Another old lip product that I dug out of my stash to review is this one! I’m sure I got this through one of the many Sephora lip kits I purchased back in the day, so it’s nice to finally be knocking some of these old product reviews out.
Color: Milky Way is a super interesting color! On my hand the swatch looks like a light peach, but on my lips it has a very strong grey undertone and looks much more cool toned. I was surprised with how different it actually looked! It’s just slightly warm enough to not make me look totally dead.
Finish: This lipstick has a cream finish; it’s not super shiny like a gloss, but has more shine than a satin.
Packaging: While this is a mini, I believe the packaging with the full size was the same. It’s a shiny black plastic, with a sharp rectangular shape. The brand name is printed on the cap in black as well, and the bottom has a sticker with information.
The fun thing about this lipstick is that I was curious to know when I bought it, so I went back and looked at all my old Sephora orders. The bad news is that I bought it in person so I couldn’t find exactly when I bought it, but the good news is that I had a lot of fun browsing old makeup that I purchased back in the day! It’s surprising how much I actually don’t remember buying.
Color: Omi is described on Sephora as a “mid-tone rose”, which sounds relatively accurate to me. I would say it has a bit more of a peach to it than the name suggests, but I imagine to most people this would be a rose. It’s not super light or dark.
Finish: The finish of this lipstick is, as the product name implies, a matte. It does have the tiniest bit of satin to it in the swatch, but on the lips it just looks like a matte.
Packaging: The packaging is definitely the most iconic part of these lipsticks! This is just a sample size, so it doesn’t quite match the luxury of her full size products, but the appearance is still the same. It’s a glossy black tube, with a pair of gold lips as a bit of flourish on the front. The inner tube is a gold color that matches the lips.
Applicator: The shape of the product is a standard bullet.
Listen, I know what you’re thinking: Karissa, why are you reviewing a product from a brand that is completely defunct? And I would reply that yes, it is kind of silly to be doing that since you as a consumer can no longer purchase it. However, I am acutely aware of makeup waste, and in my mind, if I have a product that I don’t do any sort of review or use in any sort of capacity, it adds to that drastically. I want to make sure that even if a product is no longer available for purchase that its original purpose of being purchased for review is satisfied.
I hope that even if you can’t buy some of the products I review, you’re still entertained or learning something!
Color: Nori is an oxblood. It’s a very deep reddy-brown shade; on my lips it actually does look more brown than red, but there is so much red pulling through that I can’t confidently call it a brown.
Finish: The Amuse Bouche formula is a cream lipstick. The finish isn’t high shine like a gloss, but definitely reflects light, creating that pretty creamy look.
Packaging: The packaging of this particular lipstick is a mini, but the full sized packaging is identical to this, just bigger. It’s a soft touch matte grey tube, and the cap has a piece taken off (a bite taken out of it, if you will), reminiscent of the standard shape of a bullet lipstick.
Applicator: The shape of this is a standard bullet lipstick; the point is a bit sharper than most other bullets so that does make a difference with a shade like this.
While I can’t remember exactly where/when I got this particular lipstick, I’m so excited! MAC’s Velvet Teddy has always seemed like a color that would be perfect for me. It wasn’t too pink, and was neutral and dark enough to look good on my lips.
Color: Velvet Teddy is described as a “deep-tone beige” on the MAC website. I actually feel like the website pictures don’t look quite as accurate to real life. It looks a lot more bright and peach; if I saw this shade just from their website I would actually say it was not a good color for me, so I’m surprised.
I would say this is a mid-tone neutral peach. It definitely has a pinky peach lean to it instead of the standard neutral, but it doesn’t go straight up orange like a lot of pinks and warm nudes can. It’s a great color for people with more pigmented lips who still want to rock a pretty neutral peachy pink shade, in my opinion.
Finish: While not as matte as the retro matte line, the regular line does still have a definite matte look. There is just the tiniest bit of a satin in the swatch, but on the lips it does look flat, with no hint of a shine.
Packaging: My particular lipstick is actually a mini and not the full size, but the packaging is identical to a normal MAC lipstick, just smaller! It’s a black tube and cap with small silver glitters throughout. The cap has MAC written on it in silver, and the mechanism to twist the bullet up is silver and has MAC printed on it as well.
Applicator: With this being a mini, the shape of the bullet is just a little different, as it’s not as wide as the normal MAC lipsticks. It still has a very distinct tear drop shape and the tip of the lipstick is a point. I actually feel like with it being smaller it would make applying this easier for some people, as you don’t need to worry about it going outside of lip lines.
Before jumping any further into the review I want to point out that Bond Girl got a name change, so even though my product has that shade name, it is now sold as M.I.Kiss and will be referred to as that for the rest of this review!
Color: M.I.Kiss is described as a berry red on the Sephora website, but I don’t fully agree with that description. It’s not something I’d consider deep enough to be a berry, and instead looks to me like a neutral deep pink. I don’t feel like I get berry or red out of this color.
Finish: Despite this being the “matte revolution” lipstick, I felt like (and you’ll be able to see in the swatch, which sat on my hand for more than 5 minutes before the picture) that this was more of a satin or even cream finish. When I think of matte, I think MAC Ruby Woo, where it is completely flat with no shine. I do believe that the softer finish is more appealing to a larger group of people, however.
Packaging: The packaging of this lipstick is absolutely the standout – it’s a metal rose gold tube with lines running up and down the sides. The top of the cap has a CT stamped onto it, and when the cap is taken off you can see Charlotte Tilbury on the area where the tube of lipstick comes out. The bottom of the lipstick has a sticker with the product name.
Applicator: The bullet for this lipstick is shaped a bit different than a normal lipstick. Instead of the standard teardrop shape, the lipstick has a more rectangular shape. The top looks to have been “cut”into, giving it a more convex look as you get further down in the product.
As mentioned in last week’s review, I love finding popular, still available makeup at TJMaxx! When I saw Ruby Woo sitting on the shelf, not swatched or touched by other people as the makeup there so often is, I had to grab it.
This is one of those colors I feel like anyone who knows about makeup recognizes! MAC’s Ruby Woo feels iconic to me, so when I pulled this out to review, I couldn’t help but be excited!
Color: On the MAC website, Ruby Woo is described as a “vivid blue-red”. This color is absolutely a classic, in-your-face red, with a slight pink undertone that’s hard to notice at first, but becomes more obvious as you wear it.
Finish: They call this a retro matte and they certainly mean it. The finish from application until I take it off is completely matte; there was not even the slightest bit of sheen on my lips while wearing this color!
Packaging: The packaging of this is the iconic MAC shiny black bullet with tiny silver glitter flecks throughout, a silver ring where the cap meets the tube, and MAC printed on the cap. The bottom of the bullet has a sticker with the product name and information on it.
Applicator: As with the majority of any bullet lipstick, the shape of the product is a standard teardrop.
Milani is one of those brands that I hear lots of positive feedback on, and of course because of that I had to try it. If you couldn’t tell, I’m a bit of a nude lipstick fiend, so my product of choice was one of their most popular nude lipstick shades!
Color: Teddy Bare is a brown, midtone nude with a slightly warm undertone. I couldn’t find any descriptors on the Ulta or Milani website so this is my best guess! It’s mostly neutral, but there does appear to be just a hint of orange in the swatch. On my lips it looks like a neutral.
Finish: The Ulta website describes this color as a satin finish, however it is definitely a cream finish. There is a lot of shine starting with the application that doesn’t go away.
Packaging: The packaging of this lipstick is a shiny gold square shape, with “Milani” printed on in a matte gold/yellow. On the opposite side is a label with the product/color name and product information. The bottom has a clear section which shows the color of the lipstick and has the number/name printed in gold as well.
The shiny gold of the packaging does a very poor job at hiding fingerprints, so if messy makeup bothers you, you’ll want to be prepared to wipe it down on the regular.
Applicator: The shape of the bullet is just the standard pointed shape, with no special embossing on the actual product.
Application: I found application of this lipstick to be very easy. It is pigmented enough to go on in one swipe, and creamy, meaning there was no tugging on my lips and it applied smoothly. The bullet is pretty thick, so I was able to get all of my lips and the edges with little issue.
The scent of this lipstick is sweet, though I’m struggling to identify exactly what it smells like (there is a distinct possibility that this is just an older product and the smell has begun to fade). I couldn’t smell it after applying at all.
Today I’m reviewing a brand that I cannot believe I’ve never reviewed before, as I love them so much – Bite Beauty! I own a large number of their products, but none of them ever made it onto the list to actually review. Well, today I get to finally share my thoughts!
It is with a sad heart that I have to share that this particular product is no longer available for purchase, so this review is just for your entertainment and my own need to review everything I own.
Color: The Sephora website describes the new formula equivalent as a mauve brown, which I feel is the perfect descriptor of this color. It’s a really nice nude on me, with enough depth that I would consider it a brown but the undertone is neutral enough that I would wear it like a nude.
Finish: The finish of this lipstick is a satin – it’s not fully matte, but there’s not quite enough shine to consider it a cream.
Packaging: Bite Beauty’s packaging is a soft touch matte grey bullet, with the cap having a “bite” taken out of it.
Applicator: With this being a bullet lipstick, the applicator is just the shape of the product itself. The shape is a standard lipstick bullet with the Bite logo embossed on it.
The image below shows the lipstick after significant use – at least 1/3 of the product has been used up.
Application: Application of this lipstick was incredibly easy. It is pigmented enough that in one swipe my lips were evenly coated in product. I’ve also used this lipstick enough to have significant wear on it, and it holds its shape very well as it’s quite firm.
There is a citrusy smell when first applying due to the ingredients, but it dissipates quickly.
Transfer: For being a bullet lipstick that isn’t a matte, the transfer on this is pretty low comparitively. That said, there is definitely movement – if you drink something, the lipstick will end up on your cup/straw, or on your food if you’re enjoying, say, a sandwich. It’s just that the amount left on things that aren’t your lips isn’t quite as bad.
Fading: Being a neutral color, the fading is always more subtle than if it were a bold. With that in mind, I am still impressed with just how evenly this lipstick fades. If not eating or drinking, it could potentially last a full 8 hours with minimal wear. If you enjoy a simple meal or just drinks, or talk a lot, you’ll want to reapply after about 4-5 hours. It did wear off almost completely after a messy meal but I didn’t feel the need to reapply at that point – I just let it fade away completely.
Comfort: I would consider this a completely neutral formula in terms of comfort – I didn’t think it was especially hydrating, but I also felt like it wasn’t drying either. The comfort level was fine at first, I’d say if it did start to feel drying it was nearing the end of the wear time (about 4 hours in).
Overall: As mentioned before, I really enjoy Bite Beauty products, and this lipstick is definitely on my love list. The formula is long lasting without drying my lips out, and I never have to worry about having an obvious ring of lipstick if I do eat or wear it for a long time. This will absolutely remain in my collection as a staple product for every day wear.
Where you can purchase: The price for Bite Beauty lipsticks is pretty high end, but as you can tell I do enjoy these a lot. Unfortunately this formula is no longer available for purchase – instead, Bite Beauty has come out with the Power Moves lipstick to replace it. The price for this new formula is $28. The good news is there is a Chai in this formula, which I assume is going to be an exact color match. No promises, though!
Last year, MAC came out with arguably the most beautiful collection known to exist, a.k.a the Electric Wonder. With gorgeous packaging and popular, wearable shades this was sure to draw the eyes of anyone interested in traditionally feminine, “instagramable” packaging. I, of course, was no exception!
Color: Life in Sepia is a cool, mid-toned brown. On the lips, it definitely has a grey undertone – this is the kind of color that most people either love or hate. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a vampy color, but it is definitely darker than a traditional nude.
Finish: As the name suggests, this is a matte finish. Even when it goes on there is very little shine, which quickly fades into a flat appearance.
Packaging: Unsurprisingly, the packaging of this lipstick is its selling point. It is a gorgeous pink marble, with veins of metallic gold scattered throughout. The inner portion of the tube is a matte gold, along with the small bit that peeks out and the MAC printed on it. The actual shape of the tube is a traditional MAC bullet lipstick.
Applicator: The shape of the actual lipstick is basic – just like any other lipstick shape with a traditional tear drop shape and a point.
Application: Applying this lipstick was as easy as any other bullet lipstick. Even after wearing it down a bit, I didn’t have problems with getting straight lines. One thing I will point out is that this particular shade is one that shows my natural lip colors on the edges if I don’t cover them completely. That just meant I had to be a little extra careful to make sure I got all the edges otherwise you could see pink, which looked a bit strange.
One other thing that is incredibly important to point out is the strong vanilla scent that MAC lipsticks have. This one is no exception – I could smell it upon application and for about 5 minutes after.
One thing I love about really popular, classic brands like Revlon is that they’ve been around long enough to establish cult products. One such product, though less popular than another red of theirs, is Fire & Ice!
I was fortunate enough to find this color on clearance, and knew I needed to snatch it up right away!
Color: Fire & Ice is a warm red that leans a bit coral – there is a strong orange-pink undertone to it.
Finish: This lipstick is a cream finish. I’d say it would lean a bit more towards matte than lustrous like a gloss, but it’s not quite satin. Interestingly, it’s also relatively sheer.
Packaging: The packaging looks incredibly classic. The tube is a glossy black, with a clear window on the top of the cap so you can see the lipstick color when looking down at it. When you pull the lid off it’s a shiny gold with Revlon printed on it.
Applicator: This is a standard cut bullet; there’s nothing special or unique about the shape.
Application: I found application on this lipstick to be as easy as any other traditional bullet lipstick. The point is just sharp enough that you can get a crisp line relatively easily, though I imagine that the more you wear it down the harder it will be to get that even line.
One thing that I struggled with was needing to build up opacity on this particular color. I would typically swipe about three times to get the opacity level I wanted. While it would look opaque from normal talking distance, when looking up close you could definitely see the darkness of my lips poking through still.
Karissa Talks Beauty 