lip products, liquid lipstick

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick “Caramello” | Review

Hello friends!

I know, there’s a lot of shocking things happening right now! First – a new review, two weeks in a row?! Second – a product that’s actually still available for purchase??! I know, wild times, but I am feeling quite the rush of motivation to keep working through my makeup collection and sharing my thoughts with you all!

Color: Caramello is described on the Stila website as a “neutral nude”. This seems somewhat accurate, but looking at it on myself I actually consider it a cool-toned peach. It looks pretty grey on me, but still has an almost peachy color to it. It’s so hard to explain, but spoiler alert: I love it!

Finish: If you guessed that the finish of this product is matte, you’d be correct! It goes on shiny but dries down in about a minute to its flat matte finish.

Packaging: The packaging of this liquid lipstick is a traditional acrylic tube, but with a satin gold cap. The Stila logo is printed on the tube along with other product information, and the bottom has a sticker with the color name.

Applicator: The doefoot for this product looks pretty standard, but is a bit longer than a normal paddle and doesn’t have any flair.

Continue reading “Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick “Caramello” | Review”
lip products, liquid lipstick

Wet n’ Wild Liquid Catsuit Matte Lipstick “Rebel Rose” | Review

Hello friends!

I apologize for my long absence! I think we can all agree in saying 2020 was a year of… well, who knows exactly what it was. That being said, I’m ready to move into the new year and get back into reviewing my vast amount of makeup starting with this product!

Color: Rebel Rose is a cool-toned pink nude. It’s the same depth as a traditional rose color, but with very purple undertones.

Finish: This liquid lipstick dries down to a completely matte finish.

Packaging: The packaging is a short, clear acrylic tube with a shiny black cap. The label is a sticker. If you’ve seen my review of the shiny version of this liquid lipstick they came out with, it’s identical, but with a different colored top!

Applicator: The applicator is one of the chair shaped ones, with a dip in the center that both holds product and creates an ease of application through better fitting the shape of the lips. I find these applicators to be easier to use than a traditional flat doefoot.

Application: Application was pretty easy for me! With the shape of the applicator, it was easy to cover one of my lips in the product without needing to do any cleanup afterwards due to going outside of the lines. I did need to dip back into the tube to get enough product to cover my top lip as well.

Transfer: Aside from the typical small bit of excess product that comes off at first, I found that the transfer of this lipstick was practically nonexistent. I didn’t see anything come off on my straw while drinking and nothing on my food or silverware while eating.

Fading: There was minimal to no fading that I noticed. Granted, this color is pretty close to my own natural lips, so there’s a chance I just didn’t see it like I would with another color. Still, after 8 hours I felt like my lipstick still looked good!

I did notice that the lipstick seemed to emphasize lines in my lips a bit, so if you’re like me and have pretty textured lips, exfoliate beforehand! If it’s something that really bothers you, I’d suggest skipping over this formula.

Comfort: As with the majority of matte liquid lipsticks, there is a slight bit of discomfort after 8 hours of wearing this. For the first eight, I barely noticed I had anything on my lips. Around the 9-10 hour mark, I was feeling like my lips were tight and I wanted the product to come off. This isn’t unique to this particular formula – I feel that way with most matte liquid lipsticks (I never prep my lips quite right!). If you were to ensure they were moisturized before putting on the lipstick (but being sure to remove the balm beforehand to not affect wear time), and exfoliated, I imagine you’d be able to comfortably go 12+ hours, as wear isn’t the concern.

Overall: I really enjoy this lipstick! The color is very me – I’m always up for a cool toned nudey pink since warm tones pull orange on me. The formula is great for those days you need something to last, without even considering the price in that. Add that you can get it for incredibly cheap, and this is a formula that I’ll be returning to for different colors as well.

Price Point: Wet n Wild boasts affordable makeup, and this product is no exception! At full price, the lipsticks are $5.49 each. Very frequently, you can find their products on sale on their website, Ulta, Target, Walmart, and other drugstores as well, so anticipate spending under $5 for a lipstick that I personally think is well worth it!

lip products, liquid lipstick

Kylie Cosmetics Matte Liquid Lipstick “Twenty” | Review

Hello friends!

A few years ago, Kylie cosmetics was all the rage when they launched their first product, the matte liquid lipstick.  While it’s still quite popular, I’d say that the hype has died down a bit.  I never purchased anything from the Kylie website, but as soon as they came to Ulta I knew I’d wanted to try at least one of their products.  

While I did purchase the full lip kit (liquid lipstick and lip liner), this review will only be for the liquid lipstick.  If I do choose to review the liner at a later date, it will be linked here!

Color: The Ulta website defines this color as a “mid-tone rose brown”.  I’d say that’s a somewhat accurate description, however it’s not especially brown to me.  I’d call it more of a rose; it almost looks like a nude red-pink.  This is the shade of pink that I enjoy!

Finish: This lipstick dries down to a matte finish, as most liquid lipsticks with this type of formula do.

Packaging: The packaging is something I’d consider iconic.  It has Kylie’s signature on the front, along with black drips around the entirety of the top.  The tube is a basic acrylic with a black cap.

Applicator: The applicator is a basic doefoot, again standard for a lot of thin, matte liquid lipsticks.  It does look a bit fuzzy in the close up image, but I didn’t find that it affected application at all.

Application: I had a pretty good time applying this lipstick every time.  The formula is very thin, and there was enough product on the doefoot that only one dip was needed.  I had an easy time getting smooth, even application across both lips.  It was fully opaque in one layer.

One thing that’s very important to know is that the product has a strong fruity candy scent.  It does fade pretty quickly after applying, but if fragrance in your lip products bothers you, this might be something you want to smell in store first.

Continue reading “Kylie Cosmetics Matte Liquid Lipstick “Twenty” | Review”

bullet lipstick, lip products

MAC Electric Wonder Collection Matte Lipstick “Life in Sepia” | Review

Hello friends!

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.

Continue reading “MAC Electric Wonder Collection Matte Lipstick “Life in Sepia” | Review”

lip products, liquid lipstick

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip “Creeper” | Review

Hello friends!

Colourpop took the world by storm a few years ago when they released their super shock shadows & ultra matte lips at an incredibly affordable price.  Another thing Colourpop is known for?  Limited edition!  So many colors that I’ve purchased have been discontinued.

One color that is still around though is Creeper, which is one of the original colors they released when they first started!

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip "Creeper" | Review - A Midwest Belle

Color: Creeper is a bright, blue-based red.  It has a definite pink appearance, and when the product transferred it left behind a pink stain.

Packaging: Colourpop’s packaging is notoriously bad; the writing on the tubes rubs off incredibly easily.  Other than that, it’s a nice, very standard silver cap and clear tube that looks functional and basic!  I own the sample size of this color, but packaging is identical between this and the full size; just smaller.

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip "Creeper" | Review - A Midwest Belle

Applicator: The applicator is also an incredibly basic doefoot shape.  Nothing too interesting to report there!

Continue reading “Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip “Creeper” | Review”

lip products, liquid lipstick

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick “Bittersweet” | Review

Hello friends!

I just finished trying out Ashton, and so I was excited to give Bittersweet a go!  If you read my previous post, you know that I had an awesome experience with Ashton and will definitely be keeping it around and wearing it.  Today, I have an in depth review of my thoughts regarding this specific color.

Color: Bittersweet is described as a “brown plum”, which I think is incredibly accurate!  It’s a dark brown with a purple undertone and I truly adore the way it looks!  It’s definitely a vampy shade that might be out a lot of people’s comfort zones, but it’s stunning.  I think that because I have light skin with a neutral undertone, the dark color with purple tones really flatters me.

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Packaging: In the same vein of Ashton, the packaging is very sleek and beautiful!  The clear tube fits nicely with the chrome cap and black “A” emblem.  Obviously the one I have is a sample size that I purchased in a kit last year, but the packaging is exactly the same as the full size, just smaller.

Continue reading “Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick “Bittersweet” | Review”

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Colourpop Velvet Blur Lipstick vs. MAC Powder Kiss Lipstick | Formula Comparison

Hello friends!

When MAC released their new Powder Kiss lipsticks a while back, I immediately felt the need to go out and buy it.  Until recently, I’d never heard of another lipstick that had quite the same sort of formula!  While there are certainly some that are similar or can provide nearly the same effect, this just seemed so different and special.

In the past few months, Colourpop has come out with a lipstick that made me think it was very similar – one might even call it a formula dupe!  Today, I wanted to share my thoughts as to if these formulas are close enough to warrant being dupes or not!

If you’re curious to see my thoughts on each individual lipsticks, I do have reviews up of CP Lucky Strike and MAC Mull It Over.

Colourpop Velvet Blur Lipstick vs. MAC Powder Kiss Lipstick | Formula Comparison - A Midwest Belle

Continue reading “Colourpop Velvet Blur Lipstick vs. MAC Powder Kiss Lipstick | Formula Comparison”

bullet lipstick, lip products

MAC Powder Kiss Lipstick “Mull It Over” | Review

Hello friends!

I feel like MAC is a brand that almost every makeup lover has heard of; it’s definitely got a reputation and has been around for a very long time!  I wanted to make it a point to start testing some of their cult classic products and see if they’re worth the price or not.

Unlike their classic lipsticks, this is a brand new formula called the Powder Kiss lipstick, which is a matte, powdery formula that gives you a smooth and blurred look on your lips.

MAC Powder Kiss Lipstick "Mull It Over" | Review - A Midwest Belle

Color: Mull it Over is a warm peachy nude that tends to pull very orange on me, unfortunately.  Sometimes warm pink nudes tend to look much less pretty pink and way more bright orange, which is not flattering in my opinion.

When this formula first launched, this color was the closest to a wearable nude for me.  They recently came out with new shades, some of which are much better for me in terms of an every day shade!

Continue reading “MAC Powder Kiss Lipstick “Mull It Over” | Review”

lip products, liquid lipstick

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick “Ashton” | Review

Hello friends!

One brand that comes to mind as the pioneer of the matte liquid lipstick trend is Anastasia Beverly Hills! Way back in the day when liquid lipsticks were just becoming a thing, this was one of the original formulas you could find.  Today I wanted to share with you whether I feel like they’ve stood the test of time, or have fallen flat compared to other formulas!

Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick "Ashton" Review - A Midwest Belle

Color: Ashton is described as a “midtone yellow-brown”.  While I find this color really pretty, if you don’t love browns you probably want to skip on this and go for a different color instead.  The yellow undertone might be something that doesn’t work well with other skin tones, so this is definitely a color I’d suggest swatching first!

Packaging: I love how sleek the packaging looks!  The silver tube has ABH’s symbol on the top in black, so it matches the tube and makes it easy to identify among other liquid lipsticks.  I also really enjoy the gold detailing on the top of the tube as well!

Continue reading “Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick “Ashton” | Review”

lip products, liquid lipstick

Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Color “Obsession” | Review

Hello friends!

Before I get into the review, I’d like to start by saying that it did not go the way I had expected it to.  This was one of the first lip product’s I’d purchased for myself when I got into makeup, and I used to just love wearing it.  I distinctly remember bringing it to work and reapplying throughout the day multiple times.

Color: Obsession is a beautiful hot pink with blue undertones, which is incredibly flattering on my neutral skin tone.

Applicator: In terms of application, I really enjoyed the applicator’s shape.  It has a bit of a triangle shape to it, and the curve fits my lips incredibly well, so I found it very easy to maneuver.  It also smells absolutely incredible, like a sweet fruity candy.  While I absolutely adore the color and scent, the formula was surprising.

Continue reading “Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Color “Obsession” | Review”