Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid Lipsticks

It took me a while to get on the liquid lipstick train but since they are everywhere I really didn't have a choice but to give in.  The problem with liquid lipsticks is that if the formula isn't good, it's just a waste of money.  I'd already read a few mixed reviews on the Vivid Matte Liquid Lipsticks from Maybelline but when I was in the drugstore and I saw Coral Courage I just couldn't resist.  I was just so drawn to that color.  Of course I couldn't just leave with one so Fuchsia Ecstasy also ended up in my shopping basket.

To be honest, I can totally understand the mixed reviews.  I put Coral Courage on after I had lunch (so around 14h) and the formula took ages to dry.  It actually felt like it never really totally dried up.  So I was a bit suspicious from that point on.  After a cup of coffee and a glass of water I could already see it getting patchy.  You could see my lips coming through in the center of my mouth.   After dinner it looked as if I had a thick line of lipliner on the edges of my lips and forgot to fill in the rest (not the most flattering look).  But when I removed it in the evening there was still some color coming off, it did leave a stain on my lips.

This picture is a bit darker but if I manipulate the lighting you won't see any difference between the colors.

In all fairness, after buying the Dose Of Colors liquid lipsticks my standards have risen.  So I was a bit disappointed in these.  I did test them without a lipliner underneath and without reapplying them (that's how I test all my lip products).  They probably have longer sustainability when you fill in your lips with a lip pencil first.  These aren't really matt either and the fact that they feel like they don't really dry up makes the product shift around somewhat when rubbing your lips together.  

I'm not the biggest fan of these and after testing them I'm a bit afraid to wear them in public because of the patchiness.  I think Maybelline could've done a much better job with the formula.

Where to buy:

I bought mine at DI but you can buy them at the drugstore.  They cost €6,99 each.

Dose Of Colors haul and review

My soft spot for hard to get products got the upper hand again.  Lately my instagram feed had been showing nothing but swatches of Stone by Dose Of Colors, or it could just've been my imagining.  Anyway, it just seemed like the color was everywhere I looked and of course that had an effect on me.  Unfortunately Stone is one of those colors that sells out super fast ant this color isn't available on Beautybay (where they sell a range of Dose Of Colors lip products).  But then Dose Of Colors announced that Stone would be restocked and I wanted to be prepared this time.

Dose Of Colors ships internationally and to Belgium shipping costs start at $12,83 which is a bit much when you want to buy an $18 lipstick but it's not that much when you buy 4! I really wanted to try the more neutral colors in the Liquid-Matte range so I went for Bare With Me, Stone and Truffle and just to make sure I'm ready for summer I threw in Play Date, one of their classic lipsticks.

I don't do much shopping on US websites anymore, I usually only shop on the sites that offer international shipping by Borderfree or something alike.  Sites like Nordstrom, Macy's ... all the big ones offer this now and you can calculate exactly how much shipping and duties will be and you can choose to pay duties up front, that way you know the absolute total of you order and there aren't any nasty surprises along the way.  Since Dose Of Colors is a much smaller company I can totally understand why they can't offer this (because those services usually aren't for free) and hey, what is the chance that customs will pick out my package right?  This one time I shop online in the US?  Well, as it turns out, Belgian customs love lipstick too ;-)  My package got picked out and opened.  It was definitely by a man because they only opened the box of one lipstick, if it was a woman she probably would've checked them all out ... and I can just see the man rolling his eyes "you stupid woman, buying lipstick in the US, I'll charge you the duties and another €15 formality cost because I had to look at lipstick".  That's right €15 formality cost for opening the package and calculating the duties.  I had to pay an extra €34,13 at the post office.  I always have bad luck when it comes to this, my packages always get intercepted by customs which is why I usually stay with European websites when shopping.  And the custom guy (because I really am convinced that it was a guy) ruined the packaging that Dose Of Colors used to send me my goodies.  It was a nice black envelope with their logo printed largely in front, a very nice packaging if it wasn't for the customs guy that taped a paper all the way over the front and that I couldn't get off without ruining the package.  Allright so far for my custom ranting, let's get to the lip products because that's what it's all about isn't it?

It's always tricky when a brand gets hyped up, expectations are high and disappointment is right around the corner.  But Dose Of Colors totally delivers in the quality department.

Let's start with the liquid-matte lipsticks.  I bought the three colors I liked the most: Bare With Me, Stone and Truffle.  I really was expecting Stone to be my favorite and it is beautiful but Bare With Me is just a bit more flattering on my skin tone.  The quality of these is phenomenal.  They don't tug on the lips, they don't dry out the lips and they stay put like forever.  To test them I put on the lipstick in the morning on a typical day to work, which means tons of coffee, fast lunches and no time to reapply every hour or so.  There was no need to reapply during the day and at night when I took my makeup off before going to bed, I even had to use makeup remover to get the lipstick off!  I couldn't believe there was still some left on my lips.  I even had a hard time removing the swatches from my arm, I had to turn to an oil to dissolve the color and even then it took a lot of rubbing to get the colors off.  I feel very confident wearing these when going out to dinner and I've been out to dinner with a matte lipstick before and ended up with an ugly line of lipstickresidue on my lip so I know the struggle.  With this formula, that struggle is in the past!

I also wanted to try out a classic lipstick of them.  Just because you can never have enough lipstick and with spring and summer around the corner I wanted something that screamed sunshine.  Hence Play Date.  I looked at swatches before buying it and I was expecting it to be bright but this is a real in your face peachy pink.  I have a light/fair complexion and the color is flattering on me but it is at its best when I'm bronzed up (since the sun doesn't help me in that department, it's up to Benefits Hoola to get me a bit of a bronze).  Once again I can't say anything bad about this lipstick.  

One thing I was surprised of was the smell.  They smell a bit like Mac lipsticks which is a very comforting smell to me.  The smell is not overwhelming, it's just there like with the MAC lipsticks.

Dose Of Colors doesn't only do lipsticks, they also have eyeshadows.  Not just any shadows but glitters!!  I definitely want to try out their Eyedeal Duo's but these are available at Beautybay so I'll be buying them there.

Where to buy:

If you live in Belgium and you want to buy Dose Of Colors lipsticks I would highly recommend checking out Beautybay.com first.  They carry all the different formulas but don't restock frequently so you have to be patient and check regularly.  You can't leave your email for notification in case a certain color is restocked which I think is a shame.  

If you want to buy these from the Dose Of Colors website directly like I did, here's what I paid for it:

Playdate was $16, the 3 matte lipsticks were $18 each and shipping was $12,83 making the total $82,83 which converted to €74,11, add the €34,13 duties and formalities and that's a total of €108,24!!  For 4 lipsticks!!! That's a total average of €27,06 a lipstick which is still cheaper than a Chanel lipstick but way more expensive than the initial $18.  If you buy a matte Dose Of Color lipstick at Beautybay you'll pay €18,40!  So if you can wait until Beautybay restocks, I strongly suggest you do so.

A little Sephora.fr haul and Sunday chit chat

It's been a bit quiet on the blog I know.  So what happened?  Just life I guess.  I feel like life is just rushing by and I'm nog able to keep up.  Of course the fact that it's dark when you leave for work and it's dark again when you come home isn't helping.  I am in desperate need of some sunlight let me tell you.  And let's not forget my trip to the dentist that costed me enough to go into a no-buy modus for the rest of the month.  I kept telling myself that I don't need anything new makeup wise and that the latest editions coming out aren't worth splurging on ... did I believe it?  Deep down I didn't but it worked for a week or two ;-)

I failed on the no-buy thing though ... but in my defense, I had to!  You see, my bestie has a birthday coming up and I already knew what I wanted to get her so when I got a 20% off mail from Sephora.fr I just had to go for it (and get some things for myself while I was at it).

The thing with Sephora.fr?  First of all there are shipping costs and as you may know by now, I'm allergic to shipping costs, especially within Europe.  These days there are so many sites that offer free shipping that I try to avoid site that do charge shipping.  But the thing with Sephora is that they have a few brands that are hard to find elsewhere and with the discount I more than made up for the costs.

The second thing is that Sephora.fr is always a bit disappointing to me.  I've been in the States at least once a year for the past five years or so and the French Sephora hasn't got all the brands you can get in the States.  No Kat Von D, no Hourglass, no Becca ... But I'm keeping my fingers crossed because Sephora US started shipping to Germany, The Netherlands and a few other European countries so I'm hoping Belgium will soon be joining the ranks.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by Sephora.fr.  I ordered on a tuesday evening and my package arrived friday noon even though the website stated 2 to 5 days and I always assume the worse.  

So what was in there you ask?  I treated myself to Marc Jacobs Style Eye-con no.7 plush eyeshadow palette in The Dreamer, Marc Jacobs New Nudes lipstick in Understudy and Sephora express nail remover wipes.  You can expect swatches of these on the blog soon.  I got the Sephora Rouge Infusion lipgloss in Pink Essence (33) for a friend and than there was a present for the birthday girl that isn't in the pictures because it's a surprise and I know she's reading.  You have a few more weeks of waiting to do!!!

Another great thing: you get to choose your samples. I went for By Terry moisturizing cc cream, Make Up Forever HD foundation and Benefit Air patrol eyelid primer.  I can't wait to try these!!

I will definitely be buying Sephora.fr again when I have a discount code!! But for now there are other things to buy ... like Zoya nail polish, the winter collection of Essie, the holiday editions that are launching, the Urban Decay palette in collaboration with Gwen Stefani ...  too much prettiness, not enough money!! 

Enjoy your week and I promise to update more regular from now on.  I have some articles that are almost done and I'm planning them for this week.  

MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus 2

Did I really need another red lipstick?  Of course not.  So the only way I can justify buying these is that I was supporting a good cause.  That, and the fact that a girl can never have too many red lipsticks, was enough reason for me to buy these.

I have to agree that the lipstick isn't really anything new, it's almost the same color as Lady Danger.  It's a gorgeous red (although Mac describes it as bright orange) matt lipstick.  Gorgeous but nothing new really ...

I'm not a lipgloss girl and this one hasn't been able to turn me into one.  I always reach for a lipstick and only on a very rare occasion do I put on gloss.  I just don't like the feeling of glosses, it's just always 'there' you know.  When wearing a good lipstick, I hardly feel like I have anything on my lips but when I put on gloss, I always feel it sitting on my lips and that irritates me so much.  I want make-up to been seen and no to be felt by me.

The combination of these two though ... it's just magic.  There are no other words for it.  I absolutely love them together.  I love them so much that I've been wearing them almost daily these past week, my week off work.  I wore them during our visit to Ikea, I wore them when I was going through my old clothes, I wore them to dinner with the man and I even wore them while I was vacuuming (just because I could) ...  I'm dreading going back to work and one of the reasons is that I won't be able to wear these.  Well, technically I guess I could but I can only imagine the reaction of my colleagues and clients.  But I will be wearing these to the zoo tomorrow, fingers crossed that I won't spook the monkeys ;-)

I know I look half asleep but it was the best one I could make, 

working had on the selfie game :-)

Where to buy:

You can buy the Viva Glam Miley Cyrus 2 Lipstick (€19,50) and Lipglass (€18,50) at a Mac Cosmetics store or online.

MAC Relentlessly Red lipstick (retro matte formula)

I like a bold lip, just not for everyday.  I don’t find it very work appropriate on my face so I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing it at work.  But when I’m not working and especially when I’m going out, I love putting on a bold lip.  It just makes me feel totally different somehow.  I guess that’s the magic of make up for me, depending on what I put on it can make me feel totally different (rocky, romantic, fierce …).

Yesterday was girls night out, the best occasion to pull out the latest addition to my lipstick collection: Relentlessly Red by MAC.  If you look up the lipstick on the international MAC website it’s described as a 'bright pinkish coral red' on the Belgian website it’s described as a 'bright coral red'.  There’s definitely a lot of pink in this lipstick so if I was looking for a coral red lipstick and I would’ve bought this based on the description, I would not have been a very happy camper.  But I bought it in store after seeing it on a you tube video so I knew exactly what color I was getting.

And I love it!  The lipstick has a retro matte formula which I love.  I had no problems applying it but I do moisturize my lips all day long when I know I’m going to be wearing a matte lipstick at night.  Your lips have to be smooth because it will show every imperfection your lips might have.

Oh and can we just talk about the smell of a new MAC lipstick … is there anything that smells better?  Probably, but that’s besides the point here.  When I open a new MAC lipstick the first thing I do is close my eyes and smell it.  It’s just that typical vanilla MAC lipstick smell.  I swear they put some kind of drug in there because that smell is just addictive.

'the serious look'*

I don’t know what your girls nights out are like but mine typically involve: drinks, noise, starters, more noise, food, quiet while we eat, dessert (sometimes, depending on how many of us feel guilty about it) or coffee, more noise … and then it depends, it was a Sunday and most of us had to work so I called it a night after that.  But if it was a Saturday, there would probably be more drinks (preferably frozen margaritas to give me that brain freeze from hell that you just want more of) and much much much more noise.  Because girls you know …

'the half smile' with a little touch up (automatic lighting correction) on the right*

So after all that eating and drinking, what was going on on the lips you wonder?  Well, there was less lipstick (which is normal) but there was still a nice stain of color on them.  I really had to wash it of with make-up remover.  So thumbs up for sustainability. 

when taking selfies gets boring*

What is it with bold lip colors?  I really don’t know but the fact is that I probably have more bold colors than I do more muted, everyday colors even though I don’t wear them as often.  But that won’t stop me buying them.  They make me feel fierce and every girl deserves to feel fierce from time to time.

*selfies are taken with an Iphone5 and are not my forte, in case you hadn't noticed already, no filters were used and no touch ups unless stated differently

Where to buy:

You can buy Mac Relentlessly Red at a Mac counter, Mac (pro) store or online (www.maccosmetics.be for the Belgian readers, in case you didn't know).  Retail price is €19,50.

Urban Decay Sheer Revolution lipstick and 24/7 glide-on lip pencil in Streak

A few months ago I was in a Sephora in Lille (France) when I saw the prettiest lip pencil ever!  You know how it goes, you are sure you have everything and you are on your way to the cash register when all of a sudden something catches your eye.  Without thinking you just throw it in your basket and off you go.  It was like that when I saw the Urban Decay 24/7 glide-on lip pencil in Streak.  I absolutely fell in love with the color!  Fast forward to 2 weeks ago when I was in the USA visiting Sephora and I passed the Urban Decay counter thinking about my Streak lip pencil and how I didn’t have a lipstick to (completely) match the color.  Short of time (my man was waiting so I was shopping against the clock) I bought the Sheer Revolution lipstick in Streak without really looking at it in detail.

I have to say, I love the color of the lipstick but when I came home I was really disappointed.  The color doesn’t match the lip pencil at all.  The lip pencil has a more orange undertone and is a lot brighter than the lipstick is.  I thought it would be easy: a brand that has different lip products in the same color (or with the same color name I should say), for me that’s a guarantee for a perfect match.  Apparently not.

Never mind, a nice lipstick (and it really is) and a nice lip pencil, I can work with that.  The result is a nice pink lip, not too harsh but not too nude either.  A perfect lip for everyday and totally work proof.  I filled in my lips completely with the pencil so it would work as a base, since the lipstick is sheer this makes sure the color will last longer.  And it did, 5 hours later the color began to fade.  Considering I had a few drinks and dinner, it passed the test with flying color.  

I will definitely be wearing this combination this summer but I still wonder why a brand would bring out 2 lip products with the same color name that are no color matches.  Maybe the normal Revolution lipstick will be a better match, I guess I’ll find out in a few months when UD will finally be available in store in Belgium.  As for now, this combination has to do.

As you can tell, selfies are not my forte.  Maybe I’ll get better at it, maybe not.  It’s not really my ambition to be good at it and bombard you with pictures of myself as I’m quite camera shy.  But writing about lipstick without showing how it looks in real life just doesn’t work for me.  No filters were used on these pictures.  It’s just me, the light and the makeup.  

Where to buy:

In Belgium: ici paris xl (website only for now)

Worldwide: feelunique.com (free shipping for orders over 14£)