Natural Lip Color Lipstick (Part Two)

My last post covered three lipstick colors that are close to my natural lip color. I have more lip colors to share, so let's jump right in!

(Note: I stuck mostly with lipsticks instead of liquid lip color or gloss.) I wanted to share how these colors look in a sunlit room as well as in direct sunlight, to show the finish.

(First photo is my nude lips, completely bare.)

1- Smashbox The Nude Lip Pencil. ($20)
Not great. This is a somewhat dry lip-lining pencil that is a bit darker than my actual lip color. I honestly don't use it often as I find it to be dry and the pigments aren't the most noticeable, so it doesn't improve my aesthetics.

2-Maybelline BabyLips 220 Cocoa Crush. ($4)
Amazing. I'm a big fan of Baby Lips. Although this is a tinted lip balm, Cocoa Crush is a very opaque, soft nude color. It has a soft cocoa smell to it. There are Baby Lips colors that are much more shiny than Cocoa Crush, but it is moisturizing.

3- Jane Iredale Sugar & Butter. ($25)
Amazing. One side of the tube is a sugar scrub in stick form, which exfoliates the lips, and takes away any icky dry skin. The other side is a plumping sheer-to-moderate-coverage lip plumper, which is a rosy-peach color with a subtle golden iridescence that is really flattering. I tend to shy away from lip plumpers, but this one is gentle with a kind of cinnamon-minty scent.

4- LOC (Love of Color) Tati First Kiss. ($8)
Pretty good. This is a super-opaque smooth lipstick. This formula isn't the most moisturizing, but as long as your lips aren't desert-dry, you should be okay. This isn't a long-lasting lipstick, but the colors of this line of LOC lipsticks are beautiful, and First Kiss really defines and makes my lips look perfect. The color is a bit light, so I tend to use it on medium-to-high coverage foundation days rather than trying to pair it with my sensitive, easily-reddened skin tone.

5- L'Oreal Freida's Nude. ($9)
Okay. The actual color of the tubed lipstick is a kind of dark lilac mauve, and I thought it would show up matte on my lips. I was disappointed to find that this lipstick has a shiny, almost metallic finish, causing a multi-color dimensional color payoff on my lips. That isn't nude. This lipstick was just a drugstore let-down for me.

6- Lancome Rouge in Love 307B Sweet Embrace. ($29)
Amazing! This has to be one of my favorite lipsticks ever. It's defining, lightweight, opaque without being cakey, with a subtle shine finish. I highly recommend Lancome lipstick. This particular color is perhaps a hair too cool-pink to be truly a daily nude color for me, but it's seriously one of my favorite "nude" lipcolors.

7- Kat Von D Painted Love Celebutard. ($20)
Good. The color is a bit pale for a nude look for me, but it is a decent formula, and I haven't personally had any real complaints about Kat Von D products. (I also haven't exactly been blown-away by them, but I do appreciate the wide variety in unconventional colors, including purples, greens and blues.)

8- Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy 410 Mischievous Rose. ($30)
Good. The packaging (tube) of this lipstick is high-quality, with a magnet to ensure it stays closed. The formula isn't quite as defining as Lancome, but it is a nude color with a little more of a peachy-tan tone that allows me to get away with wearing it on no-foundation, bare skin (except SPF!) days.

9-  MAC Mineralize Rich Posh Tone. ($23)
Great. This is one of my top nude lipsticks. It's a pretty long-lasting mineral lipstick in a warm nude color. It passes as a nude on my lips, but honestly the color isn't 100% opaque, so it isn't very defining. It is a nice lipstick that doesn't feel too dry, but doesn't impart a shiny finish. It had a subtle non-offensive sugary scent and it's a comfortable lipstick.

10- Urban Decay Revolution Liar. ($22)
Amazing. Easily one of the top lipsticks I've owned, up there with Lancome. While it's darker than a true nude, it defines my lips beautifully, has amazing color payoff, and-- well, if you haven't tried Urban Decay, you simply must. 

11- Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupté #26 ($37)
Great! (Don't hate me, but I think this exact color is discontinued, and I am certain it is #26. But there are plenty of other colors!) Anyway, this is the most pigmented lipstick I've ever tried, ever. The texture is so luxuriously creamy, unlike any other lipstick I've tried. It's super buttery/silky, and this particular color is a darling pale peach that happens to be very flattering on my fair skin. Everything about this lipstick feels luxurious, right down to the design (and weight) of the tube. The only downside of the Yves St Laurent lip products that I've found is that they don't last on the lip. They're simply not long-wearing. It's also the most expensive lipstick in my arsenal (to date), and while it's worth trying out, this is simply not the best lipstick out there.

(From my hand swatches at the top of the post, #12, 13, and 14 are the colors from my last post: Bite Cava, Bite Sugarcane, and Bobbi Brown Pale Pink, respectively.)

I still haven't found that perfect nude lipstick, but I'll keep looking. I'm happy to share my first-hand experiences with lipstick, and I hope it helps inspire you!

Natural Lip Color Lipstick (Part One)

There are make-up trends, and then there are personal obsessions. My current focus has been the search for the most natural-looking defining lipstick. Sure, I could toss on some ChapStick® (or another lip balm that I may have talked about in a previous post) and call it a day, but sometimes I want to take my natural beauty (the way I see it) and amp it up. Cue my quest for the perfect nude lipstick!

Natural lips have different colors, especially in different states of hydration and in different lighting. Even one's inner lip is often a different color than what's visible with a closed mouth. It only makes sense that a lip's color is complex since it's made up of multiple layers of skin (and I'm sure with the current "contouring" fad, we'll see many more "lip contouring" tips spreading like wildfire). I personally like to try to get away with a one-step lipstick, especially on days at work. With this in mind, I look to the barely-inside part of my lower lip to compare my lip color, to find one that is closest to my natural pale-pink-brown-mauve color. Here's what I discovered:

A lot of "nude" lipsticks like to lean towards a bright pink/orange hue, which is flattering but not true to my natural lips. With a pale cool skin tone and hair that's frequently dyed shades of red/auburn, I was specifically looking for a lip color with more of a pale mauve tint to contrast. The three closest lipstick colors that I've discovered are Cava by Bite, Pale Pink (21) by Bobbi Brown, and Sugarcane by Bite.

Pale Pink is a creamy color very close to my natural lip color, with a, well, pale pink tone. This is the first Bobbi Brown lipstick I've bought and, while I do like the color and consistency, there's a certain unpleasant waxy scent that is enough to keep me from reaching for the tube often.

I'm a big fan of Bite lipsticks. Sugarcane is a sweet color that makes my lips look very natural with a little pop of pale rosy-apricot. (It's actually very close to the Bobbi Brown lipstick.) Cava tones my lips down a little with a pale, cool lilac color that isn't unnatural, but doesn't flatter my natural easily-reddened skin tone. (It works well with medium-to-full-cover foundation and dramatic eye make-up!) Bite lipsticks have little to no scent, and they're opaque and defining without being overly heavy. The only downside is that they aren't the most moisturizing lip products, so I tend to need a lip balm prior to application if my lips are extra-dry.

I still have yet to find that perfect swipe-and-you're-done nude lipstick, but my next post will share a few other natural lip colors that I've tried.