NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Review

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Review

From the Brand:
Neither lipstick nor lip gloss, this matte lip cream is a new kind of lip color that goes on silky smooth and sets to a matte finish. Soft Matte Lip Cream is surprisingly durable and, unlike some matte lipstick formulas, also moisturizing.


Retails for:  $6.00

Where to Buy:  NYXCosmetics.com, Select Target stores and Target.com, Ulta stores and Ulta.com, Blush.com


My Thoughts:  It feels like everyone is using these lately, and maybe it's just the fact that I'm not a huge fan of matte lipsticks, I just can't get myself to like these.  I feel like it looks way to chalky on my lips, and it settles.  I'm the kind of person who uses chapstick 24/7.  As in sometimes I wake up out of a dead sleep to put more chapstick on my lips if they're feeling dry.  So it's not like I should have flaky dry lips, but when I put this on I feel like I can see every last line and texture to my lips.  It ages me, and I'm not a fan of products that make me look anywhere close to my age.  I'm super proud of the fact that I'm 31 and look 21 thank you!

Maybe I'm just too used to wearing gloss and the NYX Butter Gloss, which is probably almost as addicting for me as the EOS lip balms I've been using non-stop for the past few months.  It's also summer, and a matte lip can just look off during summer in my opinion.  It's too "formal" I guess.  To me, a matte lip is more for fall/winter or special occasions. 


Final Verdict:  Not a fan of these for my lips.  Kudos to the girls who can rock this look!

**Disclaimer: As with all my product reviews, I was not paid by the cosmetic company to provide feedback or review/promote their products. This article contains some affiliate links provided through Viglink.com. All the opinions expressed in this article are my own. These items were purchased with my own money. For more information on my policies, please view my Let's Chat page.

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Color Balm Review

From the Brand:  Tempt lips with a soft cushion of colour that's not quite sheer, not quite opaque-just the perfect happy medium. Loaded with mango and shea butters so lips feel comfortably soft and smooth. Eight vibrant shades in all.


Retails for:  $17.00


Where to Buy:  Clinique counters at major department stores like Macys, Bloomingdales, Nordstroms, and more as well as Clinique.com, Sephora stores and Sephora.com


My Thoughts:  I got a sample size one as a free gift from Sephora a while back, and it's a gorgeous red color so of course I loved it.  I went back a few days later to see if I could get another one, because I rack up THAT many points with them of course, but it was all out. The girl at the counter said that everyone was in love with them and they were all gone quickly.  I can see why.  The color is a really intense red, with beautiful cherry undertones, that doesn't turn hot pink as it wears away like a lot of other blue based reds can.

The formula is very creamy and doesn't tug when applied.  It's not intensely hydrating, so I found myself still applying chapstick in between coats of color.  The color stained my lips well, and I only had to reapply the stick itself a few times to really brighten things back up.  It faded evenly as well.  It has just a slight sheen to it, so if you like a really glossy look, I'd top it with a sheer gloss over the top.  I also love that it's a twist up pencil, which makes it easy to apply and portable. 


Final Verdict:  I love this and would love more of them as a free perk.  However, I think that paying $17 for one of them when I can get a comparable product at the drugstore for half the price is what's going to force me to say "no" to adding them to my makeup bag any time soon.

**Disclaimer: As with all my product reviews, I was not paid by the cosmetic company to provide feedback or review/promote their products. This article contains some affiliate links provided through Viglink.com. All the opinions expressed in this article are my own. These items were purchased with my own money. For more information on my policies, please view my Let's Chat page.

Product Review- Pacifica Color Quence Lip Tints

Pacifica Color Quench Lip Tint Review 


From the Brand:  Give your lips the love they deserve!  All Natural Color Quench lip tints packs major lip moisture, nourishing naturals and gorgeous, sheer lip color into one perfectly portable, 100% recyclable tube.  Essential fatty acids from rich and amazing avocado and coconut oils leave lips luscious and healthy.  Natural flavor and 5 perfect shades produce the prettiest, most kissable mouth ever.  100% vegan and gluten free.  Your lips will love you back!


Retails for:  $7.00


Where to Buy:  Pacificaperfume.com, Select Target stores


My Thoughts:  These aren't my absolute favorite tinted lip balms ever, I'll be honest.  The color is sheer and muted, but looks more like you've worn your lipstick off rather than looking like it's "supposed" to be a sheer lipcolor.  And the formula can feel a little gritty. 

At first I was so in love with these, having a few colors I picked up individually from Target this summer.  However, I found that after about an hour, my lips felt parched and in need of more product.  But the color was still there, and if I layered more on top of it, it just didn't look right.  Overall, I was pretty disappointed in them.

They do have a very pretty color when you first apply them and smell great, so I'll give them that.  $7.99 isn't that expensive, but I'd rather buy a sheer gloss or a cheaper Chapstick layered over lipliner for the same effect.


Final Verdict:  Didn't live up to my expectations after the first application.

 

**Disclaimer:  This article contains affiliate links.  As with all my articles, the opinions expressed herein are fully my own.  For more information on my policies, please view my Let's Chat page.

 

Product Review- Nivea Lip Butters

Nivea Lip Butter Review

 

Nivea Lip Butter Review

From the Brand:    Indulge in the aroma of Nivea's Vanilla and Macadamia Kiss Lip Butter. Everything we do is designed to achieve the ultimate kiss. We focus on quality, we use premium ingredients, we help lips become soft and smooth. We make kissing better.

Retails for:   $2.99

Where to Buy:    Ulta Stores, Ulta.com, Walgreens, CVS, Grocery Stores, Walmart, Target, Wherever Drugstore brands are sold.

My Thoughts:   I have three of the four scents of this lip butter formula by Nivea- Vanilla and Macadamia Kiss, Raspberry Rose Kiss, and the Caramel Cream Kiss.  All three of them are amazingly scented, although I'm not as much of a fan of the Caramel Cream Kiss as the others.  It smells heavenly, but more suited for a candle than a lip butter.  However, the formula of these is so incredibly silky that I really don't care.

I must put this stuff on my lips like 100 times a day when I'm not typing at the computer.  I wish it came in a stick instead of a tin, because I'm not a fan of putting things on with my fingers when I've been out and about touching things or using my keyboard.  Perhaps if they found a way to make it like the EOS chapsticks or something?  Regardless, it's super emollient and feels very slick on my lips.  They just glide over one another when I rub them together.  It's a very pleasant sensation.

They are a very generous size, too.  The tin is about the size of a cotton round, and it's full to the brim with product.  You can't beat the value for the price of only $2.99!

It's very hydrating without being sticky.  They have a sweet flavor that I'm sure makes kissing much better, as they claim.  What guy doesn't want something sweet?!

Final Verdict:  I'm obsessed with these.

 

**Disclaimer: As with all my product reviews, I was not paid by the cosmetic company to provide feedback or review/promote their products. All the opinions expressed in this article are my own. These items were purchased with my own money. For more information on my policies, please view my Let's Chat page.

Product Review- NYX Butter Gloss

Colors left to right: Tiramisu, Apple Strudel, Eclair

 

**Updated 3/3/14**  Here's my video review I did with an additional 7 colors I've added to my collection in the last several months!  Enjoy! 

 

 

From the Brand: Buttery soft and silky smooth, our scrumptious new Butter Lip Gloss tastes as sweet as a sugar cookie—and makes your lips look downright luscious. Swipe it on alone or over your favorite lipstick for creamy sheer to medium coverage that melts onto your lips and is never sticky.

 

Retails for: $5.00

Where to Buy: Ulta, Ulta.com, Nyxcosmetics.com, I've also seen NYX products at Target but never this particular gloss.

My Thoughts:  This is probably my favorite brand/formula of gloss right now.  The name butter gloss says it all.  It really does feel buttery soft, and it's not sticky at all.  The colors are nice and sheer, but they don't make your lips look chalky or pale.  They smell delicious, and with names like Tiramisu and Apple Strudel, why wouldn't they?!

I currently only own three colors, but I plan on stocking up on the rest of them as soon as I'm off my No Buy Challenge at the end of August and Ulta has a BOGO deal on NYX products.  (We all know what a sucker I am for Ulta's BOGO's!)  The colors I have are Tiramisu, Apple Strudel, and Eclair.  The Tiramisu is labeled as a brown on their website, but it's more of a soft taupey nude color in my world.  It doesn't make my lips look like I'm living in a Bobbi Brown ad from 1995, and it's a very wearable color I think would be perfect on just about any skin tone.  Eclair is a gorgeous baby pink, but like I said it's not a chalky color.  I'm super fair, and I wear this on my lips with no other makeup for just a touch of color and shine.  Apple Strudel is a peachy-coral kind of color, and it definitely adds a touch of peach to my lips.  It's a little more contrasty, since I'm fair and my lips are naturally very pink, but it's still very wearable on its own.

This lipgloss wears very well.  Its non-sticky, non-drying, and leaves my lips feeling like there's something on them for about 3-4 hours even with drinking.  The color will soak in and fade a bit with drinking as will the shine, but my lips won't feel naked.  It is fairly sweet to taste but not obnoxiously so.

Final Verdict:  A total winner in my book, and I can't wait to buy the rest of the shades!

 

 

**Disclaimer: As with all my product reviews, I was not paid by the cosmetic company to provide feedback or review/promote their products.  All the opinions expressed in this article are my own.  These items were purchased with my own money.

Makeup Tip #8: Keep your lipstick from feathering

If you wear lipstick but have problems with it bleeding out into the fine lines around your mouth or sliding around, you should rethink what you apply around the edges of your lips to keep it in place.  Unless you're using a lip liner that matches your lips exactly or your lipstick exactly (and really, who has the kind of money to buy perfectly coordinating lipliners for every lipstick they own?) chances are as the lipstick itself wears away from normal activities like eating, drinking, and eh-hem.. kissing... you're going to end up with a ring around your lips that's very unattractive.

Instead of a colored lipliner, try using one that matches your skin exactly and lining the outside edge of your lips with it to keep the lipstick from feathering.  Yes, I did say match your skin.  Think of it like a concealer pencil, which is probably the product you're going to end up buying unless you can get your hands on the Reverse Lipliner by Cargo (only available in a few shades though).  You can even use some actual concealer just around the outside edge to lock in your lip color as well, although I know quite a few people who use it all over their lips to nude out their natural lipcolor and allow the lipstick color to be more "pure".

Which method do you prefer, concealer liner pencil or actual concealer?

Makeup Tip #4!

Are your teeth as white as you would like them to be?  If you're like me and drink a lot of coffee, tea, soda or red wine, your teeth might be a bit yellowed.  I am a soda-holic, and I do drink a lot of tea and coffee as well during the day while I'm working.  The acids and tannins have dyed my teeth over the years, and even though I try to use whitening toothpastes, they can't make them perfectly white.

Since I have sensitive teeth, I'm not a fan of whitening products, so I resort to trickery to make my teeth look whiter.  Yup, trickery I say!  Makeup trickery that is!

Did you know that if you use a blue-based lip color, your teeth will instantly look whiter?  Yup!  Orange based lip colors can make them look more yellowed, so if you have imperfect colored teeth, look for bluish pinks and reds to mask that.

If you can find a color you love, or don't want to have to go out and buy all new lip colors, you can always top your lipstick with some sheer blue gloss.  The perfect one?  The "Blue Lipgloss" Smile Brightener by NYX.  It's made specifically to brighten up your smile and make your teeth look whiter.  Genius!

Product Review- Stila Convertible Color

Recently I've gotten more into using cream blushes.  Don't know why I never really used them before, but I figured it was time to break away from my normal routine and start using products I'd never used before.  One of my big purchases at IBS NYC two weeks ago was some of the Stila Convertible Colors.  I got five of them, and man it was hard to choose just those five!  I really wanted to take them all home with me.  They are so beautiful, and I love how the colors match the case.  (Just like my all time favorite blushes by Tarte!  Read my review of those here or watch my video review here.)

What really drew me to the Stila ones was that they can be used on the cheeks as well as the lips!  Having versatility in a product is a major draw for me.  I wore the color Lillium on my lips and cheeks all day the other day, and it was so beautiful!  I loved how natural the color was.  On my cheeks it looks a little more peachy and slightly darker, and on my lips it was a bit more baby pink.  But it coordinated perfectly and really kept my whole look pulled together.  I tossed it in my purse to touch up my lips with at dinner, and it was nice to just use my ring finger to pat it into my lips.

To apply, I used the flat fat bottom of my blender sponge after my foundation to apply the color to my cheekbones.  It kept the color sheer as I built it up.  With this method, I was also able to apply to my hairline and a little on my nose and chin without having to worry about it streaking or looking too flushed.

The color lasted really nicely throughout the day on my cheeks.  Since I drink constantly throughout the day, I have to reapply color frequently unless it's one of the all day lipcolors (which Stila makes amazing ones!  You can read my review of theirs here or watch the video on them here, too.  I got some more colors in NYC that I'll be swatching and doing an updated review on soon.)

In order: Top Row- Poppy, Fuchsia, Rose. Bottom Row- Lillium, Peony

I bought: Lillium (perfect blend of peachy pink, very neutral color, GREAT for fair skins!) Poppy (beautiful reddish color that looks amazing on the lips, GREAT for darker skin tones but can be used sparingly for fair skins) Fuchsia (bright pink color, looks amazing on tanned skins for popping the apples but still suitable for lighter or darker skin tones as well, BEAUTIFUL on the lips) Rose (lovely deep berry mauve color, looks great on all skin tones, cooler based tone) Peony (fair neutral nude color with just a touch of pink, GREAT for fair skins, gives the perfect amount of color for a super natural touch of color to cheeks and lips).

**Disclaimer: As with all my product reviews, I was not paid by the cosmetic company to provide feedback or review/promote their products.  All the opinions expressed in this article are my own.  These items were purchased with my own money.

Product Review- Stila Long Wear Liquid Lip Color

I'm all about the product reviews this week I guess!  Time to do another one, and this time it's about lip color!  The newest product on my lips I'm loving is the Stila Long Wear Liquid Lip Color, specifically in Caprice.

Copyright Stila Cosmetics.  Image from their website.

I bought a set of four colors back in November when they had their holiday sets out, and if you shop through their website, www.Stilacosmetics.com, you can still find it.  I hope it sticks around for longer so that more people can snatch these up.  They've pre-launched three colors in their Stay All Day formula, but none of the colors they have or are intending to have match the ones in this particular set.  I'm looking forward to trying them out on April 6th at IMATS in NYC.  I've got my fingers crossed that they'll have all of their colors there for me to play with and purchase.

I've got a video up on my YouTube channel with my review of this product, too.  So be sure to stop by and check it out.  Be sure to subscribe my channel and like the video while you're there, too!  It's free, and I'd appreciate the support!

But moving back to the product....  After filming a tutorial on Looking More Awake, I took a quick Instagram pic of my makeup look and uploaded it to my personal Facebook.  I've never had a photo get so many likes (on Facebook at least) from my friends and family.  They LOVED the bright fuschia shade on me, and I've worn it almost every day since.

There is a downside to this product though.  It's so intensely pigmented that if you put it on straight from the wand without wiping some of it off, it will look really cakey and almost chalkey on your lips.  I have to put on a sheer layer of it, and that's still no where even within the definition of "sheer" in terms of color payout.  It does dry down to a matte finish, and I'm a fan of glossy looks, so i prefer to wear it with some Revlon gloss over the top.  It does mean that it doesn't actually wear that long.  Every time I took a sip of something to drink there was lip color on my glass.  But the pigment stained my lips and stayed bright for hours, so it's a trade off.  It didn't dry out my lips at all, and the smell is just divine.

Overall, I give this product a huge thumbs up, and I'm hoping that the new formula is just as awesome.  The other colors in the kit are nice, too.  The Muse shade is a gorgeous soft rose color, and I'm fairly certain I'll be wearing it a bunch this spring, so keep an eye out for it in my tutorials.


Disclaimer: As with all my product reviews, I was not paid by the cosmetic company to provide feedback or review/promote their products.  All the opinions expressed in this article are my own.