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”

lip products, lip stains

theBalm theBalmJour Creamy Lip Stain “Namaste” | Review

Hello friends!

I am of the opinion that theBalm is a pretty underrated brand in the beauty sphere! They have their popular products like the Mary-Loumanizer or their eyeshadow palettes, but everything else doesn’t seem to get quite the same hype. Today I’m sharing my review on one of their lip products; their creamy lip stain.

Color: Namaste is a deep, warm pink. It looks slightly more neutral upon application, but wears into a fuchsia throughout the day.

Finish: As the name suggests, this lip stain’s finish is definitely a cream, similar to that of a bullet lipstick but with less opacity. It’s not quite shiny like many glosses, but does hold a similar vibe to one.

Packaging: theBalm is definitely known for their cute, vintage looking packaging featuring various people, and this isn’t an exception. The tube is a matte grey plastic, with a cute sticker in it featuring a red head saying the shade name. Each shade has a different character on it, which is a nice touch.

Applicator: The applicator is your standard doefoot. I didn’t feel like the shape helped or hindered in applying this product.

Application: I found getting an even application with this color to be a bit tricky, as it’s not fully opaque. I had to be careful to not swipe back and forth too much, or I would risk pulling up the product I’d already put on my lips and making it look patchy. One layer was the best bet for getting an even application, however I still wasn’t completely happy with the evenness of it.

I also had a bit of difficulty with getting the edges of my lips, as product would want to bunch up and leave a thick line – with many other products it’s easy to fix, but with this one I had to carefully dab it away or risk a more patchy appearance. I found it easiest to press and rub my lips together to disperse excess product.

Continue reading “theBalm theBalmJour Creamy Lip Stain “Namaste” | Review”

lip gloss, lip products

Ofra Cosmetics x Madison Miller Lip Gloss “Smiley For Ryleigh” | Review

Hello friends!

I will forever talk about how much I adore Ipsy, and this is part of the reason why! I was able to get this lip gloss as part of my bag – I love being able to try new collections from brands I enjoy!

Color: This is a mostly transparent peach gloss with tons of glitter. There is a hint of peach color in the base, but for the most part it’s clear with shimmer.

Finish: The finish of this is shiny, but more so I’d say this is a glitter finish gloss due to the lack of base pigment.

Packaging: The packaging of this gloss is a beautiful matte white cap with a plain acrylic tube and Ofra written on the cap. The product information is white, printed on the tube, and appears to have Madison Miller’s signature on it.

Applicator: The applicator functions like a basic doefoot, however it does have an interesting curve to it and a bit of a “chair” shape. I’m not sure if that really improves the application, but it is kind of fun.

Application: Application of this gloss is pretty easy. I dipped into the tube twice; once for each lip. Since the base is mostly clear I wasn’t too worried about going outside of the lip lines. One thing I do want to caution is that it can look streaky and clumpy upon initial application until you “blend” with the doefoot – so I’d be careful about applying without a mirror. You could also rub your lips together to distribute the pigment a bit more, but it was something I had noticed. This is me being nit picky!

There is a very sweet vanilla scent that dissipates after application.

Continue reading “Ofra Cosmetics x Madison Miller Lip Gloss “Smiley For Ryleigh” | Review”

lip gloss, lip products

Colourpop Ultra Glossy Lip “Curvii” | Review

Hello friends!

In a wonderful turn of events, I got the iluvsarahii bundle by accident when I had purchased the KathleenLight’s bundle. ColourPop had given me to go-ahead to keep my bundle while they sent me the correct one, which means that I was able to get double the product!

If you’re interested in the other colors within this bundle, my review of 951 is here.

Color: Curvii is a pale peach with flecks of pink glitter.  Depending on how thick of a layer, it can go from a nearly clear gloss with glitter, to a very opaque peach.

Finish: In terms of gloss finishes, this is relatively creamy with glitter flecks throughout.  The thicker the layer, the more creamy it looks and less gloss-like finish it has.

Colourpop Ultra Glossy Lip "Curvii" | Review - A Midwest Belle

Packaging: The packaging of this lip gloss is really pretty, as it is part of the iluvsarahii collab.  It’s the standard acrylic tube with a gold cap and gold accents.

Colourpop Ultra Glossy Lip "Curvii" | Review - A Midwest Belle

Applicator: The applicator for this gloss is a brush tip – it’s definitely not my favorite for this type of formula, as the product is thick and the brush struggles to distribute product evenly.  I also noticed that there tends to be hairs out of place frequently.

Application: I find application of this gloss to be quite tedious.  The brush applicator means that if I wanted to apply this in a thick, opaque layer I am building constantly, but have to be careful to avoid streaks due to the paleness of this shade.  If I want to use a thin layer as a “wash” of color, it still doesn’t apply evenly with the brush and so I have to dip multiple times.

I struggled to get product my lips without missing spots or having clumps of product in certain areas, with no product in others.

Continue reading “Colourpop Ultra Glossy Lip “Curvii” | Review”

lip products, liquid lipstick

Physician’s Formula The Healthy Lip Velvet Finish “Berry Healthy” | Review

Hello friends!

I was unbelievably lucky and found a bunch of these Healthy Lips on clearance at Walmart – I couldn’t help but snag some because I’ve heard people rave about them.  Spoiler alert: for good reason, too!

Color: Berry Healthy is a neutral, deep pink that leans slightly cool, but could mostly be considered a neutral pink-berry.  The neutral-ness of the shade tends to make it look less berry than what one would traditionally think – there’s very little purple in it. I personally would consider this a pink nude in my own collection.

Finish: As most liquid lipsticks do, this formula dries down to a matte finish.  The packaging states that this is a velvet finish, but to me there isn’t much shine, and what little there is definitely goes away as the product wears.

Physician’s Formula The Healthy Lip Velvet Finish “Berry Healthy” | Review - A Midwest Belle

Packaging: The packaging on this lipstick is definitely unique to other liquid lipstick tubes! It’s square and acrylic with the silver cap.  This definitely feels weighty and more luxurious than a typical drugstore liquid lipstick.  The only complaint I have is that it’s unnecessarily bulky – there easily could have been less acrylic on the outside of the product and still kept the aesthetic.

Physician’s Formula The Healthy Lip Velvet Finish “Berry Healthy” | Review - A Midwest Belle

Applicator: I adore the teardrop applicator with a well on the inside. The shape lends well to application – it’s easy to get a crisp line with the pointed tip.  The well ensures that you don’t have to dip into the tube a second time as it holds enough product for both lips.

Application: I found application of this to be strange at first, until I got more comfortable with the formula.  It’s not actually fully opaque; it’s semi-opaque, but with this particular shade that actually worked in its favor.  The product is thicker than you would expect – not a mousse, but also not thin like a standard liquid lipstick.

There were some issues with evenness on application, especially on the edges of my lips.  You could definitely tell that some spots were more pigmented than others, however it was incredibly easy to just use my finger and dot off the excess.

Physician’s Formula The Healthy Lip Velvet Finish “Berry Healthy” | Review - A Midwest Belle

Continue reading “Physician’s Formula The Healthy Lip Velvet Finish “Berry Healthy” | Review”

lip crayon, lip products

Nudestix Cream Lip + Cheek Pencil “Whisper” | Review

Hello friends!

I don’t remember where I got this lip pencil from, but I do remember being excited to see it since Nudestix is such a positively rated brand!  Side note: I’ve been shocked recently by the amount of pale peach nudes colors that I have, considering I’m so picky about light colors in the first place, let alone peaches.

Color: Whisper is described as “cool mocha with a pink undertone”.  I personally don’t see that to be true!  I think mocha makes it sound darker than it is, especially because it looks like concealer lips.  It’s very cool toned and definitely has grey undertones on me, which didn’t flatter my complexion.

Comparing the hand swatch versus lip swatch, I definitely feel as though it looks darker on my hand.  Just be aware that this is one color that definitely changes in appearance between your hand and lips – at least it did on me.

Nudestix Cream Lip + Cheek Pencil "Whisper" | Review - A Midwest Belle

Finish: With “cream” in the name, I had assumed this would have a shiny finish, but to me it definitely looks like a matte lip product.  In the hand swatch it looks much creamier than it does on my lips.

Continue reading “Nudestix Cream Lip + Cheek Pencil “Whisper” | Review”

lip crayon, lip products

NARS Satin Lip Pencil “Rikugien” | Review

Hello friends!

When I was first getting into makeup, I basically purchased everything that was in a mini kit, which included this Sephora birthday gift from 2015!  In an effort to find out if all this random makeup I bought was worth it, I decided to give this color a shot!

Color: Rikugien is described on Sephora as a “rose pink”.  I think that’s pretty close – although to me rose makes it sound a little more nude than what this color is.  I’d say this is a more light, “spring” pink.

NARS Satin Lip Pencil "Rikugien" | Review - A Midwest Belle

Finish: There’s not a lot of pigment to the actual lip product, so on my lips it looks like it’s just a slightly shiny gloss.  There’s a definite metallic appearance as well, so I would consider the finish of this product a hybrid of a gloss and a metallic lip.

When I think of satin, I personally think of something that’s almost matte, but not quite.  This formula’s finish is definitely not that, so buyer beware if you’re looking for something almost-matte instead of shiny.

Continue reading “NARS Satin Lip Pencil “Rikugien” | 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”

Uncategorized

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

Bobbi Brown Luxe Lipstick “Brocade” | Review

Hello friends!

As you read in my Year of Lipsticks post, I’m making it a goal of mine this year to test as many lip products as I can!  I’ve had this lipstick for about a year now and have always admired it, but never tried it out.

Color: Bobbi Brown’s Brocade is described as a “bright purple plum” on the Sephora website. I would describe it as a bright warm purple with a reddish magenta undertone.

Packaging: First off, the packaging is so stunning and it looks expensive.  It’s a beautiful gold with black accents, and has an insignia on the top of the lid.  It’s feels heavy, and looks like it would be worth the $37 price tag from the packaging alone.

Continue reading “Bobbi Brown Luxe Lipstick “Brocade” | Review”