Yes OK I know Spring is here, but I am attempting to hold on to wearing a Purple lip as long as I can. Normally Autumn makes way for vampy/purple lipsticks and they tend to stick around right through the Winter; but I am one for breaking the norm and I shall have you know purple lip colours are more than welcome to make an appearance in Spring (well in my case they are)! That's not to say all purple lips are dark and vampy; you can also find beautiful shades of purple that can be worn any time of year. So before the pinky nudes and bright corals start signalling that Summer is on its way I want to share my Top 5 purple lipsticks while I can still get away with wearing them!
So normally I would stick my lip swatches of the products up; but this time I thought about showing you all how my Top 5 look on different skin tones and lips.
I am a huge fan of the colour purple it has to be one of my favourite colours to wear in terms of clothes (said whilst dressed in purple) and I love a smokey purple eye look; but when it came to purple lips I just wasn't daring enough. That is until I accidentally ordered a purple lip product online and now I just can't get enough of them. Get ready to witness an abundance of bold, vibrant purple lip colours.
No.1 Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm - Shameless (215) - Boots £7.99 (3for2)
This being my accidental purchase; initially I didn't think this colour would work well on my lips but then I swatched it and I have been a purple lip convert since. Revlon's Colorburst Matte Balm is exactly that; a balm that goes on matte and drys matte but doesn't leave your lips feeling dry nor does it flake after a few hours of wear. The velvety texture applies beautifully by gliding on to the lips and because it is a pencil it allows for precise application.
Coconut oil and Shea butter contribute to the formula of this lip pencil which helps to hydrate the lips throughout the day. It is intense and bold upon first application and because of the velvety formula it is build-able. Although a balm; this takes nothing away from the brilliant pigmentation and long-wear attributes of this product, I can get at least 3-4 hours of wear before it starts to fade leaving a flattering (not patchy) stain which can be easily topped up (no flaking or caking in sight).
No.2 MAC - Heroine (Matte) - £15.50 from MAC Cosmetics
There's no purple like a MAC purple (not true but I liked the sound of that)!
Heroine is a cult Autumn lip colour (meh I wear it all year round) and is a firm favourite in the beauty world when it comes to talking purple lips as it suits a variety of skin tones. It is a highly pigmented bright violet and such a fantastic shade of purple that my collection of purples would be incomplete without.
If you are a bold lip lover and haven't quite found the right bold and vibrant purple this has to be one for you to try. Indeed it is matte; but it is a creamy matte which doesn't drag on your lips like the Retro matte lipsticks by MAC and is very comfortable to wear. You can wear this with or without a lip liner as it doesn't bleed and applies effortlessly on to the lips and the colour lasts up to 4-5 hours. Of course it tends to fade to a nice tint after eating or drinking but that's nothing a quick touch up won't fix.
No.3 Too Faced Melted Lipstick - Fig - £19.00 from Debenhams (Currently available with 10% off)
Although some may argue that this isn't purple at all I will say Melted Fig may not be as vibrant and bold as the other purples in my collection; rather it is more a muted raspberry pink with purple undertones therefore it makes the cut (and I adore it). It is described more as a lavender purple than violet purple; a great day time shade and is true to the colour on the packaging (totally purple).
The colour pay off on this is beautiful; its highly pigmented with creamy texture that makes it really comfortable to wear and lasts up to 4 to 5 hours on my lips without drying them out. Due to its intense pigmentation it does leave a slight stain on my lips once it wore off. Being a huge fan of liquid lipstick in general this range caught my eye; the applicator is an angled sponge; I have to be honest I was a bit sceptical about this at first however to my surprise (and joy) the lipstick glided on to my lips with great precision and didn't drag at all. Once it has been applied it dries to a gloss like shine and is not sticky at all.
No.4 MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer - Kooky - £3.00 from MUA Store Online
Whats better than a liquid lipstick? A drug store liquid lipstick obviously! When you combine my favourite lipstick formulation and make it £3.00 I am absolutely intrigued and this particular lipstick just ticked all the boxes when it came to choosing my Top Five Purples. MUA Velvet Lip Lacquer is affordable and is highly pigmented which comes out true to colour on the lips and stays put for at least 3-4 hours.
Like most liquid lipsticks it applies opaque and dries to a matte finish; when I say matte I mean completely matte so make sure to prep your lips before hand (The Perfect Pout). This formulation is creamy but quite thick in consistency (compared to others brands) but that does not deter me from loving this lipstick; in actual fact I have found that due to this I have to use a lot less product on my lips and still get the desired coverage. If applied the right way this lipstick will not cake on the lips or dry them out; I tend to apply two to three thin layers using the doe foot applicator to intensify and this works great and helps it last that much longer throughout the day. I will admit that when this does start to wear off (which it will) after eating or drinking it starts to fade from the inside and leaves an outline of the product; should this put you off? No because thats nothing a little top up won't fix!
No.5 MAC - Up The Amp (Amplified Cream) - £15.50 from MAC Cosmetics
Another MAC that is rather popular especially in the Autumn season; but looks ever so pretty in Spring. Contrary to the other purples in my top five this one is far from being matte; in fact this finish is more like a high shine gloss (without the sticky-ness), an intense colour however isn't very long wearing but we can get over that solely because it is such a beautiful shade.
Up the Amp is a stunning and unique shade of lavender violet which is both sophisticated and sexy, one that can be worn both during the day and will work to compliment a soft smokey eye for an evening look. As an amplified cream formula it is quite pigmented and has a lovely sheen to it but is creamy to wear and is opaque when applied so its not necessary to layer this on your lips unless you want to intensify the colour (by all means do). You can always pair this with a lip liner (I use Mac Heroine) and this can help it last up to four hours without having to re-apply.
Purples for me were a no go, as I am sure many with my complexion would think so too. The ladies that I tried these lipsticks on weren't sure either at first but each and every one of them that tried a colour loved the one that they were wearing.
So my advice, try it! Sure purple lipstick looks a little daunting but when it goes on the lips its a combination of daring, sumptuous and sexy.
*Please note all of the above swatches have only been applied once to show their colour and pigmentation, I advise layering the products in order to get the desired coverage and to intensify.*
A huge huge thank you to the lovely ladies Kalpna, Pritty, Krishna, Daksha and Rupa for volunteering their lips for my Top 5 Purple lipstick swatches! x
Janki x o x o
Continue Reading...
So normally I would stick my lip swatches of the products up; but this time I thought about showing you all how my Top 5 look on different skin tones and lips.
I am a huge fan of the colour purple it has to be one of my favourite colours to wear in terms of clothes (said whilst dressed in purple) and I love a smokey purple eye look; but when it came to purple lips I just wasn't daring enough. That is until I accidentally ordered a purple lip product online and now I just can't get enough of them. Get ready to witness an abundance of bold, vibrant purple lip colours.
No.1 Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm - Shameless (215) - Boots £7.99 (3for2)
Coconut oil and Shea butter contribute to the formula of this lip pencil which helps to hydrate the lips throughout the day. It is intense and bold upon first application and because of the velvety formula it is build-able. Although a balm; this takes nothing away from the brilliant pigmentation and long-wear attributes of this product, I can get at least 3-4 hours of wear before it starts to fade leaving a flattering (not patchy) stain which can be easily topped up (no flaking or caking in sight).
No.2 MAC - Heroine (Matte) - £15.50 from MAC Cosmetics
There's no purple like a MAC purple (not true but I liked the sound of that)!
Heroine is a cult Autumn lip colour (meh I wear it all year round) and is a firm favourite in the beauty world when it comes to talking purple lips as it suits a variety of skin tones. It is a highly pigmented bright violet and such a fantastic shade of purple that my collection of purples would be incomplete without.
If you are a bold lip lover and haven't quite found the right bold and vibrant purple this has to be one for you to try. Indeed it is matte; but it is a creamy matte which doesn't drag on your lips like the Retro matte lipsticks by MAC and is very comfortable to wear. You can wear this with or without a lip liner as it doesn't bleed and applies effortlessly on to the lips and the colour lasts up to 4-5 hours. Of course it tends to fade to a nice tint after eating or drinking but that's nothing a quick touch up won't fix.
No.3 Too Faced Melted Lipstick - Fig - £19.00 from Debenhams (Currently available with 10% off)
Although some may argue that this isn't purple at all I will say Melted Fig may not be as vibrant and bold as the other purples in my collection; rather it is more a muted raspberry pink with purple undertones therefore it makes the cut (and I adore it). It is described more as a lavender purple than violet purple; a great day time shade and is true to the colour on the packaging (totally purple).
The colour pay off on this is beautiful; its highly pigmented with creamy texture that makes it really comfortable to wear and lasts up to 4 to 5 hours on my lips without drying them out. Due to its intense pigmentation it does leave a slight stain on my lips once it wore off. Being a huge fan of liquid lipstick in general this range caught my eye; the applicator is an angled sponge; I have to be honest I was a bit sceptical about this at first however to my surprise (and joy) the lipstick glided on to my lips with great precision and didn't drag at all. Once it has been applied it dries to a gloss like shine and is not sticky at all.
No.4 MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer - Kooky - £3.00 from MUA Store Online
Whats better than a liquid lipstick? A drug store liquid lipstick obviously! When you combine my favourite lipstick formulation and make it £3.00 I am absolutely intrigued and this particular lipstick just ticked all the boxes when it came to choosing my Top Five Purples. MUA Velvet Lip Lacquer is affordable and is highly pigmented which comes out true to colour on the lips and stays put for at least 3-4 hours.
No.5 MAC - Up The Amp (Amplified Cream) - £15.50 from MAC Cosmetics
Another MAC that is rather popular especially in the Autumn season; but looks ever so pretty in Spring. Contrary to the other purples in my top five this one is far from being matte; in fact this finish is more like a high shine gloss (without the sticky-ness), an intense colour however isn't very long wearing but we can get over that solely because it is such a beautiful shade.
Up the Amp is a stunning and unique shade of lavender violet which is both sophisticated and sexy, one that can be worn both during the day and will work to compliment a soft smokey eye for an evening look. As an amplified cream formula it is quite pigmented and has a lovely sheen to it but is creamy to wear and is opaque when applied so its not necessary to layer this on your lips unless you want to intensify the colour (by all means do). You can always pair this with a lip liner (I use Mac Heroine) and this can help it last up to four hours without having to re-apply.
Purples for me were a no go, as I am sure many with my complexion would think so too. The ladies that I tried these lipsticks on weren't sure either at first but each and every one of them that tried a colour loved the one that they were wearing.
So my advice, try it! Sure purple lipstick looks a little daunting but when it goes on the lips its a combination of daring, sumptuous and sexy.
*Please note all of the above swatches have only been applied once to show their colour and pigmentation, I advise layering the products in order to get the desired coverage and to intensify.*
A huge huge thank you to the lovely ladies Kalpna, Pritty, Krishna, Daksha and Rupa for volunteering their lips for my Top 5 Purple lipstick swatches! x
Janki x o x o
Disclaimer:
All products mentioned were purchased by me and I am in no way sponsored by any of the brands mentioned.
