Sorry for my little hiatus, as mentioned in my goals post I tend to have phases of obsessing over beauty and then phases where I want nothing to do with it. I’m excited to get back into sharing my thoughts on beauty, but spoiler alert, we’re starting with quite the doozy.
Color: The 01 shade is a classic YSL shade; bright red as described by the Sephora website. Normally I would add a little more of my own thoughts but honestly, I think bright red is about as descriptive as you’d need! It’s got a pinky/orange base to create the incredible vibrance.
Finish: On application, due to the way the formula is (more on that later), it is high shine but dries down to a completely matte finish.
Packaging: The sample packaging I have varies from the full size packaging, unfortunately! My product is a clear tube with a shiny gold lid and a black YSL sticker on it. The full size tatouage product is a square shape, with a gold metal lid and “YSL” engraved into it. I will admit it does have a beautiful and luxurious look to it!
Applicator: The applicator is another huge difference between sample and full size, which I can’t help but wonder might be why application was so different and uncomfortable. The sample size product is a regular fluffy doefoot, which absorbs a lot of product and I think applied way too much. The full size applicator looks to be flat and mostly plastic, with just a small bit of fluff for comfort on application; I imagine this also regulates how much product will apply onto your lips.
I’m pulling my lipsticks to review from a specific organizer, which I thought had some of my very old lip products on it and that was it. I was surprised to see this lipstick when I grabbed it! It was a purchase from around the middle of 2022, so very recent compared to other products. I found this while on one of my many trips to TJMaxx, and obviously got excited because it was a unique formula in a nude color.
Color: With a shade name like “nude”, you wouldn’t be wrong in assuming that this is a neutral color. It’s a light brown with warm, peachy undertones that inevitably looks orange when applied to my lips. Still a lovely shade!
Finish: So I was curious to see what BH meant when they said liquid lip powder for their formula, and I can confidently say I understand now! The finish is a very soft matte; instead of the dry look of a standard liquid lipstick, this has a more blurred but still matte look that was incredibly popular a few years ago.
Packaging: I think the packaging of this particular product is really unique! It’s has a cylindrical shape with a rounded bottom. The product name is printed in hot pink, as well as the brand (though a bit hidden), and the rest of the product information including shade name is on the other side.
Applicator: The applicator is in a fun little chair shape, with a pointed tip that moves down into the “seat”, which is just a spot that holds product and hugs your lips as you apply.
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.
I’ll be honest, as much as I enjoyed reviewing the past few products, I’m so happy to be back to liquid lipsticks! Even though they’ve lost popularity in the mainstream, I still have a ton of love for them. I’ve never had issues with most of them feeling too dry, and they’re so easy for me to wear and forget about!
Color: American Woman is described on the Sephora website as a chestnut rose, which is very accurate! It has a lot of pink in it, but I still get a distinct peach to it as well, which I think comes from the chestnut part. It’s another color in the same family as MAC’s Velvet Teddy & Pat McGrath’s Omi.
Finish: Unsurprisingly with a name like “power matte”, this lipstick goes on thin and shiny but dries down to a completely flat matte.
Packaging: Even though this is a mini, the packaging is the exact same between mini and full size. It’s a rectangular acrylic tube with a small clear window on each side. Everything else is a matte black, but not their usual soft touch packaging. The lid has NARS listed across the top, with one letter on each side.
Applicator: The applicator is so unique! I don’t believe I’ve seen anything like it. Instead of a usual fluffy doefoot or paddle, it’s a small soft applicator that is thin and pointed.
Today I have a wordy one for you all! I want to share all of the goals I have for this blog and my other social media platforms, as well as my personal makeup goals for 2023! I hope that by telling everyone what my goals are, it’ll help keep me more accountable to them! I might do quarterly updates sharing where I’m at, depending on if people are interested in hearing about it.
Instead of rambling on, let’s get into the goals, because there are a LOT of them to go through!
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.
I need to preemptively start this review by saying I cannot believe I waited so long to review this product, because I’m kind of love it! I got it in a Sephora lip kit a few years ago, which really is the story for a lot of different products I review.
Color: There is very little pigment to this product with it being a balm, but it does have a very soft pinky nude tint to it. On my lips it really doesn’t have any sort of color.
Finish: Again, with this being a balm, the finish is just shiny and a little creamy if you apply a thicker layer.
Packaging: The packaging of this product is absolutely amazing and my vibe! It looks kind of like Lilly Pulitzer, which is an inspiration brand for me. The packaging is coated cardboard with plastic underneath. It has a midtone pink base and lighter pink shells scattered throughout. Some of the shells are accented in gold. When you pull the cap off, the tube the lipstick sits in is a shiny gold. The thing I really love about this one is that each shade has a different color/pattern!
Applicator: The shape of this bullet is just round; the actual formula is also very soft.
Application: Being a balm and a nude, application is basically foolproof. This is one product I feel completely comfortable applying without a mirror or looking because it’s so sheer. The round shape doesn’t make it easier or harder to apply.
There is a minty scent that dissipates quickly. I was concerned that applying this in the winter time would feel really cold, but it really hasn’t made any difference.
Transfer: With this just being a balm, there is essentially nothing to keep it from transferring, so anywhere my lips touched, the balm went. The side of my coffee cup had essentially all of the pigment come off onto it immediately. The same goes for any food I ate.
Fading: It’s honestly difficult to identify any sort of fading simply because the color is so sheer on me, that I can’t tell where it is even when freshly applied. I rely on the shine it gives my lips, which does last for a little bit. I’d say if you’re actively doing something (drinking, talking, eating, etc) that you’ll be reapplying every hour if you want to keep it on and visible. If you’re just looking for a quick hit of moisture, one application and calling it there is plenty, and it’ll fade away gracefully so you don’t need to continue checking up on it.
Comfort: The big winning aspect of this formula is unsurprisingly its comfort. It’s incredibly soft and feels really comforting on the lips. While I wouldn’t say this is a balm I’d use for super dry lip days, it is perfect when you just want something to throw on and not think about. It certainly doesn’t dry out my lips.
Overall: While this isn’t my new holy grail lip balm, the packaging and feel of the product does make it special and something I want to reach for often, especially since it is currently winter. I wouldn’t pay full price for it, but if Tarte came out with a set of them at a discounted price, I’d consider picking it up! Honestly, it’s the packaging that really elevates this product for me.
Price Point: If you want to try this yourself, you can find it at Sephora or Tarte’s website for $19. I do enjoy this formula, but I think it’s more worth it to find on sale or in a kit, like how I got it.
Ever since Natasha Denona launched their first eyeshadow palettes, I’ve been curious to try them. Unfortunately, if you know anything about this brand, you know that it’s pretty pricey. As interested as I’ve been, I haven’t been able to convince myself to purchase.
When I saw this baby palette pop up under $20, I knew this was my chance. In all transparency, I know that in terms of actual value I didn’t really save anything, but based on the size of my collection, spending less money for less shadows ended up being the best option. I also got it for 10% off during the VIB sale, so that was a nice little bonus!
Packaging: I think the packaging of this palette is really pretty! It feels like a nice, solid plastic. The lid is a thick piece of acrylic that flips up completely flat. On the front is simple black font with the brand name and name of the palette the shadows are from. The hinges also are solid and lock it into place so you can set the lid however you’d like. When closing the lid, it has a solid snap shut and doesn’t feel like it will pop open accidentally; it takes a bit of force to lift it. Not enough to be hard to open, but enough to feel like it’s secure.
The base of the palette that the shadows sit in is a beautiful shiny gold. On the back is a sticker with the product name, shade names, and product information.
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.
Karissa Talks Beauty 