Tag: lipstick

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My Top 5 High-End Autumnal Berry Lips

by Literary and Lovely5 Comments on My Top 5 High-End Autumnal Berry Lips

IMG_6128Good morning everyone!!!

With autumn weather in full swing, the berry lips are back, and I could not be happier!!! There is something about a bold lip that just makes me feel super fancy, even if I’ve paired it with some leggings and a sweater. But there are so many lipstick shades out there to choose from, so I thought I would share with you my top five high-end autumnal berry lips. If you like this post, let me know and I will more than happily share my top 5 drugstore autumnal berry lips. So let’s begin!!!

1. Estée Lauder New Pure Colour Lipstick in Fig IMG_6134 I received this lipstick in one of Estée Lauder’s annual Christmas gift sets, and at first I thought it was too dark, so it lived in my lippie collection without seeing the light of day. But then about a year ago, I was rummaging around for a dramatic, sultry red to go with a little black dress, and this lipstick was my saving grace. It is a beautiful, tawny red, it goes on super smoothly, it doesn’t dry out my lips, and it stays on really well throughout the day, with little to no fading. This lipstick has the sample packaging, which is more simplistic than the packaging of a regular Estée Lauder lipstick, but they run at about $34 a-piece, so I’ll take more basic packaging since I still get the gem of a lip colour inside.

2. Bite Beauty’s Maple Matte Crème Lipstick in Braised Maple IMG_6136 I reviewed this lipstick awhile ago in my post about Bite Beauty’s Maple Matte Crème Lipstick range, and have since been wearing it as much as I can. It is not as orangey as it looks, and it lasts. Like if I don’t fully remove it at night, the tint is still there in the morning. It is such a lovely colour, and it actually smells like maple, which I think is a nice little feature. Unfortunately for those of you who live outside Canada, this range is a Canadian exclusive, and they sold mighty fast. I’m pretty sure most stores only have one colour left in stock. This one was $28, and at the time I purchased three, so both me and my bank account were worried about not liking them, but I am so glad I got them all at once. Otherwise, they would have been gone, and I have got so much wear out of them.

3. Bite Beauty’s Maple Matte Crème Lipstick in Sugared Maple IMG_6135Yup, another one of Bite Beauty’s maple lipsticks made it into my top 5 highstreet autumnal lipsticks. I just love how long lasting they are, and somehow going around smelling like maple gives all my makeup looks a Canadianesque feel. I rarely used to wear deep purple shades, but this one is so gorgeous on, and is perfect when paired with simple, daytime eye makeup, or some dramatic wing eyeliner for evening wear.

4. Clinique’s Long Last Soft Matte Lipstick in Matte Plum IMG_6133This was one of the first lipsticks I purchased when Clinique came out with their Long Last Soft Matte range, and I was hooked on it. My mother loved it so much that she went out and got one for herself, and it’s now her everyday lipstick shade. Lots of the other soft matte shades are pretty, but Matte Plum just pops out, and is one of the few shades that I think can be worn in both Autumn and Spring.

 

5. Chanel’s Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Colour in La Romanesque IMG_6131I also discussed this lipstick shade in my review post of it but, to summarize, I had wanted this shade for months since I had seen it in Chanel’s Spring 2015 advertisements, and picked it up while in Paris back in August. It is a subtle yet deep shade of purple that is actually very versatile in terms of the looks it can be worn with and the seasons it can be worn in. It may have been released in Spring, but there is nothing stopping me from wearing it year-round. Plus, I find the formula to be very hydrating, which is important as the days get colder and lips are exposed to harsher elements.

So what are your top five high street autumnal lipstick shades??? Have you tried any of these shades before??? What did you think of them???

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All, Beauty, Travel

Rouge G de Guerlain

by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment on Rouge G de Guerlain

In case you haven’t already noticed, a lot of my posts the past few days have been Paris-themed. This is because the internet connection at the hotel was super slow, so I only managed to get one or two posts up, but now that I’m back, I’m making up for my absence with a whole slug of posts about how incredible Paris was.

IMG_5639So, while walking down the Champs-Élysées for the first time, I noticed a Guerlain store. I have heard amazing things about this brand and read raving reviews of some of their products, and I had always wanted to give it a try. While some Guerlain products are available through Sephora, the selection is limited, so I hadn’t really considered ordering anything. But when a giant Guerlain boutique was staring me in the face, I had no choice: I had to go in and have a look.

IMG_5637Well, the store is beautiful. Just beautiful. The best way I could describe it is vibrant elegance. All of the products are displayed in really neat ways, and they are all colour-coordinated, as you can see in the picture on the right. Displays like this one line both walls, with wonderfully friendly sales associates at every turn.

IMG_5682I knew I wanted to try out a Guerlain product, but I had no real idea which one. Since lipstick is my favourite beauty product that I cannot live without, I decided it would be a practical souvenir of my visit to this Guerlain boutique, and would definitely get used. And then I spotted this shade, 68 Gigi, a beautiful vibrant fuchsia.

Features:

  1. Intense colour
  2. Creamy application, almost like lip balm
  3. Rruby powder for radiance
  4. Spheres of hyaluronic acid for smoothed lips
  5. Wild mango butter for hydration
  6. Comes in a jewel lipstick compact
  7. Optional engraving of lipstick compact

Shades: There are 29 Rouge G de Guerlain exceptional complete lip colour shades, ranging from soft pinks, to bright reds, to even tawny purples. However, one of these shades, 68 Gigi is exclusive to this Champs-Élysées address, meaning it cannot be bought online or in any other Guerlain store.

IMG_5683Each one of these lipsticks comes in a jewel compact, which opens by pulling on the end, revealing a little concealed mirror, with the lipstick sliding out the side. From there, the lipstick just turns up normally. The mirror is super handy for on-the-go application, and for a quick check up on coverage throughout the day.

IMG_5680I am in love with the jewel lipstick compact. A cool fun fact is that the case was designed by Lorenz Bäumer, the most talented jeweler from the Place Vendôme in Paris. The case makes lipstick feel more like an accessory than a simple cosmetic product. The 68 Gigi comes with the option of having the traditional lipstick compact or an exclusive one with 68 on it, which is the one I opted for. And, best of all, you can have the compact engraved. That’s right. Every Saturday, this store has an engraver on staff who will engrave your name, initials, or anything else you’d like into the side of the compact. Now that is what I call personalizing a lipstick.

IMG_5672IMG_5674Guerlain appears to be a master of classy packaging. The lipstick compact comes nestled in a beautiful little, white box, which is tucked away in a chic little Guerlain bag with some product samples, and tied up with pretty red ribbon.

All in all, this is most definitely my favourite beauty souvenir of this trip to Paris, and it has given me high expectations for the rest of Guerlain’s products that I now want to try.

Have you tried any Guerlain products??? Which ones did you like???

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have a lovely day 🙂 🙂

All, Beauty, Product Reviews

BITE Beauty Maple Matte Crème Lipsticks

by Literary and Lovely7 Comments on BITE Beauty Maple Matte Crème Lipsticks

IMG_5081With so many beauty releases being restricted to the US or the UK, I was thrilled to learn that this limited-edition lipstick collection is exclusive to Canada. According to BITE Beauty founder Susanne Langmuir, she was inspired by the changing colours of the Canadian maple trees on her Ontario farm, and wanted to create a lipstick collection that encapsulated the changing colours of a Canadian autumn. To take this one step further, the lipsticks are actually infused with maple scent. And yes, they taste like maple too.


Features:

  1. Made with organic fruit butters and food-grade ingredients
  2. 94% natural ingredients
  3. Infused with the scent of maple
  4. Long-lasting
  5. Matte cream formula that does not dry out lips
  6. Highly pigmented
  7. Hand-made in BITE Beauty’s Artisinal Lipstick Factory in Toronto, Ontario
  8. 5 fall shades

Shades: 

The five shades are warmed maple, candied maple, braised maple,  mulled maple, and sugared maple. While all of them are incredible fall shades, warmed maple is quite literally an orange lipstick, and candied maple is a fairly classic red, so I passed on these two, but picked up the other three shades. As confirmed by BITE Beauty, Mulled Maple is the same as Black Cherry from the US-released Frozen Berries collection, but this shade has the infusion of maple.

Braised Maple
Braised Maple

 

Mulled Maple
Mulled Maple

 

IMG_5084
Sugared Maple

I want to note here that the shades look way different in the tube than they do on. When I first saw them displayed in Sephora, I was disappointed by how dark they looked, but then I swatched them on the back of my hand and realized they are actually bright, vibrant shades. So don’t be fooled; always swatch.

Swatches: 

lipstick swatches with labels

 

IMG_5078

I absolutely adore the outer packaging of these lipsticks. The little boxes are beautifully adorned with images of Canadian maple leaves in varying stages of chlorophyll disappearance and trapped glucose, which causes leaves to change from green to red, orange, yellow, and even purple. I have to admit though that I was a little disappointed by the plainness of the lipstick tube. Considering this is a limited edition collection, I figured the tube would be decorated similar to the outer box instead of the classic plain black of Bite Beauty’s other lipsticks.

 

I have been wearing these shades for the last week or so, and I can’t get enough of them. They are super long lasting without losing pigmentation, and do not require any touchups throughout the day after eating or drinking. I may have to pop back into Sephora and get back ups for these so that when and if the collection is discontinued, I won’t lose what have now become some of my all-time favourite and go-to shades. While they are perhaps a little too dark for summer, fall is fast approaching, and these shades are perfect for back to school and getting into the groove of crisp autumn mornings, scarves, and rain boots.

Have you tried any of the shades from this collection??? What did you think???

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer

by Literary and Lovely10 Comments on Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer

IMG_5019Well, Clinique has been at it again!!! The Cheek Pop blushers were my biggest beauty obsession back in February when they were FINALLY released in my city, and are my favourite blushers to date. As it happens, there are four new Cheek Pop shades that I will be reviewing soon, but today’s post reviews a diferent kind of pop.

As of a few weeks ago (at least where I live), the brand new Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer lipsticks were released in 16 vibrant shades. I had heard talk of them, but once I found out my island had them, I immediately dashed out to the nearest Clinique seller and picked up a few shades to show you.

Before I get into the swatches and such, I first want to go over the features and shades of this newest release:

Features:

  1. Clinique’s signature rich, full colour and smoothing primer in one little unit
  2. Weightless formula with modern-velvet finish
  3. Nourishing and moisturizing with Shea and Murumuru butters
  4. Classic Long Last formula, keeping true colour for 8 hours
  5. As always, allergy tested, and 100% fragrance free.
  6. Adorable new packaging, with the lipstick colour displayed on the case
  7. Comes in 16 incredible shades!

Shades: 

This spectacular new range has 16 shades that are grouped into four different colour families: nudes, tawnies, pinks, and violets.

Nudes: Nude Pop, Bare Pop, Cola Pop, and Beige Pop

Tawnies: Melon Pop, Poppy Pop, Passion Pop, and Cherry Pop

Pinks: Sweet Pop, Punch Pop, Wow Pop, and Fab Pop

Violets: Love Pop, Plum Pop, Berry Pop, and Grape Pop 

The one family name that I might question here, and possibly re-name “Berries” is Tawnies, given Passion Pop and Cherry Pop are some pretty bold reds, befitting the likening to a strawberry shade.

As much as I would have loved to scoop up all 16 shades, I disciplined myself and only let myself pick out three shades that I “absolutely could not live without,” which translates to “I don’t have any shades like this one, and they would be real assets to my lipstick arsenal.” The three shades I picked were Nude Pop, Melon Pop, and Love Pop.

Traditionally, I go for the flashy, bold colours like those in the pinks family, so this go around, I went for more toned-down shades to round out my lipstick collection.

IMG_5021
Nude Pop
IMG_5020
Melon Pop
IMG_5022
Love Pop

 

Clinique pop swatches

With my obsession over this new kind of pop growing even more rapidly than my obsession for the Cheek Pop blushers, I know my pact with myself won’t hold, and before I know it, I’ll be back at Clinique picking out some more shades.

But it’s not just about the colours (though they are incredible). The formula makes for a light and nourishing texture, and allows for a super long wear time. I have been wearing Nude Pop almost every day, and it needs no touch-ups throughout the day (except yesterday after I tried to elegantly eat a cupcake). However, darker shades like Love Pop are extremely long-wearing, and require no touch-ups at all, not even after eating a cupcake.

Each Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer lipstick is $21, which I think is an exceptional price given the primer is built in. So if you are looking to add a bit of pop to your summer make-up routines, you will love these.

Have you tried any of these new shades yet??? Which are your favourites???

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Clinique Long Last Soft Matte Lipsticks

by Literary and Lovely5 Comments on Clinique Long Last Soft Matte Lipsticks

So awhile ago, Clinique released 8 new long last matte lipstick shades, and I have to say, I completely and utterly ADORE them!!! The long last formula offers full, velvety coverage, keeps colour looking fresh, and prevents fading, drying out, and feathering. This, paired with a soft matte finish, is essentially my soulmate in a lipstick. My lipmate, if you will.

While I did not pick up all 8, as certain shades do not look good with my skin tone, I scooped up as many of these babies as I could, and I wanted to share them with you 🙂 🙂

Matte Petal
Matte Petal

Matte Petal is a cool soft pink that is wonderfully subtle and is perfect for every day wear in the springtime, or for evening wear if you’re planning on having more dramatic eye makeup. Personally, I will be wearing this all throughout the spring and summer, but lately I have been wearing it in the winter, because it just brightens things up a little, and it is nice and casual, so it pairs well with a comfy sweater and some jeans on a rainy day here in Canada.

 

 

Matte Magenta
Matte Magenta

Matte Magenta is a bright, vibrant fuchsia that is ideal for summer, but it may be too bright for some people. I quite like this shade though, because it makes the lips the focus of the face, so that a lighter eye makeup can be worn, and it can still be an evening lipstick shade, perfect for making a black dress pop.

 

 

 

Matte Crimson
Matte Crimson

Matte Crimson is quite literally that, a vibrant crimson red. I was on the hunt quite a long while for the perfect red lipstick, and I finally found it in Matte Crimson. I had been using Clinique’s Red Red Red, but it was a little on the orange side, and I found that other brands had mostly orange reds, but Matte Crimson is this beautiful rich red with blue undertones so that it comes out more on the pink side if anything. Also, because it is a long last, it doesn’t smear or fade, so it is ideal for dinner parties or date night, because it stays put.

 

Matte Plum
Matte Plum

Matte Plum is, once again, fairly self-explanatory, but it is a vibrant purple plum. Now I was wary of this, as it definitely looks purple on display at the counter, and it goes on purple, but please trust me when I say that it looks so gorgeous on. Honestly, I wear this shade everywhere, whether I’m grocery shopping, at school, hanging out with friends, or heading out for a nice dinner. It really is a multi-purpose shade, and it doesn’t fade during wear, so there won’t be any unfortunate transitions from rich purple to sad washed out deep pink. I know purple lipstick isn’t for everyone, but I gambled, and I don’t regret it in the least.

The other four shades are Matte Peony (warm vibrant pink), Matte Mandarin (vibrant citrus orange/coral), Matte Beauty (rose), and Matte Suede (light nude). Each of these lipsticks is $19. I plan on picking up Matte Beauty the next time I pass by a Clinique counter, but the other colours just aren’t for me. I seriously encourage you to check them out though, because one of them could be your next ideal shade, and it would be a shame to miss out on it. Check them out soon though, because right now, at least in Canada, Hudson’s Bay has Clinique’s Spring 2015 free gift with purchase going on, which means, if you spend $31 or more, you receive a nice little cosmetic bag of Clinique goodies. I love these, as they are the perfect opportunity to test out new products, as well as score travel sizes of products you know and love, like the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion +. Plus, the cosmetics cases are amazing for travel, and have the prettiest patterns.

Please let me know in the comments what your favourite Clinique lipstick shades are. Are you loving the new soft matte shades???

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