My (Current) Top Three Lipbalms

Until the past few weeks i was never a lip balm person, i didn't really see the point; not much color pay off and it lasts maybe a minute, give me a lipstick or a stain anytime. Incidentally i have a similar issue with lip gloss but we can tackle that another day.

My transition from a no lip balm person to a person who can name the top three that i want to use has been subtle; in the course of perusing various makeup blogs and videos i learned that it's a good idea to apply it before lipsticks and things to smooth out your lips. (who knew?) so i bought one and wasn't too impressed.

But i did not give up, i continued to search around for something that might suit me, after all lip balms for the most part aren't a huge expense so some experimentations is easily done. It took a few weeks of trail and error (mostly error) until i found one that worked for me, found it by accident to be honest with you.

I bought a double pack of the Maybeline baby lip balms (i find them okay but nothing special, not our Australia version anyway. Can't speak about the other US version that admittedly looks much better) and received as a free bonus a Blistex Banana and Berry Shake limited edition lip balm. Wow. This thing smells absolutely amazing, i just want to start eating it. Plus it's SPF 25 (25!)

#3 Blistex Banana & Berry Shake

I like this one more then others i have tried because

a) the smell (it's quite strong so not for the faint of heart) and b) it does not leave a greasy or waxy feeling 

c) it does not leave a layer of film behind when it dries and lastly

d) it's SPF 25 which is amazing on it's own.

Sadly it seems to have been a limited edition but i will try other Blistex products and see how they compare.

#2 Nivea Pure and Natural Milk and honey

I love milk and honey and when i saw this pop up on a few blogs i knew i had to go and try it; it did not disappoint. It's a heavier balm then the Blistex and much lighter in fragrance but it feels like it gives great for the lips, especially for use at bed time. It's a soft honey flower scent more then actual honey but it;s still quite soft and comforting. It feels very rich and moisturizing, it does leave a slightly waxy feeling behind but it's got a lot of slip and so it doesn't bother me at all.

#1 Korres Lip Butter in Mango

This is probably not a surprise to a lot of people; but this product is crazy good at one thing, not even something i had seen mentioned when i looked at other reviews; this product makes your lips soft. I mean amazingly almost freakishly soft, it doesn't last a huge amount of time on the lips and the color is nice but doesn't last long enough to have a great impact but who cares when it makes your lips so damn soft. I can almost understand the price tag these things get ($16.00 at Myer or KIT Cosmetics). Now to find a cheaper seller of these. It's very light and smells amazing also. The tub is quite cute too.

So that's my current top three; I've recently put an order in to Haus of Gloi for some of their lip balms and have high hopes. I will let you know :)

What's your favorite lip balm?

In Depth Review : Emotional Brilliance

Sophisticated, Perspective, Calm, Success, Ambition, Confidence

Today is a post I've been planning for a few weeks now. Ever since my first post I've been testing these out and have purchased more since, which despite their expense I'm quite happy with and would happily purchase again.

I wanted to get a good look into these so i would be able to speak about more than just my initial shiny, day-one impressions. To see if they would hold up to everyday use and against competing products. You can see those initial thoughts here.

My initial purchase was "Confidence" the deep burgundy plum lip cream on the far right and has since grown to include 2 more lip creams (Perspective and Ambition), 2 eyeliners (Calm and Success) and an eyeshadow (Sophisticated). Honestly i am surprised at myself; eyeliner are not my thing at all. I'm dreadful at using them, i make a horrid job of it and everyone one that i have owned in the past has landed in the bin a few months later after being used twice at most.

So let's take a deeper look at this range:

Sophisticated

Sophisticated is a beautiful creamy rose taupe with a slight metallic hint in the color. It lasts an incredibly amount of time and comes with a soft doe foot applicator that goes on super smooth with no creasing. I found it easy to use in the morning as it goes on very fast and doesn't take a long time to dry. It blends easily but it gives just the right amount of time before drying.

Perspective

Perspective is a mauve-pink with a strong hint of rose similar to Sophisticated but with the rose accentuated and no metallic edge. It's a lip cream and is highly pigmented lasting about 3 hours, leaving a light rose lip-stain.  It's very soft and feels great on; very moisturizing. I do wish it lasted longer, however, and for a Lush product it also smells surprisingly cosmetic. The lip creams have the same applicators as the eyeshadow. 

Calm

I love this eyeliner! It's a beautiful color and it stays on forever; all day at the very least. Until i got this, i used eyeliner maybe 2-3 times a year - now I'm happy to make the attempt everyday. The applicator seems like it would be hard but the short handle, I've found, gives me greater control than expected. As i already said: the color is just gorgeous.

Success

This silver eyeliner has a lovely color pay-off but the silver metallic shimmer in it means it has nowhere near the same longevity of Calm. It lasts about 6 or so hours but the application is a little harder as well: if you don't go over it a couple of times you will be left with some bald spots - it's not so much a cream as it is a thin glitter. It could do with being a bit thicker but this may just be my bottle as there seems to be a deal of variation among the products.

Ambition

A very bright coral-toned pink lip cream. The pigmentation is awesome but the actual product formula is annoyingly thin. Once again i know this is probably just my bottle, as others i have tried in store since were much thicker (So check your bottle first!). It has the same cosmetic smell as Perspective which is the one things i honestly dislike about the lip products. Due to the poor formula on my bottle this one smudges and doesn't stay on for more then 2 hours or so but the color is beautiful enough to make up for this. (See swatch at the bottom).

Confidence

Super rich and super soft without the formula issues plaguing my other bottles of Ambition, it goes on quite dark but still looks plum, not black. It's moisturizing and also leaves a plum-pink stain since it wears off after about 6 hours. This one has less of a cosmetic scent but does smells a little like blueberries. It blends out easily and the pigmentation can be built up if so desired.

Here they are a few minutes after swatching: as you can see there is incredible color pay off and the consistency on most of these is pretty fantastic. On the skin you cannot really tell that Ambition has any problems except for the extra shine which seems to be some of the formula separating a little.

This is the same swatch, 5 hours later: you can see Sophisticated and Calm look untouched, Perspective and Success are holding up quite well while Ambition has gone to smudge central. Confidence is doing mostly okay for a lip product, as the color is still there and it would obviously get less wear on my lips then my hand.

This is the next morning upon rolling out of bed: the eyeshadow Sophisticated and Calm are still almost perfect and you can still see a bit of Perspective and Success lingering, where as both Confidence and Ambition have all but disappeared except for some red patches on my hand.

(sorry about the changing light, the second was taken at night and the last one was taken early morning)

Overall i can't fault the pigmentation, probably the best i have seen, the longevity of the eyeshadow and the eyeliners are wonderful and surprisingly impressive. The formula and smell of the lip creams could probably use a little work so that they are more consistent in their delivery between the range.

HOWEVER 

These products are multi purpose; the eyeliner can be a eyeshadow or a lip cream. The lip cream can be a very creamy eyeshadow but works very well as a blush.

You can find what works for you and with such high pigmentation of color i don't think you will be disappointed. As for me, I'll be looking into more of the eyeshadows in the near future.

Lust Have it August

Just got my Lust Have it Box in the mail today, from what i can see quite a few pf these products interest me  and i think they did a nice job for their birthday box.

For reference my box is the "Fun and Flirty" box which this month included the following:

Appelles Body Bar Vegetable Soap -  Smells nice, slightly sweet and maybe a little bit like citrus. I like trying new soaps but i doubt anything will budge me from my lush soap addiction. But I'm happy to give this a try and see if it does anything special. Plus it looks quite cute.

Appelles Body Booster Skin Lotion - This is nice, but like i mentioned last time around I'm not too sure where lotions fit into the big scheme of things, do you use it instead of moisturizer or in place of a body butter? If so why would i use it place of those things? Is it just for body? hands? face? Not really sure. Again smells nice though.  Maybe I'll go with "hand lotion" and leave it to sit near my computer.

Appelles  Skin Detox Shower Gel - A shower gel with pure essential oils and botanicals according to the little description card, smells that way, sweet and berry scented a little more feminine then  the soap but not much. A bit funny to include a soap and a shower gel; seems redundant but i wont complain. I like shower gels too.

I've not heard of this brand before, so it's interesting to see three products from them, I'll have to see online if the other boxes did as well.

Marc Jacobs: Dot Fragrance - I'm totally thrilled to have this, and will be getting as soon as time/money allows!!!! Have you seen the bottle of this thing? It's super cute and i just want to have it for that alone, but thankfully the smell is totally me; sweet and fruity but with a warm lingering scent with notes of red berries and jasmine. 

Model Co. Eyeliner in Black - Who doesn't already have a black eyeliner? But still this one comes with it's own sharpener in the top which i think is a cool touch but i would be a lil more interested if it was in a color other then black.

Tigi Rockaholic Rock Outshine Blaster - It took me a while to figure out what this is, turns out it goes on your hair to make the shiny happen. The description on the card is a world of confusion and i wasn't 100% sure that it WAS a hair product till the last paragraph where it mentioned preventing split ends, still it's pretty blue and big. Sounds good to me.

tanGo Tanning Glove - The name is misleading, it's not so much a glove as it is a towel and it's not so much for tanning as it it for removing tanning pigment. It feels nice and soft and can double as a make up remover cloth but i won't use it for tanning as i don't use tanning products. I'm happy with my ultra paleness.

Lust Have It also seems to have returned to a box format as there was no makeup bag this time around but a lovely white box with a black  ribbon. Very classic.

A nice selection i think, something for everyone. The only disappointment is the eyeliner but it's not a huge disappoint so I'm okay with it. Looking forward to next month's arrival. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend :)

Review: Palmer’s Purifying Mask

Today i decided to look at Palmer’s Purifying Mask; I picked this up about 3 months ago as i wanted a mask in a tube/tub that was both not too expensive and could be used at least twice a week without irritation.

I've tried a lot of masks in my search and their certainly isn't a huge range in the non-single-pack for face masks. (I do love the Lush face masks but i don't like keeping it in the fridge because i forget all about it and then it expires.)

The mask is incredibly thick and you can get quite  a lot of use from a small amount, plus you can load on as much as you like (because it;s in a tube) and you won't waste product you don't need (like say if it was in a sachet). It's incredibly easy to use, no mess and great control over product flow. Plus i've had mine for three months still feel like there's a lot of product left.

It's quite creamy and thick which i think works well, considering it's a clay mask (my favorite kind) it goes on much easier then many i have tried without pulling on your skin or feeling like you have to rub alot to get it to spread.

It smells mostly like clay with slight notes of white Lilly, but mostly like clay, it's not an especially strong scent so i don't think it would bother anyone unless you really hate the smell of clay.

The product has cocoa & shea butters, vitamin E, Koalin and Sweet Almond Oil which claim to deeply moisturize and nourish, work as a powerful antioxidant, detox and purify, and work as a lightweight skin emollient. It was this combination that originally attracted me as it sounded like a pretty winning combo.

The product works pretty well when it comes to comes to controlling oil, making your face feel very clean and dry (but not in a irritable way), it's quite calming and definitely helps with the nourishing but i can't say i see a great deal of difference except that if i feel like it i can skin my cleansing routine that day as it really does all the work for you.

It's a good product but maybe not a great one, I'll happily finish the tub and then try a few other ones but i wouldn't rule out repurchasing this somewhere down the road.

What face masks do you like?

Review: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

Following on from their great success with the Revlon Lip Butters, and soon (ish) to be released in Australia (November, hopefully) will be the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains.

Designed to look like crayons somewhat similar to the Clinique Chubby Sticks but the looks are pretty much where the similarity ends. Unlike the Chubby Sticks these are meant to be long lasting lip stains with a lip balm included where as the others are mostly just tinted lip balm that are actually closer to the original Lip Butters (previously reviewed here. )

Personally once i saw these appearing on International blogs I found I really didn't want to wait the 2 months plus, for them to hit our shores (probably) so i decided to get few online from here. At the time of this post the seller has them for $8 each, a steal considering how much they will be once released here.

The shades i got are, in order; Honey, Smitten, and Crush . In all there are 12 shades available, but i can't say how many will be released here in Australia, in the UK only 7 shades were launched. I picked these because Smitten was supposed to be most long lasting, Honey because it's the everyday nude pink shade i love and Crush because it reminded me of my favorite lip butter shade.

As you may or may not be able to see, Crush at the end has some tiny shimmer in it, where as the other two are regular "cremes". The color on crush in particular is incredibly similar to the Berry Smoothie Lip Butter. 

This is about the length of product  that you get, but from having used these everyday the past week or so i think it would take you a while to get through it.

Honey, Smitten, Crush. (This is probably a more accurate swatch for Smitten then the lip swatch below)

Honey

Honey is the generic My lips but better shade but I've heard a little annoyance at the fact that it's not the same color as the casing but it love it anyway and it's only maybe a shade darker. Very wearable and the most natural/nude/pink color that was available in the collection.

Smitten

Smitten is very deep pink and the stain lasts the longest out of these three. It's a lovely color but i find i reach for Honey or Crush more often then this one as it's much more on the bright side and harder for day wear.

Crush

Crush is a maroon/nude pink color with a little shimmer, and as i mentioned its very similar to Berry Lip lip butter, and this one is lasts longer then Honey but not quite as long as Smitten. The faint shimmer in the product doesn't seem to show up on the lips but it's a lovely color.

The balm effect (for me) lasts about an hour, two without eating or drinking, and then your left with the stain effect which for honey lasts about 3 hours, 5 for crush, and about 8 for smitten, depending on how much wear you put on your lips in that time. Plus you can always apply another layer of the product or a regular balm if you find you like the glossy look better, as the stain effect is much more matte then the original application.

When you apply these there is a (for me) quite a strong peppermint smell which I'm not as fond of as i like a sweeter spearmint smell and peppermint is a little stinging, but it's not terribly intrusive however it does have the odd side effect of making my lips feel a little cold (but maybe that['s just my imagination).

I do like these a lot will almost certainly purchase more (probably online)  but i do find that after about 3 hours my lips get very, very dry and are a bit uncomfortable so i usually just put a lip balm on top or in the case of Crush i use my lip butter and all is well again.

I'm sure most people will love these as the color pay off is great and they last a good amount of time and the only issue i have is the drying effect which for me is rare so i guess i noticed it more from using this product.

So let's hope all the shades get released here, let me know what you think if you have tried them or are which color your looking forward to if you haven't.

Enjoy the week. :)

Birthday Haul

Hmm i really should have expected that my next post would be a haul what with the birthday and stuff; still two hauls in a row makes me feel much richer then i actually am. ^^

However as all of these things were birthday presents from various friends and family and my wonderful boyfriend i am extremely grateful and feel very lucky to be the recipient of so much love and affection. Thank You.

So the only reason I'm showing these off is because they will all be reviewed (in the fullness of time) so consider this a little preview i suppose.

So here is the haul:

Essence "Ready for Boarding" Nail polish Set in 01 sending you kisses, 02 beauty on tour, 03 exits on your right, 04 via airmail! and 05 destination sunshine.

Essence "Ready for Boarding" Peel Off Base Coat in 01 carry me home
Essence "Ready for Boarding" Eyeshadow Palette in 01 beauty on tour
Essence "Ready for Boarding" 2in1 kajal pencil in 02 via airmail
Essence "Ready for Boarding" Lip and Cheek Cream in 02 beauty on tour

Essence Clear Eyelash and Brow Gel

I had the option to get the cosmetics bag too but it felt kind of flimsy despite being ultra cute, so i opted out, i have so many from Lust Have it now anyway.

Burjois Blush in Lune D'or (the NARS Orgasm dupe which btw, turns out it's not too shiny for me) Speaking of which, there is currently a 10% off voucher on their website right here which can be used in stores at Priceline

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Maxi Bronzer in 001 Sun Kiss ( i was lured by the pretty shimmery waves, they disappeared after one use)

Korres Lip Butter in Mango (so in love with this, unexpected)

OPI in Pirouette My Whistle

ecotools Bronzer Brush (this thing is amazing)

Real Techniques Blush Brush (this is possible the softest thing i have ever touched)

Australis Intense Eyeshadow Palette in "You Beauty"

Lush "It's Raining Men" Shower Gel (the liquid version of their Honey, I Washed the Kids soap)

and last but oh so totally- not-least are also from Lush, from their Emotional Brilliance Line (first looked at here) and they are; Success (silver eyeliner), Calm (blue eyeliner), Sophisticated (taupe/bronze/pink eyeshadow) and Perspective (a taupe/pink lipcream).

All in all it was an awesome day topped off with Waffles at the Pancake house (mmmmm), so next post up later this week will be about the Revlon Lip Stains and after that it's anyone's guess, but if you have a preference for anything that you see in this post just give a shout.

Have a good week :)

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Comparison

So i picked up the new Garnier Oil Free Miracle Skin Perfector earlier this week and have been using it all week long so i feel fully armed and ready to discuss the differences between the products. 

Let me start by saying that I was one of the people who liked the original, though I also know a lot of people had issues with it. I've re purchased it about three times and for all of last year it was my go to "foundation" as i don't like having anything too heavy on my face (if i can help it) so i usually stick to tinted moisturizers or  (more recently) bb creams for my foundation needs. I use a Burjois foundation for any special occasions.

So let's take a look at what's different; obviously the packaging. The regular version is a shorter but chubbier tube and has 10ml extra of product, while the oil-free version is a long thin tube that's much smoother and technically has less product (though due to consistency differences this isn't a huge issue)

The applicator top has also changed and this makes a lot of sense as the new oil-free versions is much more liquid-like in it's consistency and would go everywhere if it still had the same applicator as it's predecessor.

Though i have seen some of the first round of releases pictures of the new oil-free version which did include the older applicator but it seems this was quickly changed, hence if you got yours early on it might have a different applicator to mine. Also the original has a click top which i liked since it meant i was less likely to loose the lid where as the new one is a screw top. ( I prefer the click top)

As the photo demonstrates the older version was much thicker and closer in consistency to a traditional bb cream where as the new oil-free version is (oddly) the one which is more liquid like, and as you can see, although the colors are the same "light/clear" versions, the oil-free is a tad more yellow in color  but both blend out to match my skin tone just fine.

Because of the liquid consistency you need a relatively tiny amount to cover your whole face where as you need more of the cream from the original one to achieve the same level of cover.

When it comes to actual coverage the new one is closer to medium cover and yet it feels much lighter then the original which (still not incredibly heavy) had more heft to it but showed your skin more and was closer to a light coverage.

Overall as much as i loved the original and still have almost a whole new tube to go through I'm changing over to the oil free version, it stays on for much longer and doesn't oxidize, plus it feels so much smoother on my face almost like a faintly velvet texture. Highly recommended for oily or combination skin as it has a matter finish as well.

If I'm just going out to the shops to grab some food i would probably use the original as I don't need a lot of cover or for it to be long lasting, but for anything other then a jog to the shop i recommend switching to the new oil free version. Also if you hated the first one i highly recommend trying this one. 100% converted for me.

Let me know what you think if you have tried either one? 

Also it's my birthday tomorrow so I don't know if i will manage to get a post up as i usually like to do on a Saturday. If not see you late in the week!

Unexpected Haul

Allo, this is as the title says an unexpected haul. Wasn't planning on doing it but when destiny decides to place a whole bunch of products in my lap i feel that i should show them off, as they will undoubtedly be the target of some reviews in the following few weeks ad this way if anyone wants to see a particular review first i can focus on that.

The best part of this haul is that i only spent 75c on it (today). So let's take a look see;

First up the item I'm probably most excited about arrived early this morning via post were my
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Honey (since it's clearly already the favorite for a MLBB), Smitten as it's supposedly the most long lasting of the set, and Cherish because it's a shimmery plum and that's what i like. I couldn't wait for the damn things to show up here and knowing they would be two or three times as expensive; hence i ordered them here on ebay from a seller named SurfinJunkie.

When i purchased them they were only $7 each but appear to have have up to $10 now, still better then anything you will find here, and i don't even know when they will be out. Last i heard it was November. But who knows right? Upside is the seller also included the Wet'n'Wild lipstick that you can see there, which was a cool sunrise. It's a bright pink coral shade but doesn't seem to have a name, I'm not too familiar with this range so I'm not sure if that's normal.But awesome seller, I've not come across an ebay seller who does this before.

In addition i got my Priceline Beauty Bucks credit thing last week and after some consideration decided to buy the Dove products they had on special (a 3 for 2 type deal) but as you may or may not have read on my twitter they decided to be ....unprofessional at a certain store and wouldn't let me buy it. I have since complained about that particular store to the company.

So the Dove deal run out yesterday and i couldn't get in before then to get the deal at any other store so i reconsidered my needs and wants and settled on the new Garnier BB oil/combination cream and the Essence eyebrow styling kit.

I picked the bb cream because i have the previous non oily/combo skin version and have repurchased it twice before as i find it does a very good job for me, but i do suffer from combination skin and so i though this one might be a little better for me. So I'm thinking of doing a comparison post on these two. As for the eyebrow styling kit i have never used any eyebrow products so i thought i would see if i liked it.

Lastly i needed some new pink dye for my hair; hence the Hot Pink Manic Panic pot. My previous dye was a vegetable dye that would need recoloring once a week and that was starting to kill me, so this one is a semi-permanent hot pink and apparently it glows under UV lights. Hopefully this will work well, or at least better then my Crazy Colors dye.

So I'll try these over the next week or so and get back to you, if you have a preference for what you might wanna see first feel free to leave a note below. Have a happy week everyone :)

Lipstick Rundown

For todays post i decided (after some debate) to do a little overview comparing my three newest lipsticks to my two tried and true faves, as 5 seemed a nice number to go with, and i have a interesting little story about my very favorite lipstick. So let's get down to business and see who our contestants are; 

Revlon Soft Rose, Sportgirl Pout It Beauty Queen. Lipstick Queen Medieval, MAC Cremme De La Femme, and Lancome Color Fever in Rose Defile/

As you can probably tell my two age old favorites are the bookshelf lipsticks on either end which are Revlon Soft Rose and Lancome's Color Fever in Rose Defile ( im starting to sense a theme).

Swatch Time:

These are my natural lips for comparison with nothing on them but a little bit of clear lip balm.

Next, let's go in order that they appear in the photo and as such we will be leaving the best for last;

This is Revlon Soft Rose

I particularly like this lipstick as it's incredibly soft as is only a few shades darker then my own lip color, it has good staying power, lasting about 4-6 hours assuming i don't eat much and fades very gently without leaving random bald spots. 

It's quite pigmented and doesn't settle into lip lines. This one i have had for about a year now and will repurchase when it finishes up. Plus the quilt packaging is super cute. The photo here is a little bright but it's more on the brown/pink shade scale then a bright red.

This is Sportsgirls Pout it in Beauty Queen

This one is probably the most disappointing lipstick i own, I've had it for about three weeks and have used it maybe twice. I bought it based on a bunch of super positive reviews about the Pout It line and it just clearly didn't work for me; it sunk into lip lines even when i had gloss underneath and was a bit too light( even though it looked basically like my own lip color) .

On top of this is looked very fake, as in the color kind of just sat on top of the lips as if i had put my face into a jar of pink watery paint. Hopefully this will find a new home as a color i use to tone down my too bright shades. It does look a little better in the photo then in real life however.

This is Lipstick Queens Medieval

This one i have been the proud owner of for less then 24 hours at this point and i think it will quite clearly become a favorite; but firstly i have to say this is not a lipstick creme or mat or shimmer or frost or nothing. It's basically a tinted balm that looks like a lipstick. The best comparison i can make is the Revlon Lip Butters BUT this is far less creamy and much closer to a balm or a gloss. It's quite build-able, the photo above is two swipes. It looks a bit intimidating in the tube but is actually a red that anyone can wear. 

Ideally if you're afraid of a bright red on your face making you look like you suffer from Clown Face Syndrome (CFS) this is the best way i can think of to ease into using red lipsticks. The idea behind it is that back in Medieval Times the church would call you a harlot and other nasty things if you wore "obvious make up" so women without the benefit of makeup stores had to find other means to look all sexy and pretty.

Apparently one method was to sting your lips with lemon so that the blood would come to the surface while your lips were thinner from the acid making it show up a brighter red. The same concept if you bit your lips slightly to make them look red but for a bit of a longer lasting effect. This is supposed to mimic that look.

It's made with lots and lots of Vitamin E so it's fairly moisturizing and terrific for a winter lippy.

Plus is came in awesome package;

P.S. This product may be why this post is here today. Just saying.

This is MAC's Cremme de la Femme

I got this because i wanted a MAC lipstick, so sue me.

No really that's the only reason i bought this. I just picked the most rosy looking color (the rest were all nudes) and just went with it. Now i can say i have a MAC lipstick and the other bloggers can't laugh at me. (okay, they probably wouldn't anyway)

However, despite my less the optimum purchasing reasons behind this i actually like it alot, i don't have anything with a frosty look like this and it'ssuper pigmented. The shimmery peachy pink shade is just beautiful and i'm surprised i haven't seen this color talked about much. So far the lasting time seems to be about 2-3 hours but i think that's because it's so very creamy and thick. But once it's gone it leaves a pretty shimmery glittery coat on my lips. A Win.

BTW i bought this at target because like i said before the MAC counters are scary, but they lipsticks seem to be disappearing incredibly fast. I went in two days after this (it was the last one on the shelf)  and all but two nude lipsticks were gone.

My all time favorite Color Fever in Rose Defile

What can i say about this that is not plainly apparent in the picture; it's a dream lipstick. Pigmented, soft, creamy, smooth, moisturizing, long lasting and gorgeous light pink/mauve shade that i just adore. It makes me so incredibly sad that it seems to be discontinued or possibly exiled through time for being too damn good.

Now as i said, i had a story about this particular product and i do;

I got this about two years ago as part of a Christmas present back before i really cared too much about make up and just wanted a good base set so i didn't have too worry about it. So being the uncaring un-makeup person i was, i threw away all the packaging away and moved on.  This lipstick itself does not have any labeling except to say "Rose" on the bottom. It might have also said Color Fever and Defile at some point but over the time I've had it, the name has faded away.

So i used it then and i kept using it because even to my untrained, not understanding make up brain this was absolute awesomeness in a tube (why hasn't anyone named a gloss that?).

So over the past few months I've been getting worried that it's running low and i could not for the life of me remember what brand this was or where the heck is came from. 

Until yesterday, when i went to help my mother buy some of her high end Dior makeup but through a stroke of luck (or destiny) she decided to try the Lancome brand instead (because they did better gift offers). 

So in the care on the way home i was admiring the packing on the pretty lipstick and blush wishing it was all mine. That's when i told mum how pretty the little carved rose on top of the lipstick and blush packaging was.

Then, this morning, when i was setting up my lipsticks to take photos for you guys i noticed the same rose carved into the top of my favorite lipstick of all time! So a bit of quick research (googling) tells me that this is from the Color Fever range in Rose Defile.

Yay...but the story is bitter sweet as the range seems to have been discontinued and once this stick is done i may have to say goodbye to my favorite lipstick forever. Until such a time however i shall continue to search and hopefully find a dupe or see if Lancome has carried the color over to a different line.

As a further testament to it's awesomeness I've had it more then two years, treated it not too gentle and it hasn't suffered any damage, no melting or breaking or cracked container. The only sign of wear is the faded text on the bottom.

Here's a slightly clearer picture of what the shades actually look like; Revlon is a Pink with brown/yellowy undertones. Beauty Queen is a light pink creme. Medieval is a blue tinted red sheer /balm. Cremme De La Femme is a high pigment peachy pink creme that reminds me of NARS Orgasm for the lips, and Color Fever is a yellow tinted pink/mauve creme.

And this is where my lipstics live, i got the container for $7 at Target and it's awesome. This keeps the lipsticks that are newest and most in rotation for me, except the Color Fever which lives in my handbag,

So what's your favorite?