Cheap Thrills: Essence Lipliner in Satin Mauve

When was the last time you bought a make-up product at the drugstore for less than $2? I feel like the days of finding awesome deals at the drugstore are coming to an end, and there's just a few brands left that offer truly inexpensive products that work well. Fortunately, one of these brands is Essence, and when I felt the itch to experiment with lining my lips again, I decided to take my two bucks and invest in their Lipliner in Satin Mauve ($1.99 for 0.035 oz, I bought mine at Ulta).

Just for the sake of comparison, at the same time I also ordered the NYX Slide On Lip Pencil, which costs $7.99. Eight dollars for a drugstore lip liner is getting up there, am I right? Anyway, back to the Essence Satin Mauve. This pencil looks like the most classic, old-school lip liner in the world - it has the standard wood casing (don't you just love the smell of these?) and it's definitely NOT one of the newer generation 'gel' pencil formulas; just your typical firm pencil that takes a bit more work to apply to the lips.

In terms of texture and pigmentation, it's not as good as the NYX Slide On, especially when you're swatching one next to the other on the back of your hand. The Essence Lip Liner is not as smooth or creamy and it doesn't just glide on the lips with the slightest pressure. HOWEVER. In terms of actual performance and feel on the lips, I really like it. While it may look a bit patchy in the heavy arm swatch, I find it applies evenly on the lips, and feels a lot thinner and more lightweight than the NYX; in fact, I can't even tell I have it on. The finish is completely matte so yes, it will exaggerate all your vertical lip lines, but I don't think it's uncomfortable or drying in itself. In terms of wear, I also feel like it transfers less and lasts better than the NYX.

L-R: Essence Lipliner in Satin Mauve, NYX Slide On in Nude Suede Shoes, Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Warm Me Up, BITE High Pigment Lip Pencil in Rhubarb

In terms of the shade, Satin Mauve is - finally! - a true mauve shade on my fair skintone with cool undertones. There's a lot of purple to this shade and it even pulls a little grey, which seems to be right in line with the current lip color trends. I was hoping it would be a bit lighter in depth but on me, it's more of a My Lips But Better (Darker) than a nude shade. When I use it to lightly line the lips, it works well even when paired with a lighter nude lipstick, as long as it's more of a cool undertone as well.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this extremely inexpensive find - I mean seriously, it was two bucks. It actually makes me wish I bought two of the Essence Lipliners instead of that $8 NYX one. I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a cheap lip liner to play with, and the shade Satin Mauve would be a great way to try out that 'purpley mauve with a hint of grey' lip trend without spending $20 for a liquid lipstick. What is your favorite inexpensive product at the drugstore - do you usually go for Wet n'Wild or something from Essence and/or Catrice?

Revisited Step: NYX Slide On Lip Liner in Nude Suede Shoes

Remember when I said lip liners were entirely superfluous products in my make-up bag? Yeah, that was 2.5 years ago now, and nearly all of the lip liners shown in that post have since been decluttered. Until a few weeks ago, my lip liner stash consisted of a red and a universal transparent liner, and I found myself hankering after something else - a neutral nude shade to define the contours of my lips for a more perfected everyday look.

What I've been noticing more lately about my lips is that my natural lip line is not very well defined; the pigment of my lips gets sort of fainter and uneven towards the contours of my lips, and on top of that, I have freckles exactly on my lip line (especially top lip) which make it look even more messy. I don't mind it most of the time, especially when I'm wearing a sheer lip (either a gloss or tinted balm) - but when I opt for a more pigmented lipstick in a shade deeper than a very pale nude, the haziness of my lip line becomes very obvious and the overall look is sort of unfinished. I sometimes use concealer around my lips to help with that, but I thought lip liner could be a quicker option with the benefit of prolonging the wear on my lip products and preventing them from bleeding outside my lips.

To cut my long story short, I decided to pull the trigger on NYX Slide On Glide On Waterproof Lip Liner in Nude Suede Shoes ($7.99 for 0.04 oz) after hearing it recommended numerous times by Emily Noel on YouTube. I liked my NYX Slide On eyeliner pencils in the past (reviewed here - those two dried out though and had to be thrown out!), so I thought this product was worth trying out, even though the price is quite up there compared to other drugstore lip liner options.

The NYX Slide On Lip Liner is a simple non retractable pencil that easily sharpens with my Urban Decay Grindhouse. The formula is similar to that of the eye Slide-ons, meaning gel-like, very soft, creamy, smooth and highly pigmented. It's one of those newer generation lip pencils that glide on the lips without tugging, and are easy to blend out before they set. The finish is completely matte, no shimmer whatsoever, and I can't detect any scent to the product. On my lips, it doesn't feel too too drying, but I'd also say it's not entirely budge-proof: it will partially come off on cups or during a meal, but it certainly enhances the wear time of more emollient or glossy products layered over the top.

L-R: NYX Nude Suede Shoes, Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Warm Me Up, Ilia Beauty Lipstick in The Brides, Bite High Pigment Lip Pencil in Sable

Now, is the shade Nude Suede Shoes my perfect natural nude? Uhm, not really - but it's still a lot better than other 'nude' lip liners I've had in the past. On me, it pulls a beigy brown shade that sits somewhere between darker nude and a My Lips But Better in terms of depth. I believe that on people with warmer (and deeper) skintones, it would be that ideal muted pink nude for everyday. As you may be able to tell, with my coloring, NYX Nude Suede Shoes is more of that trendy Kylie Jenner lip - I don't necessarily hate it but it's slightly out of my comfort zone. Compared to my favorite darker nude lipsticks, Nude Suede Shoes is definitely warmer and more brown.

NYX Slide On Lip Liner in Nude Suede Shoes worn all over bare lips on NW15 skintone.

That doesn't disqualify it though as a layering option. Sure, it doesn't pair well with very cool/ mauve nudes and MLBBs in my stash, but it does work with the two lipsticks from the right side of my swatch (ILIA The Brides - sneaky peaky of their Fall 2016 release - and a now completely used up Bite Sable High Pigment Lip Pencil), and a lot of my sheer nude options, especially when used with a lighter hand and softly blended in. It's also a lip liner you could absolutely wear on its own, but as you may be able to see in the mug shot, currently my poor dry lips can't take that matte finish without something creamier/ more emollient layered over the top.

I've also realized why I really have such a love/ hate relationship with lip liners. When I give myself a more defined and filled in lip contour (I'm not talking about over lining here! Just evening out my natural lip line), my lips instantly look A LOT bigger. And I'm not used to seeing myself with such full lips - even without lining they're kinda on the big side, and with the liner, I feel like my face is dominated by those fat pouty lips. I'm guessing you guys are probably rolling your eyes at me right now, but for whatever reason, I haven't been able to fully embrace that look on me (also, some people have commented my lips have gotten even bigger/ more swollen in pregnancy). I don't know though - maybe it's time to just go with it and experiment with playing up my lips instead of the eyes? We shall see.

Back to the NYX Nude Suede Shoes, I think it's a really good drugstore lip liner and I would safely recommend it - just be aware that if your coloring is similar to mine, it's not going to be a real nude on you. I actually picked up another drugstore lip liner in the same order that's a lot more of a cool mauve shade, so I shall experiment (and review) that one next. Do you guys wear lip liners? Is it an indispensible part of your make-up routine or something you only pull out for special occasions?

Eyeshadow Dupes: Swatching Shimmery & Metallic Light Pinks, White Golds & Champagne

As you may remember, I have been trying to use up my theBalm Nude' Tude eyeshadow palette as part of a Project Pan That Palette since January of this year (see my latest update here). However, that doesn't mean that I have completely neglected the rest of my stash; while I don't really wear any other shadows than those in the Nude' Tude, the Project has really driven home why I shouldn't be buying any more eyeshadow palettes: I have way too many neutral shades in my stash already, as illustrated in my 'I'm Never Buying Another Eyeshadow Palette Again' ramble here. As an extension of that post, I've been busy playing around with my other shade families and trying to weed out dupes and inferior formulas, and the photos below are the result.

I KNOW. Before you judge me, go sift through your own stash ;)

I have pretty much decided to end my Pan That Palette at the end of August; my baby boy is due to arrive in early October and I'd like to have one month in between to experiment with the rest of my eyeshadow stash. Because of that decision, I have been thinking about what I want to do with the Nude' Tude once I finish the Project, and I've come to the conclusion that there are a few shades in it that I'd like to keep by depotting them into a magnetic palette. The rest will just be tossed in the trash unfortunately - I don't want to pass on half-used or unused but subpar shadows to any of my friends and family. As I was contemplating which shades to depot, I decided to have a quick look at the rest of my eyeshadow collection to see if I had any similar shades already in my Z-Palettes. And then it hit me. DO I EVER.

I was specifically looking for dupes/ comparable shades to theBalm Stand-offish, thus far my most used eyeshadow out of the entire palette, but for more variety, I've also included shimmery (or metallic/ frost/ pearl finish, whatever you want to call it) light pinks and white golds/ ivory shades. To be honest, this is not even the entirety of my stash - I have more shades I could include in both single pans/ depot form as well as other eyeshadow palettes. But anyway, here's what I found:

Sorry, the L-R order isn't the same as my arm swatches for this group: Inglot 397, Stila Academy, Inglot AMC Shine 142

Out of the light pinks, I don't think any of these are actually dupes. Stila Academy has more of a cool undertone than Inglot 397, which is somewhere between a warm light pink and a champagne/ peach. Inglot AMC Shine 142 isn't as soft or pigmented as the other two, but has both a subtle glowing pink duochrome (it wouldn't show up in the photos no matter the angle) and some sparse silver microglitters.

L-R: Fyrinnae Nijiro, RBR Unforgettable Oriole, Marc Jacobs The Ingenue Trio (leftmost shade)

In the white gold/ shimmery ivory color family, I own two shades that are incredibly close but still not complete dupes: Fyrinnae Nijiro has a blue & pink micro sparkle to it under artificial lights where Rouge Bunny Rouge Unforgettable Oriole is more of a typical pearl finish. The Marc Jacobs far left shade from The Ingenue trio (reviewed here) is the odd one out: both darker and more of a satin than metallic finish.

L-R: Too Faced Silk Teddy, theBalm Stand-offish (at the top), Stila Kitten, Wet n'Wild Browbone shade from The Gilded Age trio, MAC All That Glitters

However, I had the most luck (alas) finding dupes in the champagne/ light peach category. Maybe because those shades are the most universally flattering, but I feel like they feature in a lot of palettes, both drugstore and high-end. Let's consider the cult classic Stila Kitten - yes, it's an incredibly soft, smooth, buttery, pigmented shadow. However, as you can hopefully see in my photos, I have two other shades in my stash that are pretty much the same: theBalm Stand-offish and an Eyebrow shade from a LE Wet n'Wild trio called The Gilded Age. Out of these three, I'd say that Kitten still has the best formula; theBalm and Wet n'Wild can be just a tad too powdery/ flakey, but it's nit-picking here. If you have one, you don't need the other two.

Too Faced Silk Teddy (from the Natural Eyes palette) is lighter and more pink than theBalm Stand-offish, Stila Kitten and the Wet n'Wild shadows - I probably could have included it in my light pink grouping. MAC All That Glitters is significantly darker and less metallic than the other four shadows; on me, it's fine as an all over the lid shade, but too dark to be used as a highlight in the inner corners.

As you can see from my little experiment, I definitely do NOT need to depot that Stand-offish shade from my Nude' Tude palette. However, I'm thinking now that maybe I will hold on to it after all, and instead pass on the Wet n'Wild The Gilded Age shade - not because the formula is inferior (they really are the same, you guys), but because I'd rather pass on a lightly used dupe to a loved one and keep half-used Stand-offish, which is also a smaller pan and thus more efficient to store, as a back-up to my favorite Stila Kitten. Not that I really need a back-up... but it's hard to stop hoarding eyeshadows after all these years of collecting. Which one(s) would you give away?

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Shop/ Swatch My Stash. Please let me know if there's a particular group of products or shades you would like to see next: maybe my pinky/ mauve My Lips But Better lipsticks, or my vast collection of taupe eyeshadows, or my bright/ colorful shades. What dupes have you discovered in your stash recently?

Project Pan That Palette 2016: Update #3

It's hard to believe, but I have now been using ONE eyeshadow palette for six months straight! That's half of the year gone wearing the same palette day in day out. I mean... Wow. But yes, another two months have passed, and I wanted to show you my progress. Just to recap, here's how my theBalm Nude'Tude Eyeshadow Palette looked like at the end of April:

My palette after 4 months of use, April 2016.

At that point, after four months of use, I had hit pan on three shades: Sassy, a pearly white, Stubborn, a light pink, and Selfish, a greyed taupe. I also had some dips going on in Snobby, a pale yellow, and Sultry, a warm medium brown - as you can tell, I'd definitely been staying within the lighter half of the palette, which isn't surprising considering my fair skintone as well as my opinion on some of the darker shades in this palette, expressed here. Now here's how my palette is looking today:

My palette after 6 months of use, June 2016.

MOAR progress! I have now also hit pan on Stand-offish, a metallic champagne, and Sultry, my matte crease shade. I have also further expanded the pan on Sassy, and have good dips going on Snobby, Schitzo and Serious. To be honest, I think I'm just milimeters away of hitting pan on the matte black, which I use to either darken my lashline or set my black pencil liner. I have also sporadically used Stubborn, the light pink shade, but the pan hasn't moved really, and I have not touched Selfish since hitting pan - it's not my favorite taupe in general, but I also haven't been feeling very cool-toned eyeshadow looks.

My plan for the next two months is to hit pan on Snobby, Serious and Schitzo - although I feel that this last one will be a bit of a struggle because this shade is firmly pressed in the pan and also has great pigmentation. I would also like to expand the pan on Sassy, Stand-offish and Sultry, and deepen the dip in Sexy, a matte burgundy. Even though I use Sexy multiple times a week to darken the outer corner of my eyes, this shade is pigmented and hard pressed in the pan, so my progress is very slow.

And there you go! My current feelings about panning this palette oscillate between 'OMG, I've never hit pan on so many eyeshadows in my life!' to 'Why the f*ck am I even doing this'. I have realized that there's no way I'm going to finish this palette within the span of a year - I don't even think I would empty it completely within two years. I'm not sure how other 'palette panners' do it, but I just don't use that much eyeshadow in one application. And I'm certainly not going to rock smokey eyes for four months just to use up the dark shades in my palette.

While I'm okay with not finishing the palette and simply putting in my best effort instead to see how far I can get, I often question my motives to continue this Project. I have a lot of eyeshadows I like better than this palette that I have not touched in 6 months, because I'm stubborn like that - once I decide to do a panning project, I want to do it the best I can, even if I would rather wear different products, or a different style of make-up altogether. On the other hand, I'm glad I've embarked on Pan That Palette this year, because the project has very effectively quenched my interest in new eyeshadow palettes, as well as taught me valuable lessons about my own preferences when it comes to eyeshadow. So there's that - I do think it was worth it - but am I still learning new things now, after 6 months of panning? I'm not so sure.

So these are the thoughts running through my mind most days when I open up the Nude'Tude to do my eye make-up. I haven't really come to any conclusions and for now I just keep going, but I do sometimes incorporate other eyeshadows, housed in my small Z-Palette (shown here), to break the routine a little bit. I will tell you now I'm definitely not doing this Project next year - and possibly, never again. I actually seriously question if I should wrap it up at the end of September, before my baby is due - realistically, I don't think I'll be wearing much eyeshadow for the last three months out of the year.

Anyway, how are my fellow panners doing? Do you ace your powder products, or are they always a bit of a challenge? I find all powders pretty hard - even face setting/ finishing powders move very slowly around here, despite daily usage. Do you have any tips?

Shop My Stash: All That Warm Brown, Coppery, Peachy, Orange Eyeshadow Goodness

Warm brown eyeshadows of varying depth and finish are all the rage this year - just look at the palettes that have come out in the past 6 months or so, be it from mainstream or more indie brands. In the past, I tended to shy away from very warm tones on my eyes, because I find them to be rather tricky on very fair, cool-toned complexions. While a metallic copper halo smokey eye looks smashing on someone with a medium/ tan skintone, on me it looks like I'm suffering through a stye or a case of rabid rabbit eyes - I'm sure you know what I mean if you're a fellow pale girl.

However, I've recently been feeling swept up by all the orange/ peach eyeshadow hype; I think it's partially the weather finally warming up, but mostly overdosing on ALL THE TAUPE in the past 2-3 years. I have nevertheless promised myself not to purchase another neutral eyeshadow palette, even if it features some new-to-me shades (as discussed in detail in this post) - and while I'm still allowing myself to pick up a single eyeshadow or two where I think it may benefit my collection, I decided first to shop my stash and see what I already own in the general category of warm neutral shades. I actually really enjoy pulling out all my freeform magnetic and premade palettes on a day off and getting busy swatching and rearranging them into new color combinations, so I thought I'd take you along for the ride; maybe you too will be inspired to browse through your collection and rediscover some forgotten eyeshadow gems.

I first started by selecting some of my favorite warm metallic shades that have remained in my stash after various declutters. I've mostly focused on single/ depotted pans from my Z-Palettes for this post, which means that I do in fact own more of this shade category but the eyeshadows are scattered throughout my premade palettes (you know, the ones I haven't subjected to fire + a sharp tool yet). I've also pulled some lighter warm shades I would use as an all over lid shade, and finally some dark warm browns for the outer corner/ lash line. All swatches were done with a finger on bare skin and photographed in indirect natural light - also, let me know if you prefer the shadow names as a caption under the photo or in the actual photo, like today. Let's start by the lightest warm shimmery shades, and medium matte transition/ crease/ blending shades:

Ah, MAC All That Glitters, that old chestnut. I was actually intending to declutter this shade as it tends to pull rather warm and peachy on me, but it's perfect in this subset, isn't it? Stila Spontaneous, from the In The Moment palette (reviewed here) is one of those shades that I tend to forget about easily, even though it's a beautiful color with a stellar formula, possibly the best one out of the whole palette. Too Faced Honey Pot from the Natural Eyes palette is the only true gold remaining in my stash - if you own the original Urban Decay Naked, Half Baked is nearly identical.

Inglot Matte 337 is one of two matte medium browns in my stash, and despite the appearance in the pan, it pulls almost peachy on the skin. TheBalm Sultry from the Nude'Tude palette is slightly deeper and more yellow. I threw in Catrice's blush in Rose Royce (reviewed here) to show that you really don't need the Limited Edition Too Faced Perfect Peach palette, if you're still lusting after one - I'm sure most of us have a matte or satin peach blush in our collection that can be easily worn as eyeshadow in the crease to warm up the look.

Now, those medium depth shimmery/ metallic shades are what I consider the eptiome of warm neutrals. I've roughly divided mine into two groups: the upper row in the photo above (and the first three in the arm swatch) are all more yellow/ orange toned, the bottom row all pull more red/ pinky peach. If you still own the LE Wet n'Wild The Gilded Age trio (shown here), all the shades in there are right on trend, especially the Eyelid and Crease Shades (the latter is shown in the next grouping). BareMinerals Truffle from LE The Finer Things palette (reviewed here) is another save from my declutter box; it's a gorgeous cognac/ chestnut shade that I'd like to incorporate into more looks. Lastly, the bronzy shade from LE Visee Bitter Brown quad (featured here) is the most neutral and sheerest of the bunch, so probably the most effortless to wear for my personal preferences.

Now, as for these pinky coppers, I actually find them easier to wear on myself than the previous three. The Eyelid shade from LE Wet n'Wild Dancing In the Clouds Trio (shown here) is a stunning penny copper with silver microglitters. Too Faced Push Up is my favorite shade out of the entire Natural Eyes palette; if you don't own that, I believe Urban Decay Toasted or MAC Sable are quite similar. Lastly, Fyrinnae Witchy Woodland Creatures may appear quite neutral compared to these other shades, but it does have a strong pink lean that warms up any eyeshadow look.

Dark warm browns - I only own satins and low shimmer finishes - is my smallest subset, and something I may potentially look into expanding in the future. I would mostly use these shades in the outer corner or very sparingly into the crease, or to smoke out a lashline. Look how gorgeous these are in a concentrated arm swatch!

BareMinerals Fate from the Truth quad (reviewed here) appears quite neutral or even cool-toned in the pan, but on my skin it definitely pulls very warm - yet another bM shade I forgot about, but it's going to be perfect for those warm neutral looks. Stila Whim from the In The Moment palette is a stunning chocolatey shades with almost burgundy shimmers, but the formula is a bit dry and not terribly pigmented. Now, another shade from that LE Wet n'Wild The Gilded Age trio; this one is the most shimmery of the bunch, again with those beautiful dark red shimmers. And lastly, the dark brown shade from Visee Bitter Browns - I'd say this one is more neutral than warm-toned, but I wanted to remind myself what it looked like when swatched.

And here's what my small Z-Palette looks like after this swatch session. I still use my theBalm Nude'Tude that I'm trying to pan this year every time I wear eye make-up, but I like to keep the small Z-Palette on hand to have more variety in my looks - I tend to rotate the shadows in it every couple of months or so. The only additional shades inside that haven't been discussed today are Too Faced Heaven, a matte ivory, as well as Velvet Revolver and Sexpresso from the Natural Eyes palette.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Shop My Stash - I need to do these posts more often, it's a lot of fun to go play with my collection! What eyeshadow shades have you been reaching for recently? Do you arrange them in your Z-Palettes or reach for singles and specific palettes?

Earning My Blush Stripes: Kiko Shade Fusion Trio Blush in No. 1 Natural Rose

I used to be a major blush fiend (as evidenced in the Addicted to Blush Tag) and was obsessed with the idea of finding the perfect pinky peach, the most effortless baby pink, the ultimate universal nude blush. Recently though, I've sorta given up on that quest. Not that I don't love blush - my face looks uncannily zombie/ vampire like without it - but a lot of the different blushes I had would end up looking roughly the same on the face. So I did a bit of culling of the less-than-ideal formulas... and as a result of seeing all that empty drawer space, I purchased another blush. Sigh.

But you guys, it was just too pretty to resist - look at it! It's the Kiko Shade Fusion Trio Blush in shade no. 1 Natural Rose ($15 for 6g/ 0.21 oz, available online at www.kikocosmetics.com/en-us/ and at Kiko stores). When I visited a Kiko boutique in Warsaw, I was a bit surprised by the price difference between this new Shade Fusion formula and their regular Soft Touch blush, which was also on sale. But as soon as I compared the texture of the two blushes and taken into consideration the design of the packaging, I wasn't at all interested in the more affordable Soft Touch line. I had to get the Shade Fusion.

The compact of the Shade Fusion blushes is just beautiful - small but weighty, with a simple, clean, luxurious feel. There's a nice mirror inside, and no wasting of precious space to include a crappy brush. Since the metal is so reflective, it is of course a fingerprint magnet, but I can live with that - and all make-up fans should now heave an orgasmic sigh because the closing mechanism is magnetic. Aaaaah.

But the tactile feel of this powder blush is what really made me pull out my credit card. It's so smooth and fine, with a silky texture and no powder kick-up. Yet, the product isn't hard-pressed into the pan - it's very easy to pick up with both my swatchy fingers or a blush brush. Not sure how Kiko pulled that off, but it's just so, so pleasant to use.

L-R: Kiko Shade Fusion in Natural Rose, NARS Douceur, Hourglass Mood Exposure, Catrice Rose Royce

I obviously gravitated towards the most neutral shade in the range, no. 1 Natural Rose. However, similarly to the Catrice Defining Blush in Rose Royce, the Kiko blush doesn't really look rosey on my skintone at all. Instead, it's quite warm and very slightly peachy. Compared to my other 'nude' blushes, you can see that both NARS Douceur and Hourglass Mood Exposure are a lot more brown. The pigmentation of the Kiko Shade Fusion blush is medium but buildable, and the finish is quite matte. You could of course play with the shade depth of this blush by concentrating your brush on different stripes - sometimes I like dipping my brush into the two darker shades on the bottom and applying that to the back of my cheeks, and then using the middle and top stripe for the apples to give myself a more dimensional look.

All in all, I really like this new Shade Fushion Trio Blush in Natural Rose - it's pretty, it's easy, it suits a variety of eye looks or lipstick shades. If you've been skeptical about Kiko products so far, I'd say to give them a shot, even if the range seems a bit overwhelming at first. I think that for the price, the quality is quite outstanding, and the brands follows current make-up trends very closely - so if you wanted to try something a bit outside of your comfort zone, you could do so with their products without breaking the bank. Have you tried any Kiko products? What are your favorite things in their line?

The Only Lip Gloss I've Ever Repurchased: Buxom Dolly

How often do you guys happen to repurchase the exact same lip product? I have to admit that I'm usually very fickle with my make-up; by the time I actually manage to use something completely up, which is not very often, I'm usually ready to move on to something different. But Buxom Full-On Lip Cream in Dolly ($19 for 0.14 oz) is my first exception to the rule - I just couldn't get enough of it.

Well, okay, I guess I'm stretching the truth a tiny bit here - I had a mini of the Lip Shine in Dolly (reviewed here) that I somewhat recently finished as part of my Project 10 Pan; Buxom's Lip Shines have varying degrees of subtle shimmer to full-on glitter, but forunately the Dolly shade had just a whisper of tiny gold dust. I also own a different Lip Cream in the shade Cherry Flip, reviewed here, which is a favorite in the summer. So I sort of combined the two favorites when I decided to purchase the Lip Cream in Dolly, which has the same gorgeous hue as the one I used up but without the shimmer.

I've discussed my feelings about the Lip Cream formula in detail in my review of Cherry Flip, and some more when I reviewed the Lip Shine in Dolly - I think both the cream and the shimmer finishes on these Buxom glosses are the same formula, albeit if you chose to purchase a Lip Shine with chunkier glitter, your experience may vary. And while regrettably I don't have anything left in my tube of the shimmery Dolly to compare with the creamy Dolly, from memory it's the exact same shade but with one tiny difference: the Lip Shine in Dolly had also a bit more of a translucent jelly finish, the Lip Cream is slightly more milky. However, once on the lips, I can't really tell a difference.

Dolly is my perfect lip perfecting gloss: the cushiony texture softens the look of vertical lip lines and dryness, while the subtle mauve shade evens out my lips' pigmentation. It's very close to my natural lip color, which makes it ideal for effortless daytime looks. It's also one of few lip gloss formulas that stay on my lips for a reasonable time, all the while feeling comfortable and moisturizing. In general, I'm not a fan of tingly plumping formulas, but I would say that Buxom glosses are more cooling than anything else, which I certainly appreciate more in the summer than in the winter, but overall don't mind all that much.

I don't have another lip gloss shade that's close to Dolly - as you can see, NYX Mega Shine in Beige is positively baby pink next to it. Out of my lipsticks, Suqqu Creamy Glow Moist in no. 3 Fuyuzakura is quite similar, but a little lighter once on the lips. Maybelline Color Sensational in Warm Me Up is darker and warmer.

L-R: Buxom Lip Cream in Cherry Flip, Buxom Lip Cream in Dolly, NYX Mega Shine in Beige, Maybelline Warm Me Up, Suqqu Creamy Glow Moist no. 3

I will be honest with you and admit that it took a lot of my willpower not to purchase one of those larger sets of Buxom's mini glosses that Sephora releases every Holiday season. I've contemplated their smaller set with two glosses and a Bold Gel lipstick, but upon swatching it in store, I decided that the Lip Shine in Gabby was way too glittery for me. I'm quite happy that I settled on Dolly in the end, because I know for sure I'll reach for it again and again, and I'm glad to have a tried and true gloss I can rely on. What is your favorite everyday lip gloss? Do you wear the same one again and again, or do you frequently rotate the ones in your stash?

An Unexpected Love: YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipsticks in no.9 Rose Stiletto and no.19 Fuchsia

I was pretty surprised to be selected for another YSL Beauty VoxBox from Influenster, you guys (here's my invite, in case you've been wanting to take your chances). First off, I didn't absolutely swoon over the Touche Eclat Blur products in my first one, reviewed here, and secondly, I would generally say that I suck at social media. I'm not on Facebook, I don't have Snapchat, I barely Instagram and, well, I tweet, but mostly about my latest blog posts, which probably isn't all that useful for beauty brands. Yet somehow I was chosen to receive these two newly relaunched YSL Rouge Pur Couture Satin Radiance Lipsticks ($36 each for 3.8 g) in no. 9 Rose Stiletto* and no. 19 Fuchsia*, and much to my delight, I've been enjoying them tremendously!

I've tried the YSL Rouge Pur Couture formula in the past - here's my review of a Limited Edition Pink Grenadine shade. I obviously quite like the old formula as it's survived many lipstick declutters, but it's also not one of my absolute favorites; just somewhere in the middle, I guess.

You can see here that the packaging of the Rouge Pur Coutures changed quite a bit; it's still predominantly gold and, uhm, rectangular, but I'd say I like just the pure gold and black of the new tube a bit better. It's also a bit sturdier and more weighty in my hand; just what a luxury lipstick should feel like. I've tried to find some information on whether the formula changed as well, and while nothing I had come upon gave me a definite answer, I do believe these new Rouge Pur Coutures are in fact a different formulation.

Let me start by saying what has NOT changed in the Rouge Pur Couture formula. It's still an emollient and richly pigmented lipstick, meant to dress the lips in one stroke. It also has the exact same YSL lipstick smell, a bit floral and definitely different from their fruity Gloss Voluptes; more along the lines of the Glossy Stains.

In my opinion, the overall feel and performance of these lipsticks have been improved in the revamped range. To me, they seem even creamier and more opaque than the older formula (although it is possible that my older tube has just got a bit more dried out over the couple years I've had it). I believe this trend in many new product releases was started last year by the NARS Audacious line - intense pigment in a comfortable formula that just glides on the lips. However, one downside to many of these super creamy lipsticks (and something often mentioned about the YSL Rouge Voluptes) is that they're too slippery and slidey on the lips, sinking into the lines and outside the contour of your lips.

Luckily, that's not the case at all with the new Rouge Purs - they stay put very well, and even leave behind a bit of a stain. When you first apply the Rouge Purs, they seem to have a standard creamy finish (no shimmer), but in about an hour, they settle more into a satin or even a matte that wears comfortably for another 2-3 hours (that is, until the next meal, which is when I have to reapply). These don't draw attention to my vertical lip lines, and they don't dry out my drier-than-Death-Valley lips, although they're not exactly moisturizing either. For a high pigment, creamy lipstick, they feel surprisingly lightweight on the lips. All in all, big thumbs up for the formula.

L-R (both photos): Maybelline Color Sensational in Warm Me Up, MAC Viva Glam V, YSL Rouge Pur Couture in Rose Stiletto no. 9 (three swipes each)

I will admit that I was a bit worried about how the two shades selected for us would go with my fair skintone, but I'm pretty happy with both no. 9 Rose Stiletto and no. 19 Fuchsia. Rose Stiletto is described as a 'rich berry rose', and I think it's a quite an apt description. On me, it's a warm deep rose veering almost on a wine shade; it has hints of both brown and plum. It's like a less mauvey version of that MLBB that's so popular right now. I've swatched it against some of my darker nudes, but you can see it's a lot darker than that - more in the Bite High Pigment Lip Pencil in Rhubarb territory.

Rose Stiletto is a perfect everyday shade for fall and winter; it doesn't draw too much attention but on my skintone, it's a deeper option than your standard nudes. It feels like a sophisticated, grown-up shade that would work well in a professional environment.

On the other hand, Fuchsia no. 19 is the complete opposite of Rose Stiletto. Described as a 'magenta purple', it's an incredibly bright, attention-grabbing shade. I would say it's more pink than purple, but it definitely leans purple and it's the most cool-toned hot pink in my stash (hopefully you can see that in my photos). I don't see why Influenster chose this particular shade for fall, but in all honestly, if you're a fan of vivid colors, you could wear Fuchsia all year round.

L-R (both photos): Lancome Shine Lover Lipstick in Effortless Pink, Guerlain Rouge Automatique in Shalimar, YSL Rouge Pur Couture in Fuchsia no. 19

I have to admit that I haven't braved wearing Fuchsia outside of the house yet. You can somewhat see it in the face shot, but this shade looks almost neon on me - fun, but not entirely suitable for everyday wear, at least at its full strength. I'll play around with it a little bit and attempt to tame the beast by wearing it more as a stain (which would also make me less nervous about smearing it on my chin - yes, speaking from experience here).

There are currently 41 shades of the YSL Rouge Pur Coutures on the Sephora's website, and while some may be Limited Edition, that's plenty of colors to satisfy even the pickiest lipstick lover. I'm actually quite tempted to swatch a few more options next time I'm near a store, although you know I do NOT need any more lipsticks :) Have you tried these new lipsticks from YSL? What is your favorite opaque lipstick formula?

*Disclaimer: I received the two YSL products featured in this post complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster (anyone can sign up for free here, you don't need a blog or YouTube channel - just social media outlets). All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased, no matter if the products featured were purchased with my own monies or provided as free press samples. Thank you for reading!