Most Affordable Liquid Lipsticks in India- Miss Claire Soft Matte Lip Creams Shades 15A,17A, 08 Review & Swatches

For the whole of 2015 I wanted to get my paws on the Miss Claire Soft Matte Lip Creams as they are dupes for the NYX SMLCs, but I didn’t know where to get them. I was wary of ordering them online (through Instagram) because they were overpriced there! Finally I got them, basically, they are available in every beauty shop in Mumbai & I was totally unaware of that.

Review n Swatches - Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Gradation Mauve1

If there’s one brand that keeps coming out with new collections that are super affordable, its Maybelline. Right after they launched the Fit Me! collection in India, we were rewarded with Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Gradations (also known as Color Blur in US).

MAC Amplified Creme Lipstick in Brick-O-La

Confusion, thy name is Brick-O-La…Have you ever met a shade that you couldn’t put into any single color category? Described by MAC as a mid-tone berry, in my eyes, the color couldn’t be farther away from berry.

Review & Swatches ~ Lakmé Absolute Sculpt Hi-Definition Matte Lipstick in Mauve Fix

Lakmé Absolute Sculpt Studio Hi-Definition Matte Lipsticks launched last year and because they were priced quite reasonable I immediately picked up a shade to try out. The collection doesn’t have a good variety of shades if you’re medium-dusky skin toned and are into nudes and rosy pinks. The only shade that I was drawn to was Mauve Fix.

BRIGHT PINK LIPS ft. Revlon Vivacious Colorburst Lacquer Balm

I have reviewed the shade Tease from the Revlon Lacquer balm range earlier and today I’m going to talk about another shade I have from the range. I love the shade Tease very much... Vivacious on the other hand wasn’t a love-at-first sight color...

Pretty Color - Maybelline Color Sensational Rebel Bouquet Lipstick in REB07

When the Maybelline Color Sensational Rebel Bouquet Lipsticks range came out, I wasn’t interested in it at all. Firstly, I do not like the Maybelline Color Sensational lipsticks; they have a very creamy formula that’s a fuss to wear. 

Purple Lipstick from the drugstore : Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in Shameless

I was looking through my YouTube feed and all YouTube-gurus had come up with Valentine's day looks revolving around pink – pink eye shadow, pink blush, pink lipstick. I was like, what ? No ! How boring, uninspiring & un-original. Are you really gonna be wearing pink eye shadow and pink lipstick ?!? And why is there this pressure for Valentine ’s Day to be about wearing pink? Last I checked, the universal color for love is RED. Anyways, this trend compelled me to bring something unique to your feed– A purple lipstick.

Burt's Bees Beeswax Honey Lip Balm with Vitamin E // 100% Natural Lip Balm

When I first used this Burt's Bees Honey lip balm, it felt pretty dry in texture. The more I used it, its texture changed and it felt buttery. Its one of those things where you have to get rid of the initial layer so that the product works better. It’s a dry-buttery texture, like the EOS lip balm.

Ingredients :

Cera Alba (Beeswax), Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Lanolin, Aroma (Natural Flavor), Mel (Honey), Tocopherol, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Canola Oil (Huile De Colza), Benzyl Benzoate, Coumarin

This article gives a really good break down of the ingredients.

Review : The New L'Oreal Paris Infallible Lipsticks in Tender Berry (519) and Rambling Rose (212)

Product Claims (from website):

Infallible Lip Colour is a luxurious, comfortable and long lasting lip colour. The new range has with a broad spectrum of 15 gorgeous shades, from subdued neutrals to lively, vibrant shades. It offers 24 hours of vivid, high definition colour. Colour bond technology and combination of silicon micro spheres, captures colour on the lips for upto 10 hours for the ultimate beauty experience. Vitamin E keeps your lips moist, relaxed and hydrated. The creamy, conditioning base: Allows even application without flaking or fading.

I can't believe it has taken me this long to review this range of lipsticks I've been loving since months. When the L'Oreal Paris Infallible Lipsticks launched earlier this year, I rolled my eyes at their ridiculous price...and then I grabbed one during the sale... And one more during another sale. So much for being money minded. 

L'Oreal Paris Moist Matte Lipstick in LINCOLN ROSE (R516)

Today I will be talking about one pesky lipstick. It comes in a gorgeous, metallic taupish-bronze tube that’s super shiny & reflective. The packaging alone can be enough to convince you to buy it in bulk. BUT there’s a deal breaker (sort of), read ahead to know what it is !

LINCOLN ROSE ~ It is a gorgeous red with pink undertones, it looks pink-red sometimes and when I’m out in the sun it looks orangey-red. Very confusing color I tell you! Obviously this shade is famous because of Aishwariya wearing it at Cannes last year(talk about a perennial fashion icon!) When I saw her lipstick, I’d never felt more attracted to a red color, I don’t gravitate towards reds for lips because I feel they can make me look more mature then I’d like, but due to Lincoln Rose’s pink undertones, I could tell it’s a fun red that anyone can carry off with ease. And it didn’t disappoint :)   

Pouting with the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Mad About Mauve : Musings & Swatches

Company Claims ~

For seven decades, women everywhere have indulged in the bold, luxurious shades of our most iconic lipstick. Super Lustrous™ creates unforgettably seductive lip color in four finishes — crème, matte, pearl, and shine.

My experience with Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick Mad About Mauve

Colorbar Matte Touch Lipsticks in Pink Romance, Feelings // The First Lipstick I Ever Purchased (Now Discontinued ??)

Sometimes we do hoard makeup and forget about the ones that are already part of our collection. One such item from my makeup vanity is the Colorbar Matte Touch lipsticks, mainly the shade Pink Romance, which is the first lipstick I ever purchased as an adult. I bought this two years ago (in May). Until then I relied on tinted lipbalms & lip glosses. Obviously, I never got around to reviewing it till today. Do you want to know the story of how I came about to purchasing it?

It was a day before my internship would begin in some large IT company. I was roaming in a mall with my sister & I was telling her how I wanted to buy a lipstick to wear to work. I was also quite nervous about the commencement of my internship so this was a way to lighten up my spirits. We both walked into the standalone Colorbar store & I told the SA that I wanted the shade ‘Bare’ from the Velvet Matte range. The SA told us that range had been discontinued & was reformulated to this range – Matte Touch. However, all the names were completely different. The SA had a sheet with her which mapped the shade names from the Velvet Matte(VM) range to the Matte Touch(MT) range & that’s how I ended up trying Pink Romance.

When I tried it at the store the SA said that it looked like a perfect MLBB on me & my sister liked it too so we decided to purchase it. I was nervous about how it would look in natural light coz the lights in the Colorbar store are all white so most shades end up suiting your skintone as it appears 3-4 shades lighter. My sister also made a purchase, she bought the lovely Rose Quartz lipstick from the Soft Touch range. My sis wanted a coral shade too and I asked the SA to map the shade ‘Peach Crush’ from the VM range to the MT range and the shade we got was none other than – Feelings. My sister tried it on & loved it, but I really didn’t like it on her so I dissuaded her from buying it; I could see that the shade wouldn’t suit her in different lighting. However, my sis went back a week later and bought the shade Feelings anyways…and she ended up disliking it so she gave it to me. Btw, I got to know the shades ‘bare’ & ‘peach crush’ from all the lovely indian beauty bloggers, so I was able to purchase & recommend them ease :)

Pink Romance has some sentimental value because it’s the first shade I purchased and it was perfect for my skintone, I was so happy it didn’t wash me out. A lot of things can go wrong when you’re buying lipsticks so make sure you check online for recommendations suiting your skin type & then only try some shades at the store. If you want to save on money, try the colors at the store & buy the ones that suit you online. This is something I’ve resorted to doing because the prices of drugstore lipsticks in India are going through the roof nowdays.

PACKAGING ~ When I sat down to write this post (initially planned as a review & not this chat/rant) I realized that the packaging of the Matte Touch range has been changed, my lipsticks have a body that’s half pink & half steel colored, whereas the new range is completely steel colored like the Soft Touch range. The older packaging is so much cuter in my opinion. I guess the lipsticks might have been reformulated too.  These two shades are still listed on the site, here and here, but I don’t know if they’ll be the same colors. I’m gonna have to visit Colorbar & compare my shades with the new Matte Touch range. The tubes have a mirror finish & can easily get dirty due to fingerprints. As you can see from the pics, the tube of Pink Romance is dirtier because I'm always popping it in my carry bag. 

PINK ROMANCE ~ The perfect MLBB shade for my skintone (NC42 in MAC). This shade is a muted pink-brown. The brown undertones don’t always show up on me. The color varies, it looks like  light pink / pink brown/ peach on me in different lights. From the lip swatches you can see how it looks on me in natural light.  It looks like a nude color, but its not a nude on me, might be so on deeper skintones.

FEELINGS ~ It’s a gorgeous reddish coral shade. In some of the swatches of it, I could see hints of pink too, but they don’t show up on me. This is one of the colors that will perk up your face. It will wash out beauties who have deeper skintones though. It suits my NC42 skintone, doesn’t wash me out.

TEXTURE ~ These Matte Touch lipsticks aren’t really ‘matte’ when applied. They look satiny, and I need to use my fingers to blot them to a matte finish. These tend to settle in lip lines :/ Pink Romance needs 1-2 swipes to become fully opaque on my pigmented lips, Feelings gives opaque finish in a single swipe. They are actually pretty comfortable on my lips, unless I’m in office AC environment, they don’t feel dry for at least 3 hours.  AC in office is more concentrated than AC in malls. Over the course of wear, they do dry out my lips. They don’t look patchy, which is a huge plus.

FRAGRANCE ~ They have a strong fragrance that lingers for sometime after applying the lipstick

WEARTIME ~ Pink Romance lasts for 3-4 hours till I need touch up & Feelings is good for 5 hrs. Pink Romance doesn’t survive meals well whereas Feelings being a brighter color manages to survive meals, the color fades just from the centre of my bottom lip. They are not transfer proof.

Pink Romance (click to zoom) 

Pink Romance swatch

Pink Romance lip swatches

Pink Romance lip swatches

Feelings (click to zoom)

Feelings swatch

Feelings lip swatches

Feelings lip swatches

PRODUCT VS PRICE ~ 

Price : Rs. 475 / $7

Qty : 4.2g /0.14 oz

Shelf Life : 3 yrs.

So the quantity you get is more than other lipsticks currently in the market. When I purchased these, they costed Rs. 500, I’m surprised that the price has reduced (instead of going up) in 2 years.

Overall Verdict: 3.9 / 5

The Colorbar Matte Touch Lipsticks are good quality lipsticks are quite budget friendly considering the prices of drugstore lipsticks currently. They need to be blotted to a matte finish, but they are not patchy & they wear well over time. The packaging is quite chic too! Pink Romance has a special place in my heart, the shade is easily dupeable though.

Let me know your first lipstick purchase & experience in the comments!

Maybelline Baby Lips Spiced Up Tropical Punch Review n Swatches

The Maybelline Baby Lips Indian versions with their not-so-cute packaging have not managed to impress me much so far in terms of a “lip balm”. The shades available are pretty great but when compared to other lipbalms like Eos & Carmex they fall short. The new India exclusive Baby Lips Spiced Up range however, is pretty mind blowing. The pigment packs a punch, the formula is waxy so it actually sticks to your lips and keeps them moisturized, and to top it off, it has an SPF 20 & claims to give 12hrs of moisture to your lips.

My experience with Maybelline Baby Lips Spiced Up Tropical Punch:

Does it actually give 12 hours moisture ? Well, no. I think it keeps my lips moisturized for a good 6 hours which is pretty great imo. The other versions of Baby Lips barely moisturized my lips. This range is formulated with coconut oil & Vit E which maybe the reason behind the difference.

The formula is waxy & very similar to the Carmex Moisture Plus & Ultra Hydrating Balm range (minus the tingly feeling of the latter) which is why it sticks to the lips for a longer time. Even after it gets wiped off my lips feel moisturized.

I have the shade Tropical Punch which is a deep reddish pink color. I absolutely love the deepness of color – it covers my lip pigmentation completely – its actually deep enough to be a lipstick but it has a distinct balmy texture which lipsticks lack. It is 10000 times better than those ridiculously overpriced L’Oreal Rouge Caresse Lipsticks (a waste of money imo) and less than half the price ! It survives snacks. The color leaves a pink stain on my lips.

This range gives a close competition to the Carmex Moisture Plus tinted lipbalm range i.e the performance is very similar. The only difference is that the Carmex one is more hydrating and the Maybelline one has higher SPF. For Rs.175 and no hassle of international delivery & customs, the Maybelline Spiced Up range wins, hands down.

As with every Baby Lips balm, I have the same complaint. The packaging is quite weak and the push up mechanism doesn’t work properly after I’ve dropped the lip balm. I tend to drop all my lip balms at least once :/ On the plus side, the packaging color matches the shade, so if you own multiple Baby Lips Lip Balms you won't have trouble finding this one in your collection. Also, the colors seem camera shy, they just don’t look as pigmented in the lip swatches, trust me they are very pigmented off camera.

Price : Rs. 175 / ~$2.7

Qty: 4g / 0.14oz

Availability: Amazon | Flipkart | Nykaa | Purplle

Overall Verdict : 5/5

At first the new Baby Lips Spiced Up range seemed pricey but the pigmentation, formula and longevity made up for it. This is definitely a must try especially for college girls & office-going gals. There really is nothing bad about the new Baby Lips Spiced Up range, if I had to nitpick, I’d say the packaging is flimsy but a lot of lip balms have the same problem. Do try out at least one shade from this range!

Bourjois Levres Contour Lip Liners Enjoleuse (11) and Rouge Soyeux (20) Review, Swatches, Price in India

If you have a ton of lipsticks like me, you’ll realize that there are some colors you love but unfortunately they don’t last long on your lips ! Like… the nudes & MLBBs. I love the Street Wear Ruby Riddle lipstick, it’s a lovely warm peach shade on me but it wears off soon! Lip pencils are a must have for lipstick lovers me who want to make their favorite shades last longer! I usually invest in a lipstick only after making sure its long lasting, but you can’t always be sure when you’re purchasing a newly launched item no ?

Let’s factor in lip glosses as well! I own few (just 5) out of which Maybelline’s Mirrored Mauve (LOVE the shade) has the least staying power and it’s a lovely one to wear daily. So how do we solve this recurring problem of low-weartime with our favorite lip colors ? 
[a] STOP buying them (gasp !!) [b] invest in a good lip liner or a lip primer.

Like any other makeup lover, I choose option (b) and purchased the Bourjois lip liners. I have the shades Enjoleuse (11) and Rouge Soyeux (20) cause lip primers aren’t mainstream in India, ‘ya know. Read on to know more about them ^_^

Company Claims:

High definition and long-wearing lip liner for ultra lip comfort.
Its ultra-soft khol tip draws a smooth and precise lip contour to line the lips and prevents your lipstick from running for hours on end!
Enriched with mineral and plant pigments (rose and green tea) it is good for your skin. The formula is easy to blend, comfortable and smoothly glides onto the lips, leaving a soft velvety finish.
Bourjois Levres Contour lip liners are available in 12 Shades: 
Enjoleuse (11), Facetieuse (12), Coquette (13), Rouge Seduction (14), Rose Precieux (15), Extravagante (16), Prun Caresse (17), Framboise Exquise (18), Sienne Kiss (19), Rouge Soyeux (20), Brun Auburn (21), Peche Voluptueuse (22). 

My experience with Bourjois Levres Contour Lip Liners: 

Enjoleuse (11) is french for ‘coaxing’. The shade is a gorgeous light pink color having neutral undertones. I love light pink colors, especially those that suit me. Enjoleuse suits my very warm & yellow skintone. Its almost a nude pink, it will be an everyday pink on fairer skintones. Somehow, it is an everyday pink on my medium skintone (I’m NC42 in MAC Pro Long Wear), however I’ve seen it look like nude on people having same skintone as me! I guess the color will depend varying on your undertone. I’ve seen Enjoleuse being described as a pink-brown but honestly, I can’t see any brown to it! Just look at the swatches and tell me if I’m missing the brown tinge! I like to use this shade under nude & everyday suitable lipsticks (like MLBBs, soft pinks).

 Enjoleuse is very pigmented & covers lip pigmentation, however, it is also very matte. My lips need to be exfoliated or at least moisturized and unchapped prior to its use. If worn alone, it feels very dry & emphasizes dryness on lips unless you moisturize them beforehand. Despite of its matte texture, it applies smoothly. 

Now, for the true test….. Enjoleuse does make my lipsticks last longer, it also prevents them from feathering, however it does not control transfer :/ I’m not sure if lip liners are supposed to do that but if I wear a very creamy lipstick (like the Revlon Colorburst lipsticks) it lasts for a longer time over Enjoleuse but it does transfer everywhere. The lipsticks I wear over Enjoleuse wear off from the center of my bottom lip with water & snacks however the lip liner stays in place. You do need to touch up after meals, especially if you eat oily food. I wore this lip liner alone for my graduation day for about 5-6 hours and I was impressed by its performance, it did not feel uncomfortable because I had moisturised my lips with the Carmex lip balm beforehand. It wore off from a bit from my bottom lip when I had sweets (coz they are oily!).

Rouge Soyeux (20) is french for ‘silky red’, what a great name!

I bought this shade, only because it’s a dupe of MAC Ruby Woo (thanks to Cynthia of Indian Vanity Case for the info!). Ruby Woo lipstick is supposed to be a must-have but I can’t bring myself to splurge on a shade I will rarely wear, so enter Rouge Soyeux (20), a bright pinky-red with a subtle blue undertone. Unlike Enjoleuse, Rouge Soyeux does not apply smoothly, infact it feels dry like a crayon and its tip needs to be sharpened to a fine point so that you can apply the color with ease. It is drying to wear but so is Ruby Woo I hear! 

I haven’t tested this one out much because I rarely wear reds, but if you want a Ruby Woo dupe for cheap, make sure you buy lip liner Rouge Soyeux (20) and NOT Rouge Seduction (14)  {which doesn’t seem like a blue toned red}. Check out Cynthia’s post here. I also think its important to have a lip liner for such bright colors because it makes applying lipstick much easier!

Swatches:

Price Vs Product:
Price: Rs.295 / $4.64 each

Qty: 1.12g /  0.03 oz.

Availability : Koovs | Nykaa | Amazon | Flipkart (on sale here)

Cons: They need to be sharpened! This leads to A LOT of wastage, you’ll need to buy the lip liner every month if you use it regularly. Given the dry texture of the lip liners, I feel that a wooden pencil form is the best because if it was a twist-up style, the lip liner would keep breaking off whenever you tried to apply it. Bourjois products are not sealed & SAs in India just open up the fresh products :/

Overall Verdict: 5/5

Yes they are drying, but that’s what makes them long lasting! For the price, I can’t complain much, I plan to buy at least one more shade and backups of the shades in my collection coz I love the colors! They are available in lots of colors and you’ll surely find something to love in the collection!