Lancome Red & Sensual Java Lipstick
The Scarlet Season: Lancome Red and Sensual Java Lipstick
Lancome Red and Sensual Java Lipstick
($25.00 for 0.14 oz.) is an orange-based opaque red in Lancome’s Color Fever formula. The Color Fever formula makes it a more opaque, hydrating lip color that feels lightweight with a glossy sheen. I really like the richness in pigmentation in this shade, and it glides onto lips so easily. It’s definitely a bolder, brighter shade of red that will get your lips noticed when you wear it!
The Scarlet Season is a series of posts showcasing and featuring my favorite shades of red lips–from glosses to lipsticks that runs through December 2009. You can sure expect to see a lot of red this holiday season!
See more swatches and comparison photos… Continue reading →
The Scarlet Season: Cargo Cherry Bliss Lipstick
CARGO PlantLove Cherry Bliss Lipstick
($20.00 for 0.14 oz.) is an earth-friendly lipstick (tube is made out of corn) that also does good, too. For their celeb-designed lipsticks, $2 from the purchase price goes to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research. Even the box it comes with can be planted and you’ll see some nice flowers grow. Cherry Bliss was designed by celebrity Kim Raver, and it is a glossy, opaque cherry red. It’s a bright pop of red with a really glossy finish (but no real shimmer). The formula itself is creamy and moisturizing while it wears really well (about five to six hours).
The Scarlet Season is a series of posts showcasing and featuring my favorite shades of red lips–from glosses to lipsticks that runs through December 2009. You can sure expect to see a lot of red this holiday season!
See more swatches and comparison photos… Continue reading →
The Scarlet Season: Smashbox Siren Lip Enhancing Gloss
Smashbox Siren Lip Enhancing Gloss
($18.00 for 0.20 oz.) is a mostly red, slightly pink-tinged semi-opaque gloss with a coppery red shimmer that’s noticeable but not in-your-face. The best part about this gloss (and other shades in the same formula) is the high shine, ultra glossy look it gives lips. My lips just seemed to look a little bigger, fuller, and just more POW! overall. The formula iteslf is non-sticky, not really thick (but not super thin, either–somewhere in-between), and very moisturizing. The gloss does contain vitamin E, so it helps keep lips feeling their best. It has a soft slightly sweet vanilla scent to it, as well. Siren is a good shade to gloss over a red lipstick for extra shine or wear alone!
The Scarlet Season is a series of posts showcasing and featuring my favorite shades of red lips–from glosses to lipsticks that runs through December 2009. You can sure expect to see a lot of red this holiday season!
See more swatches and comparison photos… Continue reading →
Guerlain Holiday: Guerlain Gems Rouge G Lipstick
Guerlain Gems Rouge G Lipstick
($45.00 for 0.12 oz.) is the second new, limited edition shade of Rouge G from Guerlain’s Holiday Collection. (The other new, limited edition shade is Grace, which I reviewed last week.)
Gems is a beautiful shade of slight subdued pink-coral with a fiery gold shimmer laced throughout. It’s hard for me to call it a coral, because there is a very pink color base to it, yet the brightness of the rising sun shimmer makes it pop. For me, this was love at first swatch — this is a shade I could see myself wearing all the time, no matter the occasion.
It’s just one of those shades that suits me well and makes me feel great wearing it. I’ve always considered makeup more than just utility — it’s about the feeling and experience and joy I get from using it. This just makes me happy! Even outside of my makeup haze, I really do think this is a very flattering shade that a lot of people could wear and find work well for them.
The Rouge G formula is fantastic — smooth, silky, wears and fades well, and goes on opaque overall. The only real detractor is the wowza price tag. When it comes to Rouge G, I really do believe you’re paying mostly for the packaging. I just can’t deny the formula rocks — I just wish they’d make the formula available with some cheaper packaging!
By the way, Gems looks amazing with Guerlain’s Perle de Lune KissKiss Gloss (also from this collection) layered on top.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 
- Product: 30/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you love slightly coral-pinks or shimmery shades, you may want to check out this limited edition holiday shade if you can take the splurge!
Availability: Nordstrom
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Trish McEvoy Gorgeous Red Gorgeous Lip Color ($25.00 for 0.12 oz.) is a blue-based fuchsia-red. It applies semi-opaquely and definitely has a distinctive pinkness to it, so it’s not really a true red. However, the pink makes it less intense and thereby makes it more wearable for some who are a little shy of truer reds. I found the formula to be hydrating, and it felt more like a lip stain than a lipstick. I wouldn’t describe it as a creamy red, but more of a sheer red with a higher color threshold than expected out of a sheerer shade. It’s also a buildable shade, which means that it took a few layers to get a mostly solid look, but on the same token, you can go sheerer if you like (or the occasion calls for it) with the same shade.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 25/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: For fans of sheerer, softer reds, Gorgeous Red gives you sheer-to-buildable pinky red.
Availability: BlueMercury.com
The Scarlet Season is a series of posts showcasing and featuring my favorite shades of red lips–from glosses to lipsticks that runs through December 2009. You can sure expect to see a lot of red this holiday season!
See more photos and swatches… Continue reading →
Guerlain: Perle de Lune KissKiss Gloss
Guerlain Perle de Lune KissKiss Gloss
($29.00 for 0.17 oz.) is one of three new, limited edition shades of KissKiss Gloss from Guerlain’s Holiday Collection.
Perle de Lune is a sheer, milky pale pink (it’s almost colorless, so soft the pink is!) with a large dose of pink, gold, and bronze shimmer. This is a particularly glittery shade of KissKiss Gloss, but it doesn’t feel gritty, so I do like that. I’d also say that this is definitely a shade you’d layer on a lipstick rather than wear alone, but for some, it’s a nice way to add sparkle without adding a lot of color.
KissKiss Gloss is a non-sticky, moisturizing gloss that lasts about four hours or so on me. I love the way it sparkles and glitters on my lips, and they always look fantastic layered over lipsticks. The scent is sort of a sweet rose, which isn’t always loved by lipgloss fans alike, so you may want to give it a whiff before making the leap for this shade. This particular holiday shade reminded me a lot of Chanel’s Holiday Aqualumieres, which also very sheer but had lots of sparkle–almost a mix of Canari and Colibri.
Bottom Line: If you’re a fan of sparkly glosses and don’t need a lot of color in your gloss, Perle de Lune may be right up your alley. It’s a bit of a splurge at $29 and you only get 0.17 oz., so it’s not the cheapest gloss around. The packaging of this limited edition shade is also very pretty.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 5/5
Recommendation: For a fun, ridiculously sparkly gloss that doesn’t feel gritty, Perle de Lune makes a great shade for layering.
Availability: Nordstrom
See swatches and comparisons… Continue reading →
