The perfect match - Red lipstick

Online you can find many reviews about make up. Lately mostly about lipstick. Red lipstick.

 

Yes, I too started the quest for the perfect red lipstick. I searched high and low, cheap and très expensive and I did find some pretty colors. But none were the one. I had to apply layer upon layer to get what I wanted. So when I went out I dragged about 4 different lipsticks along to keep my lip tan up.

 

For someone like me it was too much work.

I am a girl that likes to look pretty at times but doesn't want to spend too much time on her looks. When me and my girls go out I am usually the one that is done the quickest. Hair, outfit, make up, nails, heels, done. Most of the time picking my shoes take up most of my prepping time.

 

So no, I do not like to spend that much time to get lucious lips.

The first color I bought was bright bright red from an old skool brand everybody knows; Miss Sporty. The price was low, the color even brighter. Like the beautiful red pin ups from the '50ies used to wear. I was in love!

Luckily the color matches my skin tone so I don't look sick. It doesn't make my teeth look yellow either.

And this is a point I really want to stretch to you: the color HAS to match with you. Not just your skin tone but also with your teeth.

As you already know there are various red lipsticks and all these different colors have different under tones; e.g. brown, pink, purple or even orange.

If your teeth aren't Colgate-ready (let's be honest, most of us don't have a toothpaste smile), avoid the orange undertone! It makes your teeth look very yellow. And so far that hasn't been a fashion statement ever!

So I was over the moon. I thought my lipstick quest was over even before it started.  Quel joie!

WRONG!

Eventhough the lipstick turned my lips bright red in one go and they did not feel dry, there was this big issue. Well two actually.

One was that the lipstick stained. A lot. Clumsy me had smeared red all over the place in no time (glass, hands, cheeks, you name it).

The other issue was that it wasn't what you call 'long lasting'. After an hour or so half of it was worn off (it was probably somewhere on my face or clothes) and the rest had gathered in cracks on my lips. Which meant I had one big dried out red line running across my lower lip. Charming.

 

So I continued my quest.

The next one was a burgundy red from Max Factor. The casing is pretty, but the smell! Like someone burnt their Barbie dolls on a barbecue. Ugh. The color is pretty too, but I can only wear it in the summer. In the winter this color makes me look really pale.

It has a velvety feel on the lips and is a bit longer lasting than the Miss Sporty stick.

But, I still wasn't too satisfied because I want a color to wear during the day, all year long.

 

Next test subject: Sephora lip color. The color holds between bright red and dark red, it has a shimmer and is some sort of a crayon. I do thin that is pretty handy, most of my lipsticks are ruined because the stick broke off or I crushed it in the cap.. Clumsy me..

It smears pretty smoothly, not too muh staining, except for on the glass.

The durability is not really great, but doable. I had to retouch once during a night out.

It is getting better but still not exactly what I want. The color is very pretty, but the shimmer makes it an evening lipstick for me.

On to the next..

 

During my Hunt for Red lipstick I cheated. I found this lovely velvety long lasting lipstick. Only thing was: it is pink.

I am still in love with it. The color is this deep, rich, lucious pink. Yay! I am happy!

Only it's not red. Otherwise it is perfect. Except it isn't red.

And thus my quest continues.

I never knew it would be this hard to find the perfect match for me. I know I can be picky, but I just know what I want. I think...

Since I know I am not the only one with this dilemma I started googling. I google everything. I love it. And so I found Red Velveteen from Lime Crime. It is supposed to dry on your lips but won't dry them out. And 'they' say it will stay on for 8 hours straight. Hmmm...

Now,I must add a side note here; Lime Crime is not the most 'valid' brand out there. If you are interested in the full story, look it up yourself, but the bottom line is that this particular brand seems to have 'copied' the products from other make up brands. I do not know nor do I want to get involved in make up politics.

What I did do, in order to calm my concious, was googling. Again: I love google. I checked to see if there were any other brands with a similar product: no there are not.

So that calmed my nerves a bit and, judging the raving reviews, this is THE product when it comes to lip coloring.

 

Ok. I had to try it so I ordered it. It is not available here in the Netherlands. You can order it through Germany or Amazon.com. Amazon.co.uk also sells it, but somehow it is cheaper on the US website and the delivery time is also shorter. The price is a wee bit high: EUR 16,- but that isn't much if it really is the holy grail in lipsticks.

So after I ordered it I was antsy as hell. Just like a kid on Christmas eve. After what seemed like an eternity (ok, maybe 2 days?) it arrived. The color is velvet red (there is also coral and pink) and it comes like a lipgloss. But it really is a lipstick.

The packaging is pretty, the casing is elegant and the smell... Heavenly! It smells like toffee!

The color is a vibrant red, no shimmer or glitter. Perfect for day and night for me.

Ok, on to the ultimate test. Will it fulfill all my expectations?

When getting ready for one of my fav concerts I decide to put it to the test; drinks, diner, boyfriend, warm surroundings and me 'singing' all night long.

It does take some time to dry, but when it does, it's lovely! The color stays alive the entire time you wear it, no smudging or smearing, it really does what it promises!

I am used to putting my lip balm on very frequently, so it took some getting used to, but they don't feel really dry. Ok, they do feel a bit more dry than usually, but nothing in the regions of a dried plum.

 

Ladies and gentlemen: I HAVE FOUND THE PERFECT MATCH!

 

Now, you go try it!

 

Love,

 

Jazz.