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

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.