In the Spotlight: Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick in Madison Mauve

Whenever my beloved brings me cosmetics from the US, I always go to malls to check if these are already locally available. To my dismay, however, I'm almost always told, "I'm sorry but we don't have _____ here, ma'am and we won't be bringing the item to the country." This has actually happened to quite a lot of times in the past. Thank goodness my beloved always gets me what I want even without telling him! Well, I don't think I'll be asking him to get more of Maybelline's hottest new item because they're bringing it to us here in the Philippines! How did I find out? Well, I was lurking around the Maybelline counter in Robinson's Galleria during their holiday sale, when the SA mentioned that they'll be bringing this amazing line of lipsticks to the country next month. What is it? It's the ColorSensational Lipstick Line people on the other end of the globe have been endlessly raving about! Ah! Finally! I've been waiting for these forever!

From the Maybelline website:

Why You'll Love It

Fall in love with color, all over again:

• Crisper color from pure pigments
• Creamier feel from nourishing honey nectar
• Lipcolor so rich, so stunning… it’s sensational
• 48 Captivating Shades

Yay!

• Pigmentation. The color is very rich.
  
• Texture. The lipstick is creamy and applies smoothly on the lips.
  
• Finish. While I can't speak of the other shades available, Madison Mauve has quite a glossy finish, there's [almost] no need for a lipgloss. But if you want the extra shine and gloss, then gloss up by all means?
• Formula. This doesn't feel drying or heavy on the lips. It won't make your lips flake at all.
  
• Coverage. It can be applied sheer or heavy, depending on your preference. The color is definitely buildable.
• Color Range. They have a wide selection of shades from nudes/browns to reds to plums to pinks. They cover everything in the color spectrum (minus the shades you'd never really wear, i.e. blacks, blues, oranges, etc.)!
• Price. Depending on where you live in the US, Maybelline ColorSensational Lipsticks go for about $7. Not bad for a lipstick, don't you think? In the Philippines, however, I was told that the price will be somewhere in the 200peso range. Still reasonable, I think.
  

Nay!

• Color Selection in the Philippines. Maybelline won't be bringing the entire color selection to the Philippines. Just sad.
  
• Lasting Power. Just like most lipsticks, this'll probably last you a good 4 to 5hours before the color starts to fade (it probably won't survive eating and drinking. I can't really tell coz I haven't tried), leaving a hint of color and shine on your lips. Honestly, I'm not sure if this is a bad thing since this isn't a colorstay variant.
  

In Betweens...

• Scent. While some others complained of a scent that's a cross between coconut and chemical, I noticed only a faint pleasant scent from Madison Mauve. It's nothing close to smelling like chemical or wax, but I'm not quite sure if it's coconutty. Either way, I find it pleasant. Besides, it's not something you'd smell the moment you remove the plastic cap. You'd only notice that faint scent if you take a good whiff off of your tube.
  
• Glitter. If you love [high] shine, you'd love this li ne from Maybelline. Like Madison Mauve, I read that a lot of shades in the ColorSensational Lipstick line are glittery. Some complain about the glitters being chunky, gritty and scratchy, which I didn't notice with Madison Mauve.
  
• Packaging. Some ladies found the packaging cheap, but I think otherwise. While the plastic cap has the tendency to come off easily in your purse, I actually like how the plastic cap looks like. I also think it's pretty cool how Maybelline color-coordinated the shades under each family - all the reds and peaches have a red plastic cap, the pinks with a pink plastic cap, the purples/mauves with a purple cap and all the browns/nudes with a brown cap. The only thing I don't like about the packaging is that it can be easily scratched. See photo below.
  

  

Tips:

• Always exfoliate and moisturize before applying lipstick.
  
• Blot the excess moisture off of your lips.
• Conceal your lips' pigmentation by applying foundation or concealer. Set with powder. This makes the color of the lipstick appear more true when applied on your lips.
  
• If you desire more defined lips, line your lips with a lip liner that's close to the shade of the lipstick. Lining your lips with a lip liner also makes the lipstick stay on your lips for a longer time.
  
• If you desire shiny, pouty lips, gloss up.
  
• If you want your lips to appear fuller, highlight your Cupid's bow and your lower lip by dabbing a bit of a shimmery powder on the said areas.
  
• Want a flawless look? Apply concealer to the edges to correct/erase any mistakes.
  

Madison Mauve on the lips.
Pardon the photo. This was done in a rush

Just one swipe. It's pretty pigmented, eh?

Like I said, color is buildable.

Will you be snagging some of these babies when they arrive on Philippine shores? I know I will! Leave some for me, please!

Lippy-ya-yo: NYX Lipstick Collection

I hope you girls are having a blast this weekend. Mine was great, albeit tiring with all the walking I did on uneven pavement with my Steve Madden heels. I should probably get a back up of it, or maybe get the brown one. Ugh. I wish they had it in red. Unfortunately, the SA told me that they have only three colors for that particular style: black, brown and yellow. Yellow?! What was Steve Madden thinking?! I would have forgiven him if it were mustard yellow. But no, they were sunshine yellow! Oh well. I guess I'll have to scour Aldo, Nine West and some other shoe stores down here for that perfect red heels. Or... I could ask my beloved to get them for me in the States. Ohhhh... If only my feet weren't too small. They give me a hell of hard time looking for shoes in American shoe outlets. If anyone knows where I could find sexy yet comfortable heels for my 5.5 size feet (by the way, I'm a stiletto lover. I'm just not a fan of chunky heels. I think my feet look funny in them), kindly leave your suggestions in the comment box. Thank you girls in advance!

Moving on.

I'm done with my AVON lipstick collection; but here's another one for all you lipstick lovers out there. I'll have another one coming in a few days, so you dolls watch out for it.

Here's my favorite lipstick brand with some of my favorite shades. I'm still gonna be purchasing a few more lippies (and eyeshadows!) from NYX in the next few weeks or so, and of course, I'll be sharing them with you as well. Since color swatches on the NYX website and Cherry Culture are so far from the actual, I hope ya'll find this post helpful whether or not you're planning on purchasing from NYX. I've swatched Tea Rose, B52 and Rea in a previous post, so if you want to see how those colors would look on the lips, click here. You can also read my two cents worth on NYX lippies when you click the link.

Thalia: An MLBB shade for those with muted pink lips. It's perfect to wear on casual days.
Perfect: Here's another MLBB shade. It's in the same color family as B52, only paler. It's a good muted pinky-brown shade that should suit all skin tones.
Femme: A bright coral shade that amps up your look. I wore this last night and it gave me that awake look. Love it!
Snow White: The perfect red lipstick for me! This makes me look like a million dollars! I'm so glad I have this in my stash.

You'll never go wrong with NYX lipsticks. If you don't like the shade that you got, it wouldn't hurt so much coz it's just $3.50!

Enjoy the swatches dolls! (just excuse the messy application. haha!)

NYX Round Lipstick in Thalia

Thalia on lips

NYX Round Lipstick in Perfect

Perfect on lips

NYX Round Lipstick in Femme

Femme on lips

NYX Round Lipstick in Snow White

Snow White on lips

From L to R: Tea Rose, Thalia, Perfect, Femme, Snow White, Rea, B52

From L to R: Rea, B52, Tea Rose, Femme, Thalia, Perfect, Snow White,

Avon Lipstick Collection

I know what you all are thinking seeing the title “_____ Lipstick Collection” --- “what in the world will this girl do with a bunch of lipsticks?” Don’t worry, I ask myself that same question every time I purchase a lipstick. For one, I don’t wear lipsticks everyday, and I barely reapply my lipstick once it has faded away. I’m that lazy to keep putting it on. I’m not a lipstick wearer, neither am I a lip balm user. I do have a lip balm, but I only apply it on my lips when my lips get flaky and before lipstick application.

So why do I have this much lipstick in my stash? First of all, the tubes that these lipsticks come in are enough eye candy for me. The packaging is usually sleek and elegant. They look gorgeous standing upright in my stash. Second, the colors catch my eyes. Once I’m captivated by the sparkling colors, I’m put under a spell. This is what happens every time I browse through an Avon catalog.

Since one of my people is an Avon lady who never forgets to hand me the monthly catalog, I always find myself flipping through its pages. Most of the time, a few products, primarily lipsticks, catch my eye. I don’t always order from her, but when I do, I always spend a little over a thousand pesos.

I had previously purchased four Avon lipsticks a month or two ago and to be honest, I haven’t even come close to using up half (or 1/4) of one lipstick. I’ve worn some of them of them a few times, but definitely not more than five. Matter of fact, I don’t think I have touched one of the two mousse lipsticks that I got back then. I’ve only swatched it on my hand and on my lips.

In this post, I’ll take you through my first four Avon lipsticks then go through the last four after. Color description and reviews will be done separately, as I see that this post is going to be quite long on its own.

First we have these two lipsticks from Avon: Ultra Moisture Rich Lipstick (Regular price Php 375; $7.81) and Ultra Moisture Rich Mousse Lipstick (Regular Price Php 420; $8.75). The two Ultra Moisture Rich Lipsticks that I got are Coraluscious and Barely There. Nude Glow and Berry Mauvey are the two Ultra Moisture Rich Mousse Lipsticks that I have.

Labels are written below each photo. Excuse the messy and uneven application; I had to rush things so I don't go running late for work.

Avon Ultra Rich Moisture Lipstick in Coraluscious

Coraluscious on lips

Avon Ultra Rich Moisture Lipstick in Barely There

Barely There on lips

Avon Ultra Rich Moisture Mousse Lipstick in Nude Glow

Nude Glow on lips

Avon Ultra Rich Moisture Mousse Lipstick in Berry Mauvey

Berry Mauvey on lips

From L to R: Coraluscious, Barely There, Nude Glow and Berry Mauvey

In the second batch we have three Ultra Moisture Rich 24K Lipsticks (regular price is Php420; $8.75) and one Glazewear Lipstick (Regular Price Php 375; $7.81). The shades are Amethyst Gold, Golden Wine, Golden Peach.

Ultra Moisture Rich 24K Lipstick in Amethyst Gold

Amethyst Gold on Lips

Ultra Moisture Rich 24K Lipstick in Golden Peach

Golden Peach on lips

Ultra Moisture Rich 24K Lipstick in Golden Wine

Golden Wine on lips

Glazewear Lipstick in Juicy Apricot

Juicy Apricot on lips

From L to R: Amethyst Gold, Golden Peach, Golden Wine, Juicy Apricot

Here's my AVON Lipstick collection.

I'll be posting swatches of the new NYX Round Lipsticks that I got in my next post. I'm excited!

See you in my next post!

*note: I got all these AVON lipsticks at sale price. The Php375 ($7.81) lipsticks I was able to get at Php235 ($4.89). The Php420 lipsticks, I got for only Php249 ($5.18).

Lippy-ya-yo: NYX Round Lipsticks

I know the title is a bit lame. It’s just that my plain self couldn’t think of something more fun and catchy than this; and since I am pretty boring myself and I’m really not that creative with my writing, I’ll just stick to my pathetic title.

As you might have guessed, this post is going to be about lipsticks, though I’m not much of a lipstick junkie. I hate how some lipsticks give my lips a slight burning sensation and also tend to make them dry even with a lip balm underneath. Besides, I used to lick my lips a lot; so wearing lipsticks on a typical day would require me to control the urge to lick the color off my puckers. Since I really barely cared much about how I look, I would just usually lick my lips to keep them hydrated. At times, I even bite them. Well, I thought I was hydrating my lips by licking them. It turns out, I was wrong. Licking your lips will actually dry them out even more as our saliva contains saline!

Fast forward to the present.

Having someone to look good for and being a manager have made me spend a wee more time on myself. If I used to wear only translucent powder (plus concealer for my dark under eyes), I now pretty much leave my house with a full on make up that never looks over the top. In fact, I recently have not gone out of my house without a lip gloss or lipstick on my puckers.

Now that I’m getting quite addicted to collecting make up (note: I use all that I purchase), I’m starting to expand my lipstick collection aside from my blush and mascara collections. With that, I purchased three round lipsticks from NYX, a very popular brand in the US that's pretty much comparable to MAC. A lot of ladies are in love with these babies; did I fall in love with them, too? Keep scrolling to find out.

Now I present a part of my NYX haul.

From L-R: Tea Rose, Rea, B52

NYX Round Lipstick in Tea Rose

NYX Round Lipstick in Tea Rose swatched on hand

NYX Round Lipstick in Tea Rose on lips

NYX Round Lipstick in Rea

NYX Round Lipstick in Rea swatched on hand

NYX Round Lipstick in Rea on lips

NYX Round Lipstick in B52

NYX Round Lipstick in B52 on lips

What I love about them:

· They’re so amazingly creamy. They glide on my lips like butter.

· They’re moisturizing

· The color pay-off is great

· The ingenious packaging is cool (I’m referring to the bottom part of the lipstick where you see what lippie’s shade is without having to open it or read the label)

· The wide color selection makes my jaw drop and my mind go on a frenzy, in a good way (I get giddy when I’m on NYX’s website. I feel like wanting to put everything in my cart. Haha!)

· They got no annoying scent (they actually have no scent at all), unlike some lipsticks.

· The price cannot be beaten. For the quality you get with every item purchased, it’s really absolutely comparable to MAC.

What I hate about them:

· Lasting power is average, and I don’t mind at all. Like most regular lipsticks (not the colorstay ones), NYX lippies come off after eating, although not entirely.

· None else.

Will I repurchase?

I’m thinking of getting a back up of Rea and some other shades from this particular line. In fact, I’m eyeing Circe (unfortunately, it’s always out of stock), Iris, Hello, Echo, Metes, Celene, Hermes, Ceto, Honey, Cream, Tea, Vitamin, Java, Frappucino, Twist, Fig, Orange Soda, and Snow White. Whew! So, I guess that’s a yes, eh?

What's your favorite NYX round lipstick?