Revlon Colorburst Lipstick Review & Swatches

The Revlon Colorburst Lipsticks stirred up a big drugstore craze a few years ago, but now I feel like they are disappearing. Many of the original 20 shades in the collection have gotten discontinued, and most drugstores only carry around 6~8 shades. That's why I wanted to make these review, because these lipsticks have not only a good formula, but have some unique shades that stand out from the standard colors that every drugstore lipstick line seems to carry nowadays.

Petal, Peach, Coral, Raspberry, Plum

Review:  The Colorburst Lipsticks are very creamy and go on smoothly. They are pigmented and easily buildable. However, the round shape of the lipstick isn't my favorite; its less precise. All of the shades leave a beautiful sheen without shimmer. I'm not usually one to care about packaging, but it's worth noting these look quite nice and high end.

The wear time is around 3 hours before they start to fade. The darker or bolder colors will fade into a sheer stain. These do transfer, and you will have to reapply after eating.

 A melted Peach next to Coral

 A strong quality of this collection is the color range. Lately I feel like I all I see are the standard selection of similar nudes, pinks, corals, berries, and reds in many drugstore lipstick lines. Not only are many of Colorburst lip colors unique, they are also wearable for everyday, meaning you don't have to put on with a crazy color just to shake things up a bit.

Now, the lipsticks can  become too creamy and melt/break off in constant hot weather. Last summer I wore the shade Peach and took it with me nearly everyday. By the end of the summer the lipstick had melted and the bottom was loose. Thankfully, beauty guru Michelle Phan on youtube has a video on how to fix these kinds of problems, so if you had a similar experience, definitely check out that video!

Pros: formula, finish, pigmentation, color range, packaging

Cons: average wear time, lipstick shape, can melt

Shades & Swatches

 Plum, Raspberry, Coral, Petal

Petal: Most light pinks don't look good on my light yellow-toned skin, so I was pretty excited about this one. It's a warm light pink with gold shimmer. It's less pigmented than the other shades.

Peach: A beautiful true peach shade with a cream finish. This shade is different from anything else I own; many of the "peach" shades I have have a  lot pink to them, but this one doesn't. Very wearable and perfect for spring and summer.

Coral: A bright, bold red-orange shade with a cream finish. Can look orange or a warm red in different lighting.

 Coral, Peach, Petal

Raspberry: A new favorite! This one is quite unique; it's between a pinky raspberry and a red. Cream finish, pigmented.

Plum: Comes off as a dark warm, purple/plum in the swatch. Maybe it's because my lips have some color to them, but Plum goes on as a dark vampy red on my lips. Cream finish, pigmented.

 Raspberry, Plum

The Lipstick Maniac

LIMITED EDITION Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow Barely Beige

Maybelline has launched 4 new limited edition Color Tattoo eyeshadows for fall 2012!
The 4 shades are Mossy Green, Golden Shimmer, Rich Mahogany, and Barely Beige. There are only 3 eyeshadows of each color so if you want these, grab them before they're too late!  The display has some eyeshadows from their regular line as well, so make sure that the eyeshadow is wrapped in the limited edition packaging.  I found these at Rite Aid and they were $6.99.

If you aren't familiar with the Color Tattoo eyeshadows, they are cream eyeshadows that come in a jar (similar to the Mac paint pots). They can be used as a base for eyeshadows or by itself. When the regular Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshdadows came out, there were a lot of complaints that there weren't enough neutral shades for everyday wear. That's why I was so excited when I saw Barely Beige on the display :)

Barely Beige looks light a light neutral beige in the jar but comes off as more of a shimmery off-white on the skin. It's a great highlight for the inner corners of the eyes, and base especially for people with lighter skintones. 

Since I have the shade Bad to The Bronze from their regular line, I thought why not do a comparison and some swatches. Bad to the Bronze is the most neutral shade in their regular collection. I would say it can easily be worn by itself or as a base, but Barely Beige is more of just a base color.

 For some reason the my camera makes Bad to the Bronze look very green/golden, which its not AT ALL. The Swatches are much more accurate.

 

 Under direct sunlight.

 Indoor lighting.

On a side note, look at what I noticed yesterday! The bottom of the product is only down to where the lid closes. The rest of the glass is just there to make it seem like there is more product.

 Looking past that part, (it's seen in many makeup products anyways), I would definitely recommend these Color Tattoo eyeshadows. They are pigmented, easy to blend, and dry quickly. Once it dries it will not rub off or fade until you wash it off. I have oily eyelids and these crease a little after a whole day if I wear them on their own, but once I blend it out it looks fine. Although it's long lasting, it comes off very easily with a cleanser, making them so easy to use.

Have you bought any of the limited editions shades? Let me know in the comments,

The Lipstick Maniac

NEW Maybelline & Loreal Fall Makeup Collections spotted at Bed Bath and Beyond!

I was wandering around at the makeup section in my Bed Bath and Beyond and got really excited when I saw some new fall launches by Maybelline and L'oreal!

I apologize for the quality of the pictures, I was taking them with my phone and was in a hurry to not be caught by the staff wandering in the makeup area...

Both Maybelline and L'oreal launched nude, brown, and bronzey lip colors instead of the  berry and red tones we usually see in the fall.

 Maybelline Fall 2012 Fashion Week Collection:

 In the middle it says: Maybelline Official Makeup Sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

  There are 4 eyeshadow quads and behind them 2 brow pencils and 2 eyeliner pencils.

 On the left is an illuminating face glow called Touch of Light. On the right are 6 lipsticks and behind them are 4 blush/bronzers.

 

 Better view of the lipsticks and blush/bronzers. The lipsticks from left to right: Bronze Metal, Refined Russet, Brown to Earth, Tenacious Taupe, Strike a Rose, In Style Sienna.

LIMITED EDITION: L'oreal New York Nudes

 There are 4 sets of nudes going from a light nude to a dark brown. Each set has a coloure riche lipstick, le gloss, and nailpolish in that color range.

I hope this helps you all in your searches!

The Lipstick Maniac

Loreal Colour Riche Caresse Sticks Pt 2: Rose Taffeta & Cardinal Plume

 Left to Right: Cardinal Plume, Rose Taffeta

 This month I bough two more of the new L'oreal Colour Riche Caresse Sticks; Rose Taffeta and Cardinal Plume.

I have already reviewed and swatched  the shades Violet Chiffon and Sunset Angora here: NEW L'oreal Colour Caresse Sticks Review & Swatches!!
I'm going to repeat most of the things I said in that review in case some you haven't read that yet:

Packaging: I personally think the packaging looks cheap because the gold case is so light and gets dirty easily. The good thing that the color on the cap is identical to the color of the lipstick, which is a problem for many drugstore lipsticks where the color on the outside is way off. I find these are easier to apply on the lips because the size of the tube is smaller. I also like that there is a gap between the lipstick and the tube so the lipstick doesn't smudge like the lip butters.

Color selection: There are 16 shades in the line, and 12 sold at Target. I thought many of the colors were quite similar to the colors of the Revlon line. I found there were more muted, natural colors than the lip butters. So if you like more natural colors, I think you would appreciate this line.

Formula: The biggest difference between the caresse sticks and the lip butters is that these are  much more lightweight. While the lip butters were thick and balmy, these just glide on the lips and feel weightless. All of the shades are cream finishes.

Wear: The caresse sticks don't last a long time on the lips. I would say about the same 2-3 hours like the lip butters.

Price: $8 at Target and $10.50 at Walgreens.

Pros: packaging is well made, easier to apply, weightless on lips, 16 shades.

Cons: pricier than average drugstore lipsticks, cheap packaging



Swatches:

  Cardinal Plume, Revlon Lip Butter Cherry Tart

 
Cardinal Plume: a sheer pinky red. I thought this would be similar to the Revlon Lip butter in Cherry Tart, but Cherry Tart is more of a cool toned red.

 

Rose Taffeta: a beautiful, medium mauvy-pink mlbb shade. Will work with all skintones.

LIMITED EDITION Maybelline Great Lash Colored Mascara: Totally Teal

 Today I'm going to venture off from my usual lipstick reviews, and spread the word on the latest limited edition colored mascaras by Maybelline! I was so excited because colored mascaras are such a rare sight in drugstore makeup!


 The only place I've seen the display on the right is in Walgreens. The mascaras are quite cheap, only $5.99 at Walgreens. Maybelline is selling 4 shades:
1) Pop of Purple (dark purple)
2) Blink of Blue (navy blue)
3) Go Go Green
4) Totally Teal

The tube

 At first I wanted to get Blink of Blue. However, all of the reviews I read kept saying that the colors Pop of Purple and Blink of Blue were very hard to see, or didnt show up at all. Since I have dark Asian lashes, I got Totally Teal instead. 

 The wand

Totally Teal looks much bolder in the packaging and in the wand than it shows on the lashes. The color is there but it's subtle. I can definitely see it under sunlight and  bright lights. However, it's hard to see in regular indoor lighting. The color also gets less and less noticeable with distance.

 with 2 coats

The formula of the mascara itself is ok. It doesn't volumize or lengthen, but it doesn't clump either and is very easy to build. I usually put one coat, let it dry, and then put another coat to build up the color.

 

One thing you could do to intensify the color if you have dark lashes like mine is to use a white primer first and then apply the mascara. I don't have a white primer.

 from a distance

To conclude, don't trust the pictures on the displays. This mascara is a good buy for those of us like myself who want to experiment with colored mascaras. They are very cheap and are subtle enough to wear during the day. If you want a bold colored mascara, this one is not for you.

Battle of Lipsticks: Revlon Va Va Violet vs Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 04

Lately I have been obsessed with the look of elegant, gothic, rich dark purple lips for the fall. My first dark purple lipstick buy was the limited edition Maybelline elegant lilac lipstick, which you can read the review for here: Maybelline Porcelain Lipstick: Elegant Lilac

This month I bought 2 others; the very famous Revlon Va Va Violet from the super lustrous line, and the rarely talked about Rimmel Lipstick in shade 04, from the Kate Moss collection.

Revlon Va Va Violet:
BIG letdown. Honestly, I have no idea how this lipstick became popular in the first place. The formula was very, very sheer. This wouldn't have been so bad except that it was also impossible to build the color. The texture was so slippery that when I tried to apply layers, the lipstick would move around, have a patchy effect, and sink into lines. Then I had to spread the lipstick with my finger to even out the patchiness, which removed a lot of the color.
Another problem was that even though the formula was slippery, the lipstick highlighted every single dry patch on my lips I didn't even know I had.
The price was $7 and some change at my Walgreens. 

I returned the lipstick and only took one picture:

 The darkest I could go without the uneven effect. Notice the dry patches where the lipstick clumped up; and this was after I exfoliated & put on chap stick.

 Rimmel Lipstick 04: 

The Pros: The lipstick is much more pigmented than the Revlon, yet it's also buildable. It can be a very dark purple applied full on or a dark berry color as a stain.  It's also cheaper than the Revlon; I paid $5.30 at my CVS.

The Cons: The lipstick is not as easy to apply as I would like because it moves around a bit when layering and sinks into lines. However, it's definitely not as bad as the Revlon.

Here are the swatches:

Winner: neither of them are perfect, but out of the 2 I recommend the Rimmel Lipstick 04 for the pigmentation and the price!
What lip colors are you planning to wear for fall? :)