Review: the lip slip by sara happ one luxe balm

I don't know what I was thinking when I bought this. I'm not partial to potted balms, though I've grown quite enamored with the nuxe one (I've worn it every night for weeks now and made a significant dip in the pot). But surely a company solely known for their lip exfoliation and balm products would be even superior. And then there's this nagging feeling that I should try new things, even if they are $24 potted balms. The balm smells like what you would imagine rose cake to smell like and it's tastes a bit sweet. It's sheer pink and it has fine shimmers in it which aren't obvious on the lips, nor can you feel them in between your lips as with some shimmery glosses.

As far as the ingredients are concerned, it has your standard mineral oil, beeswax and sweet almond and jojoba oil for moisture. While I found this slightly moisturizing, it's not really balmy in texture, it's more of a gloss and a slightly sticky one at that. It's best for throwing on during the day but since it's potted, it hasn't gotten a lot of use from me and it's not really moisturizing for night time. I'm pretty underwhelmed with this but I wanted to mention it so you fabulous people wouldn't bear the same misfortune I have with my poor purchase.

ingredients: Polybutene, Mineral Oil, Beeswax, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ethylene/Propylene/Styrene Copolymer, Butylene/Ethylene/Styrene Copolymer, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Tocopherol Acetate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Polydecene, Silica Tin Oxide, Flavor, Saccharin

Review: Physicians Formula Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Glossy Stains

I wouldn't say I had the best luck with the YSL Glossy Stains, but I've been intrigued with lip products that have the ability to stain your lips while having a glossy finish till they wear off. I haven't yet had the chance to try the L'Oreal ones, but when I saw these at my local drugstore on sale, I quickly picked them up. Physicians Formula brought out a new Sexy Booster line (complete with blushes and bronzers), a spin on their Happy Booster line. The Physicians Formula version only comes in two colors, "Red" and "Hot Pink". Since I managed to get them for only $3 on sale and after coupons, I picked up both.

Physicians Formula has some of the cutest drugstore packaging ever. Just look at the shoe charms!

Aside from the cute ribbon and shoe charms, the packaging is a standard square tube and comes with a rounded doe foot applicator.

These have a similar formula to the YSL glossy stains; however, the formula differs between both of the colors. For example, the red one is much more translucent and more gel-like and doesn't seem to "dry down" which makes it retain some moisturizing properties. The hot pink is much more like the YSL Glossy Stains, as it seems to dry down on the lips and is more sticky and a bit less moisturizing. It is also a bit more pigmented than the red shade so I'm not sure if that contributes to the different textures (or if it's quality control issues).

The red is a more tomato-warmer red and the hot pink almost looks purple! These aren't colors I would wear on a daily basis, to the office for example; however, I think they are fun and they do actually stains the lips.

They definitely stained my hand in any case!

lip swatch - "Red"

lip swatch (poorly done, apologies) - "Hot Pink"

I took this picture after "Red" had been on my lips for about 5 minutes and I wiped it off. I definitely got some staining, though it was more evident on my bottom-more pigmented lip than the top one.

I've heard that these have some issues with wearing off unevenly like with what I experienced with the YSL version but for some reason, it bothers me less with these likely due to the price point! I don't know if Physicians Formula can really claim anything with pheromones. I don't know about your loves, but my husband won't kiss me while wearing anything red on my lips, pheromones or not.They definitely aren't "kiss proof" as claimed until you wipe the gloss part off.

Cute, but not amazing, but they were cheap enough to keep. ;)

Have you tried these yet? Thoughts?

Review: Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain #5 Rouge Vintage

My taste over the last few weeks has certainly passed over into the luxurious. I suppose that's what happens when you work 10 hour days and then come home where graduate school work is lurking. When I get off work at upwards of 7pm, I want some pampering. This would explain my little visit to Neiman Marcus yesterday evening (post pending) and my recent purchase of a rather ridiculously priced lip stain.

I'm a huge fan of lip stains. I think I finally mastered the application and find them useful tools to have in one's makeup arsenal. While my lip stain collection ranges across multiple price ranges, this is most likely the most expensive: The Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain, which has a name long enough to rival the high price tag of $32 is a new glossy stain that recently launched. There are shimmer colors and cream/gel finishes and I opted for the latter as glittery lips during the work day isn't always the best look.

The color I chose, Rouge Vintage $5 is a fairly neutral rosy pink. I believe this would suit most skin tones and it's definitely office appropriate.

The texture of this is really interesting. It's nothing like your standard Benetint: it's not watery but the the color is translucent unlike long wear liquid lipsticks. It retains a glossy finish on the lips which does make it a little sticky but not anything like a MAC lipglass. This dried my lips out a bit but most products do. My biggest qualm is it has no longevity. When I went out to dinner with family, this left a ring around my lips and the color had worn off in the center and the color comes off on my coffee mug which makes reapplication a must.

I swatched it next to another lip product (Revlon Colorstay Liquid Lipstick in Premium Pink) so you could see the texture compared to another long wear product. The YSL is on the right. I thought the colors were similar but really couldn't see much similarity after swatching other than the fact they are both pink.

So while I definitely think it is an innovative product, I fail to see the "stain" properties of this. To me, it's more of a glossy liquid lipstick, which is nice as it's more long-wearing than your standard gloss, but wouldn't rival many stains that are currently on the market. I would try to test it out before purchasing only because the price is a bit ridiculous but most companies in the US have generous return policies. Honestly, I don't love it and while the weighty packaging certainly suggests luxury, it isn't always enough for me.

Have you tried this product out? Leave your thoughts below!

Operation MAC Lipglass

There comes a time in every makeup lovers life where she realizes that she does not have enough lip real estate in order to apply her lip products. Or really, when reality hits and you have the how-am-I-going-to-use-this-up-before-it-goes-bad minor anxiety attack. Granted, this is probably not an issue for most people with manageable collections and probably isn't an issue for me either unless you're talking about the lip products that I rarely use. Enter MAC lipglass (minor correction, enter all MAC lipgloss). Though I really like their lustreglasses, I don't reach for them as often as my other lip products (also, I've found they leak in my handbag which means I don't carry them with me and they don't get used). And yes, even I own some lipglasses, thanks to either holiday sets or the odd present.

So, I'm going to try to use them more and they may ultimately meet their demise with my Back2MAC bag after going bad but at least I will have made an effort.

I think the above photo shows the majority of them. I may have a couple others floating in makeup bags (if they are lustreglasses it means I need to replace said makeup bag). The above photo has 3 lipglasses, 3 lustreglasses, 1 lustreglass mini and a lipgelee.

Obviously, I hope a few of these empty tubes will make their way into one of my Empties posts. We shall see.

Salma Hayek Nuance Beauty - Initial Thoughts

Since the Salma Hayek Nuance line is "Buy 1 get 1 Free" at CVS this week, I thought I would do a few mini-reviews of the products I've tested or swatched thus far so you can get an idea of what to possibly try and what to skip. I'm hoping to try out more from the line myself so there may be future reviews. So far, I have mixed feelings. I think the price point on some of the items is a little high, some of them are a little weird, some are decent quality and probably worth the price - anyway, onward!

The first thing I tried was the Dark Cacao & Coffee Firming Body Cream which retails for $14.99 but I tested one of the free sample packets available. First of all, I think the price of this is a little ridiculous for a drugstore lotion (whether or not the firming claims are valid). Second, I don't know if Ms. Hayek did any kind of test market for this lotion cause it's gross looking. It's a murky brown-gray color which I posted on twitter but won't subject you all too and it just looks disgusting. It is not something I would want to rub all over my body but I did for the blog (for you, I did it for you!) and I survived. It's fairly moisturizing and light when you apply it. The smell is a bit pungent (DH wrinkled his nose when he entered the room) and sticks around for awhile after application. Really, my biggest issue is how the product looks and I will not be buying it!

I also picked up a sample packet of the Flawless Wear Tinted Moisturizer in the shade Light 245. I kind of had an idea that the light shade (the lightest in the range) wouldn't be light enough for my pale skin and from swatching it, it looks like I'm right. This retails for $13.99 and contains your typical 1floz of product which is a bit more comparable to drugstore prices. I didn't get a chance to wear this on my face as it would have looked ridiculous, but if you've tried it, definitely leave your comments below!

 swatch

rubbed in a bit

One of the items I actually purchased was the Ultra Shine Lip Gloss which comes in your standard slanted squeeze tube and retails for $7.49 for about 1/2 oz. This promises "intense hydration" and has a lot of nourishing ingredients. It has a sweet smell and taste and is slightly sticky upon application but becomes a bit less so when it's been on the lips for a moment. I found this gloss similar to the Lancome Juicy Tubes - a bit sticky, gel-like, sheer formula, sweet taste & smell. This is ok, but I prefer more moisturizing & less sticky lip glosses. The shade I bought was Pomegranate which is a nice bright & juicy coraly-peachy-pink.

As you can see, so far I haven't found something in the line I'm in love with but I'm willing to try a few more things before giving up and this is the best week to do so with the sale! Any recommendations for those of you who have tried other items that you loved?

Have you tried anything from the Salma Hayek Nuance Beauty, Skincare & Bodycare range? I bought the cleansing wipes as well (though I haven't tried them yet) and I think I'm going to try the eyeshadow next or maybe a lipstick, or both?

Review: Rimmel Moisture Renew Creamy Lipgloss

I picked up one of the new-ish Rimmel Moisture Renew Creamy Lipglosses recently. I picked the shade Pink Benefit #105 just to be safe. It is a very pale pink with a bit of shimmer. I believe at CVS it was $6.99 but of course it depends on your location and which store you go to (Walmart is usually cheaper but doesn't have the BOGO type of sales that CVS has). One of the major perks of this gloss is it has an SPF of 15. I wish more companies would put SPF in their lip products.

This has your typical doe-foot wand, however, like the Revlon Coloburst Glosses, is slightly bendy. This one fits on my lips better than the Revlon one and it seems a bit softer.

As I mentioned, Pink Benefit #105 is a very sheer light pink with a bit of shimmer. It's a nice safe color and probably works best over a lipstick. The formula of this is quite thin, not sticky at all, and moisturizing. I like this gloss...

except it stinks.

I'm not the biggest fan of the Moisture Renew Lipstick smell. But for some reason, the gloss scent sticks around a lot longer and it's stronger than in the lipstick and it seems they tried to cover the SPF smell more. I had my husband sniff it just cause I couldn't quite place the smell (he has a super sniffer). He said it smelled like roses or a type of flower and the SPF smell and I can swear there's a little eau de band aid. I almost wish Rimmel just left it as the SPF smell, at least that makes it a normal not great smelling thing that you're used to and can deal with. But the roses or tulips or whatever they are on top of the SPF... I'm not a fan.

So, if you can deal with having this right under your nose, than absolutely go for it. It's a really nice gloss otherwise. But if you don't like the sound of the above (well you should really still try it since I am a tiny bit dramatic and if you buy it at CVS, Rite Aid, etc you should be able to return) safely take a pass.

Holy Pigment Batman (A Review)

I've heard tons of raves over the new Revlon Colorburst glosses. The wand, the formula, the wand. Ok, really I've heard a lot about the cool wand. I stopped by CVS after work for a soda and peeked around the cosmetic area, big mistake, huge mistake (anyone get that reference?). Anyway, I saw the new Colorburst glosses and picked one up to try.

I decided to be daring and picked the fire engine red, well-named "Fire". Fire indeed. You see, waking up at 5am may have twisted my mind and I was tired. I was obviously not thinking.

Great, job genius.

Before I go any further, I'm going to share an important tidbit of information, well maybe more than one. First of all, this color looked like a blue-based red pulling fuchsia in my car driving home today when the sun was out when I sloppily and stupidly applied it on my commute home (now it looks warmer and more like a juicy tomato). Two, don't apply this gloss while driving. It needs a mirror and possibly a lip liner and separate brush. I found the "cool" applicator far too large and much harder to control which made this difficult to apply. It also applied color and then while blending it out, took color away and made the application a bit patchy.

Like an idiot, I did not take pictures after parking my car but I have some yellow-ish lighting ones to share. But I swear, this is a completely different color (a bit more flattering on my complexion anyway) in natural light but I'm not sure I can pull this off. I have enough reds that I rarely wear as it is. I might be returning this.

Wow, look at the lips and not the skin, please!

Fire blotted. Much better but not enough to keep I think.

Well, if you need a glossy red, here's your girl.

Review: MAC Lipglass Florabundance

I was going through my lipgloss collection, trying to weed out anything that has turned, remind myself of ones I previously loved but had forgotten and came across this. Before you say anything, yes, I have mentioned that I'm not a fan of the MAC lipglass but when I tried this I was honestly surprised. I like it. It's not as sticky as other MAC glosses I've tried, which is a little weird and it seems more moisturizing too (and it's a cream, huzzah!). Now, it is a little sticky, but I find it pretty manageable (especially if applied over a balm).

Honestly, I was surprised I had to write a post about it! Do you find this shade less sticky than other MAC lipglasses or did I get a bad good one?

Florabundance is a peachy pink cream and oh so pretty. It seems like it may be a dupe for the Revlon Peach Petal which of course I can't find to compare right now.

Purdy, right?

On an only slightly related note, I must not be the only person that is annoyed by how easily the MAC writing on the tubes wears off? I haven't even carried this around in my bag and the writing is almost gone! Thankfully, you can find the product information on the bottom of the tube but for the price, you'd think the writing would last longer, right?

MAC Lipgloss I Do Like

If you've been reading Jeweled Thumb with any regularity, you would know I dislike sticky lip gloss. I'm just not a fan, so it comes as no surprise that MAC lip glasses are not my favorite formula. I've been whining about trying to use up a Plush Glass and I do have a few of the original formula that I'm trying to get through as well. However, I do enjoy other MAC lip products. And today I'm going to share my favorite formulas in the line (not including their lipsticks).

My favorite formula from MAC?

The lipgelee

Whether you pronounce lip-jel-eh or lip-jelly, this gel formula is perhaps the most moisturizing of the MAC glosses. It's slightly thick, generally less opaque than most other lipglosses but feels wonderful on the lips and used to come in both cream and shimmer formulas but lately all I've seen new is shimmer. The lipgelee is also the most value for money of any of the MAC glosses. I'm showing a sample size that came in a gift set but generally this gloss comes with .5floz of product for $14.50 (lipglass is .17floz for $14.50) and unfortunately, the staple range is now unavailable from MAC but lipgelees seems to pop up in limited edition collections. I sincerely hope MAC does not discontinue this formulation as it's lovely and by far my favorite (and bring back the creams!). My guess is there will be quite a nice selection at your local CCO if you are interested.

And runner up?

The lustreglass

Another gloss that I was slightly worried MAC was getting rid of (as they don't tend to pop up in new collections). Lustreglasses come in the normal MAC tube, however they have a brush in lieu of a doe foot applicator. The lustreglass is non-sticky, slightly sheer and they generally have a subtle shimmer to them. These tend to be only slightly stickier than the lipgelee but still stop from being overly sticky and maintain moisture on the lips. I have 3 of them, Beaux, Instant Gold and Wonderstruck.

Swatches, from left to right: Beaux, Instant Gold, Wonderstruck and Glosspitality (lipgelee).

What's your favorite MAC lip gloss formula?

Proof I Can Finish Makeup

It's not completely empty but it's starting to get hard to remove product from the tube and it's not even a gloss I like all that much but I've been forcing myself to use it! It's a pretty color but I hate how sticky most of the MAC lip glosses are! This is a plush glass so it's not the stickiest, but it still seems to collect around the outer lip line unless you use the tiniest bit in the center over a balm. This one is Posh It Up and I can not wait till it is gone!!!!!

Review: Senna Cosmetics Lip Lacquer in Ambrosia

I recently won a Beauty Ticket twitter giveaway for one of the Senna Cosmetics Lip Lacquers. After looking at swatches over the internet, I chose the shade Ambrosia. A sheer pinky shade with gold shimmer.

I'll be totally upfront and honest and say although the shade is pretty, I am not a fan!

The formula is sticky, so sticky, that the wand needs to be constantly swirled in the tube to pick up product and I felt the skin on my hand tighten when I swatched the product (and then when taking off the product, there are a bunch of sparkles that stay stuck to your skin).

It's a very pretty color but very very sheer. I'm going to show 2 different lip swatches. One was taken in my bedroom and one in my bathroom.

 bathroom

bedroom

So yeah, if you are a fan of MAC lipglasses (I am not) you may like these. Scent seems slightly vanilla-ish to me. 

Senna Lip Lacquer (they weren't joking about the lacquer part!) retails for $19 and can be purchased at various e-tailers the world over (I think).

What's weird is the Senna site describes the gloss as non-sticky?

Lip Lacquer
The yummiest, longest-lasting gloss ever

Super delicious vanilla flavor, amazing lasting power, and full-textured but never sticky formula in the richest colors this side of the rainbow makes this the lip lacquer of choice for any serious lip gloss lover. The icing on the cake is that it conditions lips with Vitamin E and Jojoba. Worn by ‘A’ list celebrities, you may get hooked!
$19.00

 Weird, maybe I got a bad one? Have you guys tried this? What were your thoughts?

Review: Rock & Republic Luxe Lipgloss in Drama Queen

There's been so much buzz with Rock & Republic blushes and also eyeshadows, but I rarely hear anything about the lip glosses. There's been a lot of rumors going around that the makeup portion of the line is closing and the stock on the website has been discounted 50% for weeks now, but they seem to keep restocking for some items so I'm not sure what's going on there. It also ends up on sites like Hautelook often, but again, doesn't seem to be closing as soon as we all thought?

Anyway, you can take 50% off all cosmetics and Rock and Republic with code ROCKCOSMETICS. Shipping is 99 cents today anyway. It says for a limited time but it's been like that since at least August, so who knows!

During one of my hauls, I picked up one of the lipglosses from the line, in the color Drama Queen, which has disappeared off the Rock & Republic website. The glosses retail for $26 dollars but are $13 with the sale so in line with MAC prices. They come in a weird kind of test tube shaped... tube with a snazzy R&R logo on the top of the cap and contain 3.5ml or .11floz.

 

Drama Queen is a peachy pink with subtle gold shimmer, kind of like an Orgasm. I really like this gloss, a lot. It is pretty opaque, creamy, moisturizing, fairly long lasting (when it does wear off it leaves a uniform color behind) not sticky and smells faintly of vanilla. It's like MAC lip glass except it doesn't feel like glue! Huzzah!


I've taken a few swatches and even done lip swatches although they aren't the best and my lips aren't in amazing shape right now.

I was surprised at how opaque this gloss is. For me at least, it always seems the more opaque a gloss is, the more drying it is, not this baby! Love! Not sure I'll buy another since I am absolutely swimming in lip gloss right now, but if I ever used one up - oh who am I kidding? Anyway, it's a nice gloss if you can manage to get some of these before the line goes away for good!

My only complaint is that since the gloss is a bit on the thicker side, the doe foot wand doesn't always pick up enough product for a full application and I have to re-dip, and it pops up from the tube with a bit of pressure when you first open it. Otherwise, I'm definitely a fan.


Have you tried the Rock & Republic line and/or the lipglosses? What did you think?

Disclosure: This post includes a referral link to Hautelook

Me Being Verbose: Topic Lipgloss

Ever since I've been on a medication regimen that has left my dry lips even drier (if that was even possible, oh, it is), I've been slathering my lips with a few lip products that I'm anxious to use up. Not only because they are nearly finished but because I don't even remember when they were bought except as a glimmer of a thought relating to college. This means they are, or should be, way past their prime.

No matter, that certainly hasn't stopped me before in using products that many magazine editors would have suggested I bin ages ago.

And because of my sudden urge to use and use up products, I've uncovered some favorites and realized what I'm not really a fan of.

Also, just for the record, I wanted to disclose that I bought 2 Revlon Super Lustrous lipglosses yesterday at CVS. It's a sickness.

First realization, I dislike minty lip products.

I shudder to think how many lipglosses that I have with a mint scent because after slathering my lips in the CO Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint (in #1137 which is a nice neutral pink - possible discontinued or renamed) I found I really could do without the mint scent. My biggiest qualm with it is that it makes fruity flavored water beverages taste absolutely disgusting and then I don't drink enough and get dehydrated. I can even do without the fresh breath, I'm married after all, my husband has smelled my morning breath and we're still together (unusual!). Texture is ok, goes non-glossy a bit faster than other glosses but then looks like I have on a mauvey lipstick instead, so not horrible. I seriously get this urge to grumble everytime I reapply because the tube doesn't seem to want to end, but I swear, it will end up in an Empties post soon. And one last irk, the packaging is like a little magnet for dirt. I have no idea why but there's a reason this post includes a stock image and not a photo of my tube.

Second realization, MAC lipgelees are amazing and rather undervalued in the MAC line (in my humble opinion of course). I have 2 of these little gems that I swapped for ages ago that are close to being done and they are just so pleasant. Thick but not too thick, moisturizing, not sticky, light pigment which is great for my pigmented lips (I prefer the ones without any shimmer or glitter). Unoffensive vanilla scent, fairly inexpensive for the size. I find them similar to the Cremeglass formula except a heck of a lot less expensive! But I have no issue with being one of few to love and post about how wonderful they are; more for me (but come on MAC, did you have to go and discontinue most of the colors of these? Ugh)!

And the obvious third assessment in this little unplanned project is I have too many lip products, but this was something both you and I already knew.