately, it's not staining. The good thing about this color is that if you don't like it, it'll be completely gone in a few hours.

The Verdict: Ironically, I like it as a quick-change lipstick (for some occasion where you only need to wear makeup for a short time). It's a gorgeous color, great for nighttime wear. And of course, at $6/tube, if you don't like it, all is not lost; just pitch it and get another one.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- MAX Factor Colour Perfection Lipstick #265 ("Rouge")

2007-05-31T13:57:00.000-04:00

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.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- M-A-C Satin Lipstick #A76 ("Cyber")

2007-05-19T13:26:00.000-04:00

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")

2007-05-19T12:41:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-19T00:15:00.000-04:00

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.

Goth Chyk

2007-04-25T09:11:00.000-04:00

I'm wearing lipstick labeled "Ebony" today.

No fooling. Seriously.

I'll write a review when I'm more awake, because I've had only about 8 hours of sleep in the past 3 days. Right now, I'm crashing literally every other word. It's like I'm typing along and then the world fades away.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Later, all.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Beauty Terms Quick Glossary

2007-04-15T02:36:00.000-04:00

I'm really enjoying the lipstick posts, and I've gotten nice feedback from others who are also enjoying it.

I do, however, hear the occasional question (and not just here, but IRL when I talk about it with others) of "What do you mean by 'cupid's bow'" or "What's the difference between blue-red and red-red" or other comments. So, here's my quick list of definitions I use when discussing my makeup...

Cupid's Bow: The center of the top lip that usually joins just below the center of the nostrils, creating a twin-peaked area on the lip. This formation is actually the result of the completion of palate synthesis in utero; in people who have cleft palate, this structure is often damaged or missing. Turned sideways, some believe the upper lip looks like an old-fashioned archery bow, so the nickname "Cupid's Bow" was coined by plastic surgeons to describe this particular lip shape. Most makeup artists suggest a form of boundary drawing with lipliner to help guide the product through the Cupid's bow.

Lip Liner (or Lipliner): A pencil structure, mostly wood but sometimes plastic, that surrounds a waxy matte lipstick "lead", used to outline and shape the lips in preparation for lipstick applications. Makeup artists have a pair of schools of thought about lipliners, each containing at least two points that contradict one another, as follows:

-- The lipliner should match the applied product as much as possible to provide the best and most firm edges; or,
-- The lipliner should be one shade lighter (or darker) than the applied products to help disguise lip problems (too small upper-lip, too light lower-lip, misshapen lips); or,
-- The lipliner should match as close as possible either the person's natural lipcolor or their natural skin color so that, if the lipstick wears off, the wearer does not get an outline effect on their lips from the much-longer-lasting lipliner.

-- If possible, the lipliner should provide a primer base by coloring in the lower lips and sometimes the upper ones as well (the reason being that almost all lipliners are high-pigment mattes and have a tendency to leave color behind even when the lipstick color is gone); or,
-- Lipliner should not be applied at all until the product is on, then used to "fix" problems such as incomplete coverage (from a rounded or flattened delivery point, which tends to miss either the points on the Cupid's bow or the corners), or to add an accent where needed.

Delivery Point: The top of the contents of a brand-new lipstick. Lipsticks are traditionally shaped like a bullet, but that shape does not provide enough edges or points to apply the product evenly (think the difference between lip balm and lipstick in terms of how they come out of the tube), so the top of the lipstick is usually sliced off (or the mold for the product contains a sliced-off top) at about a 50-degree angle to provide a flat surface for product application while also providing edges for sculpting. (Think: The shape of the delivery point on a tube of Blistex, which is angled in precisely this way.) Most lipstick delivery points come in three basic shapes: oval (rounded top, rounded bottom, lengthened), teardrop (pointed top, rounded bottom, lengthened), or half-oval, sometimes called "fingernail" (sharp straight-across top, rounded bottom, lengthened, like a fingernail that's not been shaped).

Satin, Shimmer, Sheer, Matte, Cream finishes: After a lipstick is applied and before the first blot, its color pigments take on a set of characteristics known as a finish. There are many types of finishes, and many lipsticks combine them in various ways. In order from IMO best to IMO worst, the most common finishes are:

-- Matte, a thick finish with high pigment, no shine, and almost no moist texture. Most makeup worn on a set of a TV show or Movie is designed to have a matte finish to keep from throwing off the necessary stage lighting with a too-creamy or too-shiny finish.
-- Cream, a moderately thick finish with good pigment and a small bit of shine that usually disappears after first blot and a moist-looking texture. Most makeup companies that don't have a matte product will make their creams thicker and more pigment rich to attract buyers who prefer a matte finish in a cream product.
-- Satin, a moderately thick finish with good pigment and a good bit more shine than cream, but no obvious shimmering pigments.
-- Shimmer, any finish with pigments specifically designed to catch light and sparkle. If you have lines on your lips or around your mouth, stay away from shimmers, as the shimmering pigments have a disturbing tendency to settle right into the lines and highlight them instead of the lipstick pigment itself.
-- Sheer, any finish with a mostly clear base and very little pigmentation that usually leaves lips with a "wet-look" shine. Sometimes called "tint". Most lip glosses are designed for a sheer finish.

Cosmetic manufacturers often combine finishes to achieve specific results, such as a shimmer finish combined with a lip plumper to avoid the shimmer-in-the-lines problem, or a satin texture with a sheer lip tint to create a "moist natural lip" look.

Many times a blot will change the overall finish of a look. For example, a blot of a satin-finish often reduces its shine to where it resembles a cream, or a shimmer blot reduces the shimmering finish so that the overall product looks more satiny. Blotting a matte finish often reduces some of the hardness of the matte look, but cannot make it look more creamy or satiny because of the matte lipstick's overall pigment content.

Blot: The act of using a cloth or tissue pressed against the lips to remove the excess of a coating of lipstick. The "first blot" is usually the one that removes the most excess color; if done on a white or neutral paper, this blot will also reflect the way the color appears on the lips. When I apply lipstick, I often overapply, making sure to put enough color all the way around and in all of the corners, so the first blot is usually quite colorful. Most women who wear lipstick on a daily basis blot at least once and often twice to make sure all the excess color has been removed. The second blot should have relatively little lipstick on it; if the second blot still has enough color for a visible lip print, it's likely that the lipstick as a whole will have issues coming off easily onto glasses, cups, clothes, and fingers. Some makeup artists use a sealant--either a powder or a quick-drying lip gloss--to seal lipstick coats that still leave their mark even after blotting; others use a lip primer before applying lipstick so that the primer can hold onto the pigment better than the bare lip alone.

Blue-Red vs. Red-Red vs. Coral-Red vs Orange-Red vs...: Almost no lipstick is purely one primary color. That is, there are very few true Red, Yellow, or Blue products that contain nothing but that single pigment. One of the reasons for this is that as a whole, red pigment is a very, very strong pigment that usually needs to be toned down in some way to make it wearable without making it look as if the person's bleeding to death. Cosmetic manufacturers combine these three primary colors in a variety of ways to create different shadings within their color spectrum. Often, a product that may be called "Red Red" by its manufacturer is not red at all, possessing an underlying pigment that makes it either more bluish or more yellowish.

Blue-Red, sometimes called "cool red", combines blue pigments with red pigments to create everything from the color of a ripened-on-the-tree cherry to the depths of the darkest eggplant. Blue-Reds most often look good on pale-skinned individuals who have a lot of blue in their skin from blue veins barely hidden beneath the skin and who desperately need some color on their lips to keep them from looking ill, but extremely dark-skinned women also benefit from a blue-red instead of an orange one to offset the depth of their coloration. Blue-Reds are often used to create the wilder forms of pink lipstick, such as fuschia or magenta, and very dark browns such as mahogany.

Orange-Red, sometimes called "warm red", combines yellow and even orange pigments to create everything from the color of a fire engine to the deepest rust on the oldest piece of metal. Orange-Reds most often look good on individuals with olive or brown complexions, where the yellow present in their skin tones highlight the effect of the yellow pigments on the red. Celebrities who have faux tans (a.k.a. "Fake-n-Bake") will sometimes wear orange-reds as well because of the yellowing effect a faux tan has on very pale skin. Orange-Reds are used for creating most shades of brown, especially chocolate or cinnamon.

Coral-Red, sometimes called "neutral red", combines a minimal amount of yellow pigments and either a lightener (white) or a darkener (brown) with red to create a lipstick that's neither berry nor rusty, but rather a middle-of-the-road color. This color works well with people who have a fairly even complexion that falls just a little darker than ivory pale or just a little lighter than dark chocolate. Coral-Red leads into "peachy" pinks, apricot, or champagne.

Color Correctors: Also called Color Adjusters, these cosmetics are used to alter the appearance of either the lip's natural coloration (if worn under the lipstick) or the lipstick's pigmentation (if worn over the coating of lipstick). Professional makeup artists have been using color correctors for years to cover up clients' facial flaws--a bit of yellow tint hides dark circles under the eyes, bruising, and other visible bluish-tone flaws, for example. Sephora at one point produced a whole line of color adjusters for lipstick, though that line has since been discontinued. (It's often still found on eBay, however, so if you're willing to do a little leg work, you might save yourself some frustration on how to salvage a bad lipstick choice.) Other cosmetic companies don't sell their color correction products for lipstick use, but almost all of them can indeed be used on the lips. The three most commonly-used color adjusters for lips are Icy Mint Green (turns orange-red lipstick into a fuschia/raspberry/hot pink coloration, depending on the lipstick itself), pale yellow (covers up purple/brown shadings to neutralize them closer to a coral), and pale blue (used on lipsticks with a high level of orange pigment to tone down the yellow contents and produce a rather purplish pink tone). Other color correctors sometimes used are lavender (tones down overall yellowness), white (lightens heavy, dark makeup), grey (provides a silvery frost to dull lips), and black (darkens makeup). Smashbox has a very large tube of icy mint green color adjuster that works perfectly for this. Other manufacturers of facial color adjusters include Maybelline (green, yellow, white), Joppa Minerals (powder forms of yellow and lavendar), and Mary Kay Cosmetics (blue, green).

Cold Cream: A product first designed to remove heavy stage or theatrical makeup, this all-around facial cleanser came to public prominence a short time after 1910 thanks to the introduction of Pond's Cold Cream to the consumer market. Cold Creams usually contain some form of emollient oil (mineral oil, lanolin), water, a bit of wax to aid in product structure, borax (to disinfect), and a gelling agent to thicken the product. Because of its oil content, Pond's Cold Cream makes an ideal product for removal of lipstick, especially the harder and heavier matte-finish lipsticks, but must be either wiped off or washed off afterward. That said, almost any cream or lotion product can be used to cut through layers of lipsticks (my two favorite non-cold-cream products are Pond's Extra Dry Body Cream and Rose Milk Lotion), as well as some food products like vegetable oil or shortening. It is important to remember, however, that after removing lipstick with a cream or oil based product, to make sure to apply a lip repair product (I personally prefer Blistex, but to each his/her own) to keep the lips from drying out after their protective coating is taken away.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Anna Sui Lipstick #404

2007-04-14T23:48:00.000-04:00

The witching hour of midnight approaches, but I'm having lipstick fun. Today I'm wearing Anna Sui Lipstick, #404 (no name given).

The short review: Really rich color, lasts well, but comes off on objects and the pigment stains things other than the lips.

Longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Anna Sui Lipstick, #404, (Anna Sui Beauty, Inc.)

Purchased: CosmeticAmerica.com

Cost: $21.50 per tube

Brand Info: Anna Sui Beauty
Founded in 1998 by Anna Sui, queen of BoHo Chic fashion, Anna Sui Cosmetics quickly became a staple of high-end department stores (Nordstrom, Saks) and large-volume cosmetic chains (Sephora). The colors are over-the-top, much like Anna's fashion.

The Tube: Black plastic, glossy finish, tubular shape with flairs at the top and bottom of the tube. The top is sculpted into an overhead view of a fully-blossomed rose. Stylized fleur de lis designs ring the bottom of the lid and the top of the lower tube knob. Color code # , gold print on black background, are on a sticker attached to the bottom.

The Product: American Beauty Rose Red. The product itself is a traditional bullet shape with a slanted oval-shaped flat edge delivery point.

The Application: Very smooth application. The oval tip causes some issues trying to sculpt the points of the Cupid's bow, but this is relatively easily overcome by tipping the lipstick and lifting it in places to allow what little edges there are better access to the pointy areas (Cupid's bow, corners of the mouth). The color is almost exactly what in cosmetic terms is called a "true red", a color very hard to come by. Nice cream finish with a very subtle shine.

The Taste: Rosewater, which I happen to really like (I brew rose tea regularly). No other perfume tastes or scents present.

The Blot: The first blot removes most of the shine, making the final product appear more matte. Nice, bold red rose lip print. A second blot produces much more color than I'd expected. Coverage is still good, though.

The Wear: Comes off all over the place--the rim of a cup, eating utensils, your fingers if you're eating finger food. The pigment is phenomenal--it holds on even while the product itself wears off and is waterproof--but that's also a problem when it sticks to your fingers when eating finger food because you end up with red stains that are very difficult to remove. (I finally grabbed a jar of Pond's cold cream, which took the stains right off.)

The Verdict: The color is awesome, the feel is great, but it comes off all over the place, which is not cool. That plus a pretty high price--$21.50/tube--takes it out of the running for The Perfect Lipstick.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Sephora Satin Lipstick Color Adjuster, #907 (Pale Mint)

2007-04-14T21:44:00.000-04:00

A couple of times I've mentioned about lipsticks looking "too coral" / "too yellow" / etc. Though they've now mostly discontinued it, many manufacturers used to make what are known as "color adjusters". Search eBay for "color adjuster", or check the wholesale lots for lipsticks, as they're easier to find. (Mine came in a box of 300 other discontinued Sephora lipsticks.) Mary Kay makes color adjusters as well, and makeup companies that sell primarily to stage and theatrical troups usually carry at least black and white color correctors. If you're a clever shopper, you might be able to find inexpensive lipsticks that can be used for color correction. Most lip color correctors are relatively sheer lipsticks in a set of colors:

-- Blue/purple, which mutes yellows and turns a "too yellow"/"too orange" lipstick into a plum/brown color, depending on the depth of application;
-- Yellow/orange, which does the same thing to a lipstick that's "too blue/too purple" lipstick, pushing them to the rust/brick shade--both of these first two correctors are designed to change the cold or warm tones of the red pigments in a lipstick;
-- Green, which offsets the red in a lipstick and slightly darkens it--depending on the darkness or lightness of the shade of green, the overall tones in a green-corrected lipstick tends toward hot pink/fuschia/magenta/raspberry;
-- Black, the ultimate shade darkener;
-- White, the ultimate shade lightener.

This review describes Sephora's pale mint green color adjuster in satin finish (#907).

The short review: It took one barely coral red and turned it into a brilliant fuschia. I'm sold.

Longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Sephora Satin Lipstick Color Adjuster, #907 (Pale Mint)

Purchased: Back Street Trader eBay Store

Cost: Box of 380 discontinued Sephora lipsticks was $79.95, making each tube about $0.21

Brand Info: http://www.sephora.com/
Born in France in 1969, Sephora has become one of the largest cosmetics retail outlets in the world. Since its first store opening in America in Manhattan in 1998, Sephora has filled a niche for the fashionistas who just have to have the latest lipstick/perfume/hair product/etc., which only seems appropriate, as Sephora's parent company is luxury standards corporation LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessy). Sephora has their own house brand of cosmetics, including a massive selection of lipsticks in four coverages: Cream, Shimmer, Metallic, and Gloss. The Satin finish lipstick was discontinued several years ago and is often found on the secondary markets like eBay.

The Tube: Black lacquer tube with a clear acrylic bottom that ostensibly contains a bit of product that resembles the actual product in the tube. Modern Sephora lipsticks have the name "Sephora" in capitals applied in silver ink around the bottom of the lid at the join, and a long, stylized "S" on the bottom of the clear acrylic; earlier versions had neither of these features. On the barrel of the tube is the name "Sephora", the product's code number, and a batch number, written in white on a small black sticker applied to the barrel.

The Product: It's mint green with a lot of white added to make it icy pale, not pastel pale. (The difference is in the pigmentation used; icy pale colors are more silvery than pastels.) Typical bullet shape with a fingernail-shaped delivery point.

The Application: Sephora lipsticks are incredibly moist and go on extremely smoothly. The lack of a pointed top prevents some sculpting of the corners and Cupid's bow, but, hey, this is not a lipstick you'll wear solo. In fact, you'll either put it on first in a very thin layer, or you'll apply it last the same way. Either way, not much product is used. Some makeup artists who use color adjusters recommend you mix the two (or more) colors you want to use on the back of your hand and then use a lip brush to apply the finished color.

The Taste: Raspberry, like most of Sephora's earlier lipsticks. It's very pleasant.

The Blot: Depending on whether or not you use the color adjuster as a lip primer, you'll either get a blot of pale mint or a blot of the mixed color that you created by layering blue on top. The pale mint blot is practically invisible.

The Wear: On their own, Sephora lipsticks have a color retention issue (the color is either 100% on or 100% gone). However, when using a thin coat of this adjuster under a coat of the coral-red Clarins Rouge Éclat lipstick #46 ("Red Red"), this way-too-coral color suddenly became a very acceptible fuschia, which is exactly what color adjusters are supposed to do. Clarins is a better-wearing lipstick, and the Sephora color correcter underneath lasts just fine.

The Verdict: It's after seeing it work miracles on a color I was initially dissatisfied with that makes me wish even more that Sephora would bring these back full-time.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Tangee Colors, "Red Red"

2007-04-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

"You look good in red lipstick."

(Seriously, I heard that the other day from a co-worker who hadn't seen me in a while. It's a nice change.)

The other day, I reviewed Tangee Natural, the prototype "mood lipstick". Tangee also has a line of regular lipstick that comes in a very limited selection of colors. This is one of three reds they have, called "Red Red".

The short review: Red, red, red. Did I mention it's red? And that it's called "Red Red"? And that it's one of the nicest cherry red lipsticks I've ever tried?

Longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Tangee Colors Lipstick, "Red Red" (manufactured for and distributed by The Vermont Country Store)

Purchased: The Vermont Country Store

Cost: $12.95 per tube

Brand Info: Vermont Country Store item description for Tangee Colors
Tangee's "Uniquely your own" Natural lipstick is the 1930's prototype for what would become known in later years as "mood lipstick". However, Tangee also made a line of more conventional cosmetics, including blushes, foundation, and lipsticks. The Tangee brand left the market in the 60s, but was revived by the Orton family, who own the online nostalgia product site "The Vermont Country Store". Today, Tangee produces a line of cosmetics exclusively for VCS, including three different red lipsticks under the banner of "Tangee Colors".

The Tube: Black lacquer obelisk-like boxy tube. The join between lid and base meets at a strong and wide gold metallic band. The "Tangee" cursive logo is embossed on the tube in gold paint. The bottom has a red sticker with black print that spells out the color ("Red Red") and the manufacturer ("The Vermont Country Store"), with VCS's 1-800 ordering number in print so small you need a jeweler's loupe to read it.

The Product: American Beauty Rose Red. Really, really vivid red. Traditional bullet product with a teardrop-shaped flat delivery point.

The Application: Really creamy. Goes on very smoothly. Nice point aids in contouring around the Cupid's bow and corners. The finish is a satiny cream.

The Taste: Grandma's cosmetic drawer. Seriously, think old-style cosmetics, with that odd blend of tastes (waxy, lotiony, strangely perfumy). I've read that the taste is almost exactly the same as when it was first around.

The Blot: Bright blue-red lip print. The second print lets off a lot of color as well. A third blot felt dry on the tissue.

The Wear: Lasts really well, even after the product comes off on the cup/water bottle/fingers for finger food/etc. Fortunately, the product is easy to clean off the fingers.

The Verdict: This is really not a bad lipstick at all. It's very old-fashioned looking and very old-fashioned tasting. But if you like a good cherry-red, this one isn't bad at all and may be worth a try.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Sephora Satin Lipstick Color Adjuster, #940 (Blue)

2007-04-12T01:52:00.000-04:00

A couple of times I've mentioned about lipsticks looking "too coral" / "too yellow" / etc. Though they've now mostly discontinued it, many manufacturers used to make what are known as "color adjusters". Search eBay for "color adjuster", or check the wholesale lots for lipsticks, as they're easier to find. (Mine came in a box of 300 other discontinued Sephora lipsticks.) Mary Kay makes color adjusters as well, and makeup companies that sell primarily to stage and theatrical troups usually carry at least black and white color correctors. If you're a clever shopper, you might be able to find inexpensive lipsticks that can be used for color correction. Most lip color correctors are relatively sheer lipsticks in a set of colors:

-- Blue/purple, which mutes yellows and turns a "too yellow"/"too orange" lipstick into a plum/brown color, depending on the depth of application;
-- Yellow/orange, which does the same thing to a lipstick that's "too blue/too purple" lipstick, pushing them to the rust/brick shade--both of these first two correctors are designed to change the cold or warm tones of the red pigments in a lipstick;
-- Green, which offsets the red in a lipstick and slightly darkens it--depending on the darkness or lightness of the shade of green, the overall tones in a green-corrected lipstick tends toward hot pink/fuschia/magenta/raspberry;
-- Black, the ultimate shade darkener;
-- White, the ultimate shade whitener.

This review describes Sephora's blue color adjuster in satin finish (#940).

The short review: These are hard to find, but if you're having trouble finding a good lipstick to match your skin tones, seek them out.

Longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Sephora Satin Lipstick Color Adjuster, #940 (Blue)

Purchased: Back Street Trader eBay Store

Cost: Box of 380 discontinued Sephora lipsticks was $79.95, making each tube about $0.21

Brand Info: http://www.sephora.com/
Born in France in 1969, Sephora has become one of the largest cosmetics retail outlets in the world. Since its first store opening in America in Manhattan in 1998, Sephora has filled a niche for the fashionistas who just have to have the latest lipstick/perfume/hair product/etc., which only seems appropriate, as Sephora's parent company is luxury standards corporation LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessy). Sephora has their own house brand of cosmetics, including a massive selection of lipsticks in four coverages: Cream, Shimmer, Metallic, and Gloss. The Satin finish lipstick was discontinued several years ago and is often found on the secondary markets like eBay.

The Tube: Black lacquer tube with a clear acrylic bottom that ostensibly contains a bit of product that resembles the actual product in the tube. Modern Sephora lipsticks have the name "Sephora" in capitals applied in silver ink around the bottom of the lid at the join, and a long, stylized "S" on the bottom of the clear acrylic; earlier versions had neither of these features. On the barrel of the tube is the name "Sephora", the product's code number, and a batch number, written in white on a small black sticker applied to the barrel.

The Product: It's blue. And I do mean, blue, like that faux color they put in kids' raspberry drinks these days. Typical bullet shape with a fingernail-shaped delivery point.

The Application: Sephora lipsticks are incredibly moist and go on extremely smoothly. The lack of a pointed top prevents some sculpting of the corners and Cupid's bow, but, hey, this is not a lipstick you'll wear solo. In fact, you'll either put it on first in a very thin layer, or you'll apply it last the same way. Either way, not much product is used. Some makeup artists who use color adjusters recommend you mix the two (or more) colors you want to use on the back of your hand and then use a lip brush to apply the finished color.

The Taste: Early Sephora lipsticks had a berry taste (strawberry, raspberry). Current Sephora lipsticks taste like Concord Grape Jam. (Swear to {insert deity here}.) It's very pleasant.

The Blot: Depending on whether or not you use the color adjuster as a lip primer, you'll either get a blot of blue or a blot of the mixed color that you created by layering blue on top. The blue blot does take some getting used to.

The Wear: One of the biggest gripes I have with Sephora's lipsticks, although I absolutely love them, is that they tend to fade out rapidly--they're either 100% bright or they're 100% gone. Fortunately, at only $10 a tube retail or $0.21 a tube on eBay, reapplying is cheap.

The Verdict: I adore Sephora's current makeup line, and their current cream lipstick #50 (really dark purple, almost midnight violet) is still my go-to color when I want something I know I can trust. I've found a few likes in the Satin collection I bought on eBay, and this tube of color adjuster is one of them. I wish Sephora would bring them back full-time.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Tangee Natural

2007-04-11T19:16:00.000-04:00

Sorry about no lipstick reviews on Monday or Tuesday. It's a long story involving a dead ceiling fan, a crappy controller module in the canopy, a night of manic rewiring, one accidental touch of a live wire, and two falls off an 8-foot ladder (none from the very top, fortunately), none of which is even remotely interesting.

Instead, how about a review of something slightly off-kilter...the original Tangee Lipstick, "The Lipstick That Changes Color To Become Uniquely Your Own"!

The short review: The prototype "mood lipstick" has some good qualities, actually, but at nearly $15 a tube, there are better choices and cheaper versions available.

Longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Tangee Natural Lipstick (manufactured for and distributed by The Vermont Country Store)

Purchased: The Vermont Country Store

Cost: $14.95 per tube

Brand Info: http://www.tangee.com/
Tangee's "Uniquely your own" lipstick is the 1930's prototype for what would become known in later years as "mood lipstick". Mood lipstick, of course, isn't "mood" related at all; it's a wax/lanolin/moisturizer base with pigments that react to skin temperature and pH to create the "unique" color. Kids from the 70s and 80s will remember "green lipstick" (which tended to turn fuschia), but Tangee was the first and the most well-known. It left the market in the 60s, but was revived by the Orton family, who own the online nostalgia product site "The Vermont Country Store". Today, Tangee produces a line of cosmetics exclusively for VCS, and the centerpiece is the revival of Tangee Natural. No review of lipsticks would be complete without some mention of it.

The Tube: Black lacquer obelisk-like boxy tube. The join between lid and base meets at a strong and wide gold metallic band. The "Tangee" cursive logo is embossed on the tube in gold paint. The bottom has a white sticker with black print that spells out the color ("Natural") and the manufacturer ("The Vermont Country Store"), with VCS's 1-800 ordering number in print so small you need a jeweler's loupe to read it.

The Product: With a name like Tangee? Take a guess. O.K., time's up. It's tangerine orange, almost day-glo. Traditional bullet shape product with a delivery point at the tip that resembles...well, it resembles a woman's fingernail. Really. I'm not kidding.

The Application: ChapStick. No edges to aid in corner tailoring at all. That said, it does cover really well, and the color change happens almost instantly. In my case, it turns rubelite pink (which is a really reddish pink). It's shiny, but that shine fades pretty much as soon as it starts to warm up and be absorbed into the skin (again, think ChapStick).

The Taste: Grandma's cosmetic drawer. Seriously, think old-style cosmetics, with that odd blend of tastes (waxy, lotiony, strangely perfumy). I've read that the taste is almost exactly the same as when it was first around.

The Blot: The first blot barely even stains the tissue. Forget a second blot.

The Wear: Believe it or not, it does last. The color stays long after the product has absorbed into your lips or come off on your coffee cup. Which means you'd better hope you've got the right pH to turn this color into something you'll be happy wearing, because hon, it stays on until you take it off with cold cream/makeup remover. It does make a really good lip balm, however.

The Verdict: Mood lipsticks are a fun thing. Want something different? Try a mood lipstick. Want just a little color in your lip balm? Try a mood lipstick. Want something that you won't see coming at you on everybody else's lips as you pass the cosmetic counter? Try a mood lipstick. Want to save money? Don't buy Tangee Naturals. Seriously, your local dollar store probably has one that's just as good for a mere fraction of the price. Unless you're just really nostalgic for the lipstick Grandma used, save your money.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Rimmel London #074, "Red Hot"

2007-04-08T12:28:00.000-04:00

Hoppy Easter!

Off to Easter Brunch, but not before another lipstick review. This one's for Rimmel London's Lasting Finish #074, "Red Hot".

The short review: It's not really "red", or "hot", and it doesn't last as long as I'd like.

Longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Rimmel London Lasting Finish #074, "Red Hot" (Coty, Inc.)

Purchased: Wegman's (high-end grocery store, Dulles, VA)

Cost: $5.99 per tube

Brand Info: http://www.rimmellondon.com/
Founded in 1834 by Eugene Rimmel, the House of Rimmel invented the first non-toxic mascara product; to this day, the word for "mascara" in many non-English-speaking countries is "rimmel". The cosmetics division of the House of Rimmel is now owned by Coty, who distributes their product worldwide. Rimmel's cosmetic line targets the young cosmetic buyer who wants something "exotic" and "trendy" instead of the traditional drug store/grocery store/discount store cosmetics.

The Tube: Deep purple, almost black, lacquer-finished plastic. Split between top and bottom of tube is at the mid-point and both sides of the tube bevel inward at that point. The top of the tube is spherically curved. The bottom of the tube is beveled to a flat surface, upon which rests a sticker that is supposedly colored the same as the lipstick inside, with a code number and a color name in white print.

The Product: Red, red, red, almost what is sometimes called "true red", which is a color very hard to achieve in cosmetics. The product itself is a traditional bullet shape with a slanted teardrop-shaped flat edge delivery point.

The Application: Nice lip feel. The pointed teardrop tip allows for some sculpting at the Cupid's bow and in the corners of the mouth. Glides on smoothly and covers very evenly. The disappointment here is that it's not really red; it's a really bright rubelite pink. Unfortunately, it also has a slight coral look, especially after blotting, meaning it's got more yellow that it first appeared. Satiny cream finish.

The Taste: Bubble gum. I'm not kidding; the taste is super sweet.

The Blot: The first blot removes some of the satiny finish, making the final product slightly more matte, but also unveils the coral undertones. Blah. The second blot also produces a strong bit of color.

The Wear: Comes off on the rim of a cup, eating utensils, and even fingers. Fortunately, it's not staining. The good thing about this color is that if you don't like it, it'll be completely gone in a few hours.

The Verdict: Ironically, I like it as a quick-change lipstick (for some occasion where you only need to wear makeup for a short time). I wish it was more red/blue. I'll have to find a blue color adjuster and see if I can make it a little less coral-like. And of course, at $6/tube, if you don't like it, all is not lost; just pitch it and get another one.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Wild & Crazy #C100

2007-04-07T20:02:00.000-04:00

A new lipstick review after dinner. This one's for Wild & Crazy Lipstick, C100 (no color name specified).

The short review: Probably the best blue-red burgundy I've ever tried, wish it was a little more matte and lasted a little longer, but it's only $1.00.

Longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Wild & Crazy Lipstick, C100, no color name (Mirage Cosmetics, Inc.)

Purchased: Beauty Supply Store

Cost: $1.00 per tube

Brand Info: http://www.sinfulcolors.com/ (Home of Mirage's non-dollar-store line, Sinful Colors)
Founded in 1991 by Chris Chon, Mirage now distributes cosmetics to beauty supply stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic region (their U.S. headquarters is in Beltsville, MD). Wild & Crazy is their "discount" line, which is sold pretty much in Beauty Supply stores and dollar stores.

Mirage Cosmetics UK sells both brands and Wild & Crazy is a much more recognized brand across the pond.

The Tube: Traditional makeup packaging: Silver bottom, clear acrylic lid. The tube itself has "Wild and Crazy" on one side and then the distribution info in small print further along the cylindar. A code # is on a sticker attached to the bottom. I think this may have been one of the earlier formulations, as it has no name. If I had to name it, I'd probably call it something like "Sangria".

The Product: Rich, rich burgundy. Looks the same color of a glass of fine red wine. The product itself is a traditional bullet shape with a slanted teardrop-shaped flat edge delivery point.

The Application: Very, very nice lip feel. The pointed teardrop tip allows for some sculpting at the Cupid's bow and in the corners of the mouth. Glides on smoothly and covers very evenly. Much redder than it looks in the tube, which was really surprising. Satiny cream finish.

The Taste: Relatively tasteless. Doesn't even have a crayon-like odor like most unflavored/unfragranced lipsticks taste like.

The Blot: The first blot removes some of the satiny finish, making the final product slightly more matte. The perfect shade of blue-red in a bold lip print. A second blot produces less color and compromises neither coverage nor finish.

The Wear: Only a moderate amount of loss on the rim of a water glass. Doesn't come off on the fingers when eating finger food, a nice change of pace. The pigments are quite good, though it has a tendency to fade out with time and leave a somewhat blotchy appearance to the lips as it does.

The Verdict: Really nice. Doesn't dry out lips at all. Much redder than I'd anticipated. If I could get this color in a really good matte formula, I'd be set. And, again, for a buck you could do a lot worse.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Anna Sui Lipstick #402, "Rouge Chine"

2007-04-07T16:53:00.000-04:00

A new day, a new lipstick review. Today I'm wearing Anna Sui Lipstick, #402, "Rouge Chine".

The short review: Really rich color, lasts well, but comes off on objects and the pigment stains things other than the lips.

Longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Anna Sui Lipstick, #402, "Rouge Chine" (Anna Sui Beauty, Inc.)

Purchased: http://www.beautifulperfumes.com

Cost: $21.50 per tube

Brand Info: http://www.annasuibeauty.com/
Founded in 1998 by Anna Sui, queen of BoHo Chic fashion, Anna Sui Cosmetics quickly became a staple of high-end department stores (Nordstrom, Saks) and large-volume cosmetic chains (Sephora). The colors are over-the-top, much like Anna's fashion.

The Tube: Black plastic, glossy finish, tubular shape with flairs at the top and bottom of the tube. The top is sculpted into an overhead view of a fully-blossomed rose. Stylized fleur de lis designs ring the bottom of the lid and the top of the lower tube knob. Color name and a code # , gold print on black background, are on a sticker attached to the bottom.

The Product: Reddish burgundy. The product itself is a traditional bullet shape with a slanted oval-shaped flat edge delivery point.

The Application: Very smooth application. The oval tip causes some issues trying to sculpt the points of the Cupid's bow, but this is relatively easily overcome by tipping the lipstick and lifting it in places to allow what little edges there are better access to the pointy areas (Cupid's bow, corners of the mouth). allows for some sculpting at the Cupid's bow and in the corners of the mouth. The color is closer to an American Beauty Rose than the burgundy it appears to be in the tube, which goes along with the rose motif on the tube. Nice cream finish with a very subtle shine.

The Taste: Rosewater, which I happen to really like (I brew rose tea regularly). No other perfume tastes or scents present.

The Blot: The first blot removes most of the shine, making the final product appear more matte. Nice, bold red rose lip print. A second blot produces much more color than I'd expected. Coverage is still good, though.

The Wear: Comes off all over the place--the rim of a cup, eating utensils, your fingers if you're eating finger food. The pigment is phenomenal--it holds on even while the product itself wears off and is waterproof--but that's also a problem when it sticks to your fingers when eating finger food because you end up with red stains that are very difficult to remove. (I finally grabbed a jar of Pond's cold cream, which took the stains right off.)

The Verdict: The color is awesome, the feel is great, but it comes off all over the place, which is not cool. That plus a pretty high price--$21.50/tube--takes it out of the running for The Perfect Lipstick.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Wild & Crazy Lipstick, C145, "Spicy Red"

2007-04-07T02:29:00.000-04:00

One more lipstick review before I head off to bed. This one's for Wild & Crazy Lipstick, C145, "Spicy Red".

The short review: You can do a lot worse for $1.00.

Longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Wild & Crazy Lipstick, C145, "Spicy Red" (Mirage Cosmetics, Inc.)

Purchased: Beauty Supply Store

Cost: $1.00 per tube

Brand Info: http://www.sinfulcolors.com/ (Home of Mirage's non-dollar-store line, Sinful Colors)
Founded in 1991 by Chris Chon, Mirage now distributes cosmetics to beauty supply stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic region (their U.S. headquarters is in Beltsville, MD). Wild & Crazy is their "discount" line, which is sold pretty much in Beauty Supply stores and dollar stores.

Mirage Cosmetics UK sells both brands and Wild & Crazy is a much more recognized brand across the pond.

The Tube: Traditional makeup packaging: Silver bottom, clear acrylic lid. The tube itself has "Wild and Crazy" on one side and then the distribution info in small print further along the cylindar. Color name and a code # are on a sticker attached to the bottom.

The Product: Really deep fuschia. The product itself is a traditional bullet shape with a slanted teardrop-shaped flat edge delivery point.

The Application: Very, very nice lip feel. The nice tip allows for some sculpting at the Cupid's bow and in the corners of the mouth. Satiny cream finish.

The Taste: Relatively tasteless. Doesn't even have a crayon-like odor like most unflavored/unfragranced lipsticks taste like.

The Blot: The first blot removes some of the satiny finish, making the final product slightly more matte. Nice, bold fuschia lip print. A second blot produces less color and compromises neither coverage nor finish.

The Wear: Only a moderate amount of loss on the rim of a water glass. The pigments are quite good, though it has a tendency to fade out with time and leave a somewhat blotchy appearance to the lips.

The Verdict: Really nice. Doesn't dry out lips at all. Not as red as I'd like, but the fuschia is a nice change of pace from cherry reds. And, again, for a buck you could do a lot worse.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- Playboy Beauty Calendar Girl Lipstick

2007-04-06T23:13:00.000-04:00

Continuing the lipstick hunt, I turn my attention to another beauty.com find, Playboy Beauty Calendar Girl Lipstick.

The short review: Awful.

The longer review follows the jump-cut...

Candidate: Playboy Beauty Calendar Girl Lipstick (Playboy, Inc.)

Purchased: Beauty.com

Cost: $14.00 per tube

Brand Info: http://www.playboybeauty.com/ (also available at Henri Bendel and Beauty.com)
You don't have to use your imagination here; yes, this is lipstick designed by Playboy to "convey the sex kitten status of the Playboy Bunny". This is the "Calendar Girl" line, described as follows: "Weightless formula keeps lips soft. New technology blends a high level of color pigments for true color and shine enhancing polymers for long wear. Formula contains anti-oxidants vitamins A, C and E."

The Tube: Hot pink plastic rectangular sheath with silver Playboy Bunny Logos running down one side. The rectangular sheath encloses a silver lipstick tube. True to the imagery Playboy invokes, there's a large Silver Bunny on what appears to be the top of the tube...until you try to remove the product and discover the Bunny's actually on the bottom and the opening for the lipstick is facing downward as it goes into the protective plastic sheath. (So many jokes, so little web space.)

The Product: Pink. And I mean pink, as in slightly paler that what is commonly called "Barbie pink". On the product page, it looks a lot more red. Trust me, it isn't even close to red. In fact, it's not only not red, it's actually more coral, which means it's yellowy. And I think I detect my arch-enemy, shimmering pigments. The product itself is a traditional bullet shape with a slightly-concaved delivery point.

The Application: Slicker than the slickest lip gloss. It comes out even pinker than it looks in the tube. And it's full of shimmer, which does exactly what I expect it to--find its way into every crevace in my lips and highlight my age lines. Oh, yuck, once it sets up, it's sticky. The worst of the worst of the worst of my hated lipstick features.

The Taste: Did somebody find a bunch of leftover 60's cosmetics and melt 'em down for this? It's perfumy, powdery, almost sweet, a lot like cosmetics my babysitters would let me borrow as a little girl. I remember I hated them then, too. (The cosmetics, not the babysitters.)

The Blot: The blot removes some of the stickiness, thank God. Nice lip print comes off and confirms my suspicions that it's a very bad pale pink coral. I swear, it looks like somebody drew a lip print with a pale pink highligher. A second blot produces only a faint bit of color on the tissue and doesn't clean up any more of the stickiness.

The Wear: Drinking reactivates the stickiness and lets that overly perfumed taste flow in, but it does stick to your lips a lot better than I expected.

The Verdict: I bought it just to check out the colors and it came with a free eyeshadow sample at beauty.com. I've tried three times to find a way to make all of its horrible features work--undercoating for a too-heavy matte; brightener of a too-dark matte, etc.--and none of them work. Would never buy again in a gazillion years. A light coat of Smith's Rosebud Salve takes off a little more of the stickiness, but that's about it. The thing's virtually waterproof. Oy.

Heading off for cold cream...

2007-04-06T23:06:00.000-04:00

Testing my new jump code.

This should lead to a jump page.

The Hunt For The Perfect Lipstick -- The Criteria

2007-04-06T22:10:00.000-04:00

Kimberly's Search For The Perfect Lipstick -- Basic Criteria

For the past few months, I've been trying to reclaim my femininity after the beatdown years of 2006 and 2007 (Hypercalcemia, my ex-husband being the such-and-such he is, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Non-Alcoholic Hepatic Steatosis, etc.). Part of that effort has been allowing myself to be pampered in ways I hadn't before. Leg waxing. Massages. Facials. Soaks in whirlpools and relaxation in saunas.

Oh, yeah, and new makeup.

Originally in 2006, I was going to do the all-out facial makeover--but after more than a handful of sit-down sessions at makeup counters, I was beginning to tire of people putting "contemporary" colors on me and telling me how "great" I looked. I'm no fool. Medications, including several rounds of steroids, have pretty much wrecked my figure. I've got pale skin, high cheekbones, T-zone oiliness, a double-chin and thick neck, and some new lines (my mouth now naturally turns downward instead of upward, so smilling almost looks fake) that have invaded my face over the past few years. The last thing a color pallette like mine needs is today's "sheer" look and "nude" lips and all that other happy horse hockey.

In fact, I end up needing only three things:

-- Really Good foundation
-- Good mascara
-- The Perfect Lipstick

I've since found my foundation (M-A-C Studio Fix Powder Foundation, color NW40) and mascara (Urban Decay Skyscraper Mascara, color Gotham). But The Perfect Lipstick? It's been elusive.

So, the hunt is on.

The first step was to decide what I wanted in a lipstick. That's actually easy to define.

-- Nothing orangy or yellowish. My undertones are blue-red, and that's what I want to wear.
-- No frosts, shimmers, pearl finishes, etc. No woman over 40 should be wearing those anyway. Trust me. All shimmering stuff does is highlight the lines already on your lips and around your mouth.
-- No glosses, glazes, sheers, etc. My lips have a natural color--pale cherry, blue-tinted, almost berry-stained. I don't need glosses for that. That's why God invented Chap-Stick. If I'm putting on lipstick, it darn well better have a real color to it.
-- No bright, shiny finish. If my lips look like they've had a coat of Simonize applied, they're too shiny.
-- No plumpers. My top lip may be lacking, but if my bottom lip were any bigger, you could sell advertising on it. Plumpers just make my lips hurt.

So, what that leaves is:

-- Matte finish (preferred), cream or satin if Matte is not available.
-- Red, with a blue tinge. Think "cherry", not "fire engine".
-- Berry colored, all the way from cherry to deep plum. I actually like purple, but it had better be a really dark one to work on my skin.
-- Some brown is O.K. as long as it isn't overpowering the red.
-- Pinks are acceptible if they're on the higher-end of the pigment scale (that is, nothing pastel; if it's not at least hot pink or fuschia, I'm not interested).
-- Whatever it is, it's got to have pigment. I want to see a different color, not the color of my lips.
-- And, perhaps most important, it had better have staying power. I don't mind touching up my lipstick between meetings or after a meal, but I shouldn't go into a meeting with fresh lipstick and come out an hour later with no trace of it left on. This is the main reason for choosing Matte finish lipsticks--they tend to at least leave some color behind as they wear off.

I've been testing out lipsticks now since January. Even when my health wouldn't let me go out, I'd still clean my lips off with a light coating of Pond's Cold Cream and change shades every so often to see how I liked it. In fact, my favorite way to test lipstick staying power is to put on a shade right before I go to bed and see if it's still hanging around by the time I wake up the next day--that way, there's no chance for food/drink/kissing/etc. to wear off the color; either it'll stay on or it won't. My poor stuffed teddy bear and stuffed doggies have pink- and red-stained ears and foreheads, but none of them seem to mind cuddling with me anyway.

Price isn't an object. I've found good candidates in the dollar store, believe it or not. I've found crappy choices from really high-end brands, too.

My reviews, such as they are, will follow this format, more or less:

-- Product name, color name, manufacturer
-- Where purchased (grocery, drugstore, online, Sephora, etc.)
-- Approximate cost per tube
-- An intro to the brand/facts about the brand/etc.
-- The basic look of the tube itself
-- The look of the color in the tube, including the shape of the lipstick product (flat, bullet-shaped; embellished, chiseled, etc.)
-- How it goes on (color, finish, etc.)
-- How it tastes (through eating/drinking/licking lips/etc., women who wear lipstick on a daily basis probably consume around 4 lbs. of it over their lifespan; cosmetic companies are aware of this, and many scent their products to make their presence on the lips more pleasant)
-- How it looks after blotting (lots of lip products come off after the first blot)
-- Does it last? How does it look as it's wearing off?
-- Is it The Perfect Lipstick? Is it at least a candidate?

The reviews will be published as I get around to them. Watch this space for more.

In fact, I'll start off with one right now, just as an example.

Candidate: Paula Dorf Lip Color, "Legend" (Paula Dorf New York)

Purchased: Beauty.com

Cost: $19.00 per tube

Brand Info: http://www.pauladorf.com/ (also available at Sephora and Beauty.com)
Paula Dorf started out making makeup brushes for use in applying heavier stage makeup when she was the makeup artist for a number of musicians. Along the way, she expanded into a basic set of color "looks" in eye makeup, rouge, and lipsticks to go along with her now widely-copied brush and tool line. Her clients include Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, and Courtney Cox.

The Tube: Matte Black with glossy "Pd" embossings. At the mid-tube join is a glossy plastic black ring which stands out against the matte black. Top has a stylized "Pd" logo in white. The base is a sticker, white print on black background, with the brand info.

The Product: Classic 40s Movie Star Red, lots of blue undertone (more cherry than fiery), bullet-shaped product with a concave slope at the point of delivery.

The Application: Creamy, smooth. The concave slope causes issues on my smaller top lip, where it has a tendency to apply product outside the lip boundry. Worse, the same problem happens on my larger lower lip, causing two spots of "outside the lines" application. If this tip had a normal flat diagonal delivery point, it would be easier to apply. PaulaDorf.com says to "apply with a lip brush". The finish is a slightly moist cream. The color on the lips isn't nearly as intense as the tube looks, which is probably good because the color in the tube is a little dramatic for everyday wear. It's perfectly suitable for evening wear, or if you like strong bold colors for your daytime look. I like really bold blue-reds, so this is great for me.

The Taste: No added fragrance, so any taste there is comes from the ingredients, most of which are relatively tasteless. Tastes kind of crayon-like.

The Blot: Feels dry. Nice lip print comes off. A second blot produces only a faint bit of color on the tissue.

The Wear: After an afternoon of coding and sipping at a bottle of water, the color still remains, even as most of the product itself has worn off. The color is pretty even across the lips; no splotchy spots.

The Verdict: I'd be happier with a flatter application tip, but other than that this is a perfectly good lipstick. It is, however, a little pricey at $19/tube and getting just the right angle with that concave tip can be a little frustrating.

I'm hoping this turns out to be a lot of fun.

New Blog!

2006-07-11T22:51:00.000-04:00

I'm KimberlyKnits (my eBay ID), and this is KimberlyKnits' Purls of Wisdom.

I make mostly Barbie and other fashion doll dresses. My store is KimberlyKnits Fashion Boutique. I'm a yarnaholic...I can stop anytime I want to (at the yarn store up the street). :)

Hello!