Lips -Cover Girl - Outlast Lipstain - 425 Plum Pout
kmbirkel 1/6/2009 9:01:00 AM
Please click "continued" for swatches and pics!
The first thing I want to say about the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstains is wow - as a collection, these are remarkable.
For each swatch, I drew a rectangle on my arm between black lines (for contrast - I used Wet 'n' Wild MegaEyes Defining Marker, which, by the way, is just like MAC's new felt-tip liner and is absolutely amazing), let it dry for a few minutes, and then went over it again to ensure that each color showed up as pigmented as possible for the sake of comparison and truth of color. Others before me have said they are very pigmented, and I half-agree with that statement; some are incredibly pigmented, others significantly less so (and with little exception, they generally get more pigmented as the shade numbers increase). The less pigmented of these lipstains are very layerable, but the more pigmented ones seem to be relatively unaffected by the amount of product you use. I'll show the pictures first, and then describe each shade. In all of the pictures, the lipstains are placed in ascending numerical order from left to right.
With flash:
Without flash:
Shade descriptions and reviews (Pigmentation scale: 1 = least pigmented, 10 = most pigmented):
400 Everbloom Kiss: Bright, cute, sweet pink, neutral in tone. Creates an innocent and (very) youthful look. Pigmentation: 2
405 Berry Smooch: Sophisticated, cool-toned mauve-berry shade. Reminds me very much of NARS' Sin blush (without the shimmer, of course). Simply gorgeous. Pigmentation: 1
410 Bit of Blossom: Vivid pink shade that rather tends toward the "fuschia" direction, but without being overly cool (definitely cool-neutral). This makes for a sassy sort of look (exactly what you don't get with the "Sassy Mauve" shade, incidentally), one I imagine fitting on a MAC MA, for example. Pigmentation: 6
415 Teasing Blush: Sultry, neutral pink-red-brown color, remarkably hard to describe; for some reason, I can't get past the word "blush" (in its name) - it doesn't really mean anything, but somehow it's still the most fitting descriptor I can think of. This one may well be my favorite of them all. It's just... sexy. Pigmentation: 4
420 Sassy Mauve: Sophisticated, subdued wine color; "mauve" definitely hits the nail on the head. While this is a very pretty color, I wouldn't call it "sassy." It strikes me as one of the more mature colors in the line, and reminds me somewhat of Lancome's popular Beach Plum Juicy Tube. Pigmentation: 5
*** 425 Plum Pout (shade currently being reviewed): Deep, cool red; not very plummy at all, in my opinion. This is almost the exact color of MAC's Dubonnet lipstick. Love it! Pigmentation: 10 ***
430 Coy Coral: Warm, salmony-coral shade, markedly different from the other lipstains. While this stain does go on more smoothly and evenly than most of the others, I'm very unimpressed by the color and quite honestly can't think of any skin tone this would complement (but feel free to try to prove me wrong!). Pigmentation: 8
435 Flirty Nude: Rather warm pink-brown tone (but with more brown than pink). It's almost a darker, more opaque version of NARS' Dolce Vita lipstick, but not quite as pretty. This is just an average color, in my opinion; not ugly but not beautiful, either, though I suspect it might better compliment darker skin tones than my own. Pigmentation: 3
440 Wild Berry Wink: Bright cool-neutral red, the exact color of my fingers after a day of picking fresh blackberries in the end of August. Stunning. Pigmentation: 9
445 Cinnamon Smile: Warm brown, caramel-mocha shade. I mentally file this under "no way," next to "Coy Coral"; while I do think it's more likely to work on some skin tones than the coral shade would, I'm having trouble even figuring out what those skin tones might be. It's just... very, very brown. Pigmentation: 7
Whew! That was a mouthful. Don't let my "pigmentation scale" scare you off, either. As I mentioned earlier, some of the less pigmented shades are the prettiest, and very buildable.
I haven't worn them all out and about yet, but the ones I have (415 and 420, I believe) lasted through dinner and a play/movie (two different nights). I found myself re-applying every few hours to maintain the vividness of color; they didn't fade too much, but when they did, they faded evenly. As with most lipstains, the CoverGirl Outlast stains tend to cling to patches of dry skin, so it helps to exfoliate your lips before applying (this can be done with a lip buffer, a washcloth, or even a soft-bristled toothbrush) and/or prep your lips with a small amount of balm. (You can also apply balm after the stain, which creates a very pretty, glossy look; be sure to let the stain "set" for a few minutes first, though.)
24 out of 24 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lips -Cover Girl - Outlast Lipstain - 420 Sassy Mauve
kmbirkel 1/6/2009 9:00:00 AM
Please click "continued" for swatches and pics!
The first thing I want to say about the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstains is wow - as a collection, these are remarkable.
For each swatch, I drew a rectangle on my arm between black lines (for contrast - I used Wet 'n' Wild MegaEyes Defining Marker, which, by the way, is just like MAC's new felt-tip liner and is absolutely amazing), let it dry for a few minutes, and then went over it again to ensure that each color showed up as pigmented as possible for the sake of comparison and truth of color. Others before me have said they are very pigmented, and I half-agree with that statement; some are incredibly pigmented, others significantly less so (and with little exception, they generally get more pigmented as the shade numbers increase). The less pigmented of these lipstains are very layerable, but the more pigmented ones seem to be relatively unaffected by the amount of product you use. I'll show the pictures first, and then describe each shade. In all of the pictures, the lipstains are placed in ascending numerical order from left to right.
With flash:
Without flash:
Shade descriptions and reviews (Pigmentation scale: 1 = least pigmented, 10 = most pigmented):
400 Everbloom Kiss: Bright, cute, sweet pink, neutral in tone. Creates an innocent and (very) youthful look. Pigmentation: 2
405 Berry Smooch: Sophisticated, cool-toned mauve-berry shade. Reminds me very much of NARS' Sin blush (without the shimmer, of course). Simply gorgeous. Pigmentation: 1
410 Bit of Blossom: Vivid pink shade that rather tends toward the "fuschia" direction, but without being overly cool (definitely cool-neutral). This makes for a sassy sort of look (exactly what you don't get with the "Sassy Mauve" shade, incidentally), one I imagine fitting on a MAC MA, for example. Pigmentation: 6
415 Teasing Blush: Sultry, neutral pink-red-brown color, remarkably hard to describe; for some reason, I can't get past the word "blush" (in its name) - it doesn't really mean anything, but somehow it's still the most fitting descriptor I can think of. This one may well be my favorite of them all. It's just... sexy. Pigmentation: 4
*** 420 Sassy Mauve (shade currently being reviewed): Sophisticated, subdued wine color; "mauve" definitely hits the nail on the head. While this is a very pretty color, I wouldn't call it "sassy." It strikes me as one of the more mature colors in the line, and reminds me somewhat of Lancome's popular Beach Plum Juicy Tube. Pigmentation: 5 ***
425 Plum Pout: Deep, cool red; not very plummy at all, in my opinion. This is almost the exact color of MAC's Dubonnet lipstick. Love it! Pigmentation: 10
430 Coy Coral: Warm, salmony-coral shade, markedly different from the other lipstains. While this stain does go on more smoothly and evenly than most of the others, I'm very unimpressed by the color and quite honestly can't think of any skin tone this would complement (but feel free to try to prove me wrong!). Pigmentation: 8
435 Flirty Nude: Rather warm pink-brown tone (but with more brown than pink). It's almost a darker, more opaque version of NARS' Dolce Vita lipstick, but not quite as pretty. This is just an average color, in my opinion; not ugly but not beautiful, either, though I suspect it might better compliment darker skin tones than my own. Pigmentation: 3
440 Wild Berry Wink: Bright cool-neutral red, the exact color of my fingers after a day of picking fresh blackberries in the end of August. Stunning. Pigmentation: 9
445 Cinnamon Smile: Warm brown, caramel-mocha shade. I mentally file this under "no way," next to "Coy Coral"; while I do think it's more likely to work on some skin tones than the coral shade would, I'm having trouble even figuring out what those skin tones might be. It's just... very, very brown. Pigmentation: 7
Whew! That was a mouthful. Don't let my "pigmentation scale" scare you off, either. As I mentioned earlier, some of the less pigmented shades are the prettiest, and very buildable.
I haven't worn them all out and about yet, but the ones I have (415 and 420, I believe) lasted through dinner and a play/movie (two different nights). I found myself re-applying every few hours to maintain the vividness of color; they didn't fade too much, but when they did, they faded evenly. As with most lipstains, the CoverGirl Outlast stains tend to cling to patches of dry skin, so it helps to exfoliate your lips before applying (this can be done with a lip buffer, a washcloth, or even a soft-bristled toothbrush) and/or prep your lips with a small amount of balm. (You can also apply balm after the stain, which creates a very pretty, glossy look; be sure to let the stain "set" for a few minutes first, though.)
13 out of 13 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lips -Cover Girl - Outlast Lipstain - 410 Bit of Blossom
kmbirkel 1/6/2009 8:58:00 AM
Please click "continued" for swatches and pics!
The first thing I want to say about the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstains is wow - as a collection, these are remarkable.
For each swatch, I drew a rectangle on my arm between black lines (for contrast - I used Wet 'n' Wild MegaEyes Defining Marker, which, by the way, is just like MAC's new felt-tip liner and is absolutely amazing), let it dry for a few minutes, and then went over it again to ensure that each color showed up as pigmented as possible for the sake of comparison and truth of color. Others before me have said they are very pigmented, and I half-agree with that statement; some are incredibly pigmented, others significantly less so (and with little exception, they generally get more pigmented as the shade numbers increase). The less pigmented of these lipstains are very layerable, but the more pigmented ones seem to be relatively unaffected by the amount of product you use. I'll show the pictures first, and then describe each shade. In all of the pictures, the lipstains are placed in ascending numerical order from left to right.
With flash:
Without flash:
Shade descriptions and reviews (Pigmentation scale: 1 = least pigmented, 10 = most pigmented):
400 Everbloom Kiss: Bright, cute, sweet pink, neutral in tone. Creates an innocent and (very) youthful look. Pigmentation: 2
405 Berry Smooch: Sophisticated, cool-toned mauve-berry shade. Reminds me very much of NARS' Sin blush (without the shimmer, of course). Simply gorgeous. Pigmentation: 1
*** 410 Bit of Blossom (shade currently being reviewed): Vivid pink shade that rather tends toward the "fuschia" direction, but without being overly cool (definitely cool-neutral). This makes for a sassy sort of look (exactly what you don't get with the "Sassy Mauve" shade, incidentally), one I imagine fitting on a MAC MA, for example. Pigmentation: 6 ***
415 Teasing Blush: Sultry, neutral pink-red-brown color, remarkably hard to describe; for some reason, I can't get past the word "blush" (in its name) - it doesn't really mean anything, but somehow it's still the most fitting descriptor I can think of. This one may well be my favorite of them all. It's just... sexy. Pigmentation: 4
420 Sassy Mauve: Sophisticated, subdued wine color; "mauve" definitely hits the nail on the head. While this is a very pretty color, I wouldn't call it "sassy." It strikes me as one of the more mature colors in the line, and reminds me somewhat of Lancome's popular Beach Plum Juicy Tube. Pigmentation: 5
425 Plum Pout: Deep, cool red; not very plummy at all, in my opinion. This is almost the exact color of MAC's Dubonnet lipstick. Love it! Pigmentation: 10
430 Coy Coral: Warm, salmony-coral shade, markedly different from the other lipstains. While this stain does go on more smoothly and evenly than most of the others, I'm very unimpressed by the color and quite honestly can't think of any skin tone this would complement (but feel free to try to prove me wrong!). Pigmentation: 8
435 Flirty Nude: Rather warm pink-brown tone (but with more brown than pink). It's almost a darker, more opaque version of NARS' Dolce Vita lipstick, but not quite as pretty. This is just an average color, in my opinion; not ugly but not beautiful, either, though I suspect it might better compliment darker skin tones than my own. Pigmentation: 3
440 Wild Berry Wink: Bright cool-neutral red, the exact color of my fingers after a day of picking fresh blackberries in the end of August. Stunning. Pigmentation: 9
445 Cinnamon Smile: Warm brown, caramel-mocha shade. I mentally file this under "no way," next to "Coy Coral"; while I do think it's more likely to work on some skin tones than the coral shade would, I'm having trouble even figuring out what those skin tones might be. It's just... very, very brown. Pigmentation: 7
Whew! That was a mouthful. Don't let my "pigmentation scale" scare you off, either. As I mentioned earlier, some of the less pigmented shades are the prettiest, and very buildable.
I haven't worn them all out and about yet, but the ones I have (415 and 420, I believe) lasted through dinner and a play/movie (two different nights). I found myself re-applying every few hours to maintain the vividness of color; they didn't fade too much, but when they did, they faded evenly. As with most lipstains, the CoverGirl Outlast stains tend to cling to patches of dry skin, so it helps to exfoliate your lips before applying (this can be done with a lip buffer, a washcloth, or even a soft-bristled toothbrush) and/or prep your lips with a small amount of balm. (You can also apply balm after the stain, which creates a very pretty, glossy look; be sure to let the stain "set" for a few minutes first, though.)
12 out of 12 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lips -Cover Girl - Outlast Lipstain - 405 Berry Smooch
kmbirkel 1/6/2009 8:55:00 AM
Please click "continued" for swatches and pics!
The first thing I want to say about the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstains is wow - as a collection, these are remarkable.
For each swatch, I drew a rectangle on my arm between black lines (for contrast - I used Wet 'n' Wild MegaEyes Defining Marker, which, by the way, is just like MAC's new felt-tip liner and is absolutely amazing), let it dry for a few minutes, and then went over it again to ensure that each color showed up as pigmented as possible for the sake of comparison and truth of color. Others before me have said they are very pigmented, and I half-agree with that statement; some are incredibly pigmented, others significantly less so (and with little exception, they generally get more pigmented as the shade numbers increase). The less pigmented of these lipstains are very layerable, but the more pigmented ones seem to be relatively unaffected by the amount of product you use. I'll show the pictures first, and then describe each shade. In all of the pictures, the lipstains are placed in ascending numerical order from left to right.
With flash:
Without flash:
Shade descriptions and reviews (Pigmentation scale: 1 = least pigmented, 10 = most pigmented):
400 Everbloom Kiss: Bright, cute, sweet pink, neutral in tone. Creates an innocent and (very) youthful look. Pigmentation: 2
*** 405 Berry Smooch (shade currently being reviewed): Sophisticated, cool-toned mauve-berry shade. Reminds me very much of NARS' Sin blush (without the shimmer, of course). Simply gorgeous. Pigmentation: 1 ***
410 Bit of Blossom: Vivid pink shade that rather tends toward the "fuschia" direction, but without being overly cool (definitely cool-neutral). This makes for a sassy sort of look (exactly what you don't get with the "Sassy Mauve" shade, incidentally), one I imagine fitting on a MAC MA, for example. Pigmentation: 6
415 Teasing Blush: Sultry, neutral pink-red-brown color, remarkably hard to describe; for some reason, I can't get past the word "blush" (in its name) - it doesn't really mean anything, but somehow it's still the most fitting descriptor I can think of. This one may well be my favorite of them all. It's just... sexy. Pigmentation: 4
420 Sassy Mauve: Sophisticated, subdued wine color; "mauve" definitely hits the nail on the head. While this is a very pretty color, I wouldn't call it "sassy." It strikes me as one of the more mature colors in the line, and reminds me somewhat of Lancome's popular Beach Plum Juicy Tube. Pigmentation: 5
425 Plum Pout: Deep, cool red; not very plummy at all, in my opinion. This is almost the exact color of MAC's Dubonnet lipstick. Love it! Pigmentation: 10
430 Coy Coral: Warm, salmony-coral shade, markedly different from the other lipstains. While this stain does go on more smoothly and evenly than most of the others, I'm very unimpressed by the color and quite honestly can't think of any skin tone this would complement (but feel free to try to prove me wrong!). Pigmentation: 8
435 Flirty Nude: Rather warm pink-brown tone (but with more brown than pink). It's almost a darker, more opaque version of NARS' Dolce Vita lipstick, but not quite as pretty. This is just an average color, in my opinion; not ugly but not beautiful, either, though I suspect it might better compliment darker skin tones than my own. Pigmentation: 3
440 Wild Berry Wink: Bright cool-neutral red, the exact color of my fingers after a day of picking fresh blackberries in the end of August. Stunning. Pigmentation: 9
445 Cinnamon Smile: Warm brown, caramel-mocha shade. I mentally file this under "no way," next to "Coy Coral"; while I do think it's more likely to work on some skin tones than the coral shade would, I'm having trouble even figuring out what those skin tones might be. It's just... very, very brown. Pigmentation: 7
Whew! That was a mouthful. Don't let my "pigmentation scale" scare you off, either. As I mentioned earlier, some of the less pigmented shades are the prettiest, and very buildable.
I haven't worn them all out and about yet, but the ones I have (415 and 420, I believe) lasted through dinner and a play/movie (two different nights). I found myself re-applying every few hours to maintain the vividness of color; they didn't fade too much, but when they did, they faded evenly. As with most lipstains, the CoverGirl Outlast stains tend to cling to patches of dry skin, so it helps to exfoliate your lips before applying (this can be done with a lip buffer, a washcloth, or even a soft-bristled toothbrush) and/or prep your lips with a small amount of balm. (You can also apply balm after the stain, which creates a very pretty, glossy look; be sure to let the stain "set" for a few minutes first, though.)
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Cover Girl - Outlast Lipstain #415 Teasing Blush
kmbirkel 1/6/2009 8:53:00 AM
Please click "continued" for swatches and pics!
The first thing I want to say about the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstains is wow - as a collection, these are remarkable.
For each swatch, I drew a rectangle on my arm between black lines (for contrast - I used Wet 'n' Wild MegaEyes Defining Marker, which, by the way, is just like MAC's new felt-tip liner and is absolutely amazing), let it dry for a few minutes, and then went over it again to ensure that each color showed up as pigmented as possible for the sake of comparison and truth of color. Others before me have said they are very pigmented, and I half-agree with that statement; some are incredibly pigmented, others significantly less so (and with little exception, they generally get more pigmented as the shade numbers increase). The less pigmented of these lipstains are very layerable, but the more pigmented ones seem to be relatively unaffected by the amount of product you use. I'll show the pictures first, and then describe each shade. In all of the pictures, the lipstains are placed in ascending numerical order from left to right.
With flash:
Without flash:
Shade descriptions and reviews (Pigmentation scale: 1 = least pigmented, 10 = most pigmented):
400 Everbloom Kiss: Bright, cute, sweet pink, neutral in tone. Creates an innocent and (very) youthful look. Pigmentation: 2
405 Berry Smooch: Sophisticated, cool-toned mauve-berry shade. Reminds me very much of NARS' Sin blush (without the shimmer, of course). Simply gorgeous. Pigmentation: 1
410 Bit of Blossom: Vivid pink shade that rather tends toward the "fuschia" direction, but without being overly cool (definitely cool-neutral). This makes for a sassy sort of look (exactly what you don't get with the "Sassy Mauve" shade, incidentally), one I imagine fitting on a MAC MA, for example. Pigmentation: 6
*** 415 Teasing Blush (shade currently being reviewed): Sultry, neutral pink-red-brown color, remarkably hard to describe; for some reason, I can't get past the word "blush" (in its name) - it doesn't really mean anything, but somehow it's still the most fitting descriptor I can think of. This one may well be my favorite of them all. It's just... sexy. Pigmentation: 4 ***
420 Sassy Mauve: Sophisticated, subdued wine color; "mauve" definitely hits the nail on the head. While this is a very pretty color, I wouldn't call it "sassy." It strikes me as one of the more mature colors in the line, and reminds me somewhat of Lancome's popular Beach Plum Juicy Tube. Pigmentation: 5
425 Plum Pout: Deep, cool red; not very plummy at all, in my opinion. This is almost the exact color of MAC's Dubonnet lipstick. Love it! Pigmentation: 10
430 Coy Coral: Warm, salmony-coral shade, markedly different from the other lipstains. While this stain does go on more smoothly and evenly than most of the others, I'm very unimpressed by the color and quite honestly can't think of any skin tone this would complement (but feel free to try to prove me wrong!). Pigmentation: 8
435 Flirty Nude: Rather warm pink-brown tone (but with more brown than pink). It's almost a darker, more opaque version of NARS' Dolce Vita lipstick, but not quite as pretty. This is just an average color, in my opinion; not ugly but not beautiful, either, though I suspect it might better compliment darker skin tones than my own. Pigmentation: 3
440 Wild Berry Wink: Bright cool-neutral red, the exact color of my fingers after a day of picking fresh blackberries in the end of August. Stunning. Pigmentation: 9
445 Cinnamon Smile: Warm brown, caramel-mocha shade. I mentally file this under "no way," next to "Coy Coral"; while I do think it's more likely to work on some skin tones than the coral shade would, I'm having trouble even figuring out what those skin tones might be. It's just... very, very brown. Pigmentation: 7
Whew! That was a mouthful. Don't let my "pigmentation scale" scare you off, either. As I mentioned earlier, some of the less pigmented shades are the prettiest, and very buildable.
I haven't worn them all out and about yet, but the ones I have (415 and 420, I believe) lasted through dinner and a play/movie (two different nights). I found myself re-applying every few hours to maintain the vividness of color; they didn't fade too much, but when they did, they faded evenly. As with most lipstains, the CoverGirl Outlast stains tend to cling to patches of dry skin, so it helps to exfoliate your lips before applying (this can be done with a lip buffer, a washcloth, or even a soft-bristled toothbrush) and/or prep your lips with a small amount of balm. (You can also apply balm after the stain, which creates a very pretty, glossy look; be sure to let the stain "set" for a few minutes first, though.)
17 out of 17 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lips -Cover Girl - Outlast Lipstain - 435 Flirty Nude
kmbirkel 1/6/2009 8:51:00 AM
Please click "continued" for swatches and pics!
The first thing I want to say about the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstains is wow - as a collection, these are remarkable.
For each swatch, I drew a rectangle on my arm between black lines (for contrast - I used Wet 'n' Wild MegaEyes Defining Marker, which, by the way, is just like MAC's new felt-tip liner and is absolutely amazing), let it dry for a few minutes, and then went over it again to ensure that each color showed up as pigmented as possible for the sake of comparison and truth of color. Others before me have said they are very pigmented, and I half-agree with that statement; some are incredibly pigmented, others significantly less so (and with little exception, they generally get more pigmented as the shade numbers increase). The less pigmented of these lipstains are very layerable, but the more pigmented ones seem to be relatively unaffected by the amount of product you use. I'll show the pictures first, and then describe each shade. In all of the pictures, the lipstains are placed in ascending numerical order from left to right.
With flash:
Without flash:
Shade descriptions and reviews (Pigmentation scale: 1 = least pigmented, 10 = most pigmented):
400 Everbloom Kiss: Bright, cute, sweet pink, neutral in tone. Creates an innocent and (very) youthful look. Pigmentation: 2
405 Berry Smooch: Sophisticated, cool-toned mauve-berry shade. Reminds me very much of NARS' Sin blush (without the shimmer, of course). Simply gorgeous. Pigmentation: 1
410 Bit of Blossom: Vivid pink shade that rather tends toward the "fuschia" direction, but without being overly cool (definitely cool-neutral). This makes for a sassy sort of look (exactly what you don't get with the "Sassy Mauve" shade, incidentally), one I imagine fitting on a MAC MA, for example. Pigmentation: 6
415 Teasing Blush: Sultry, neutral pink-red-brown color, remarkably hard to describe; for some reason, I can't get past the word "blush" (in its name) - it doesn't really mean anything, but somehow it's still the most fitting descriptor I can think of. This one may well be my favorite of them all. It's just... sexy. Pigmentation: 4
420 Sassy Mauve: Sophisticated, subdued wine color; "mauve" definitely hits the nail on the head. While this is a very pretty color, I wouldn't call it "sassy." It strikes me as one of the more mature colors in the line, and reminds me somewhat of Lancome's popular Beach Plum Juicy Tube. Pigmentation: 5
425 Plum Pout: Deep, cool red; not very plummy at all, in my opinion. This is almost the exact color of MAC's Dubonnet lipstick. Love it! Pigmentation: 10
430 Coy Coral: Warm, salmony-coral shade, markedly different from the other lipstains. While this stain does go on more smoothly and evenly than most of the others, I'm very unimpressed by the color and quite honestly can't think of any skin tone this would complement (but feel free to try to prove me wrong!). Pigmentation: 8
*** 435 Flirty Nude (shade currently being reviewed): Rather warm pink-brown tone (but with more brown than pink). It's almost a darker, more opaque version of NARS' Dolce Vita lipstick, but not quite as pretty. This is just an average color, in my opinion; not ugly but not beautiful, either, though I suspect it might better compliment darker skin tones than my own. Pigmentation: 3 ***
440 Wild Berry Wink: Bright cool-neutral red, the exact color of my fingers after a day of picking fresh blackberries in the end of August. Stunning. Pigmentation: 9
445 Cinnamon Smile: Warm brown, caramel-mocha shade. I mentally file this under "no way," next to "Coy Coral"; while I do think it's more likely to work on some skin tones than the coral shade would, I'm having trouble even figuring out what those skin tones might be. It's just... very, very brown. Pigmentation: 7
Whew! That was a mouthful. Don't let my "pigmentation scale" scare you off, either. As I mentioned earlier, some of the less pigmented shades are the prettiest, and very buildable.
I haven't worn them all out and about yet, but the ones I have (415 and 420, I believe) lasted through dinner and a play/movie (two different nights). I found myself re-applying every few hours to maintain the vividness of color; they didn't fade too much, but when they did, they faded evenly. As with most lipstains, the CoverGirl Outlast stains tend to cling to patches of dry skin, so it helps to exfoliate your lips before applying (this can be done with a lip buffer, a washcloth, or even a soft-bristled toothbrush) and/or prep your lips with a small amount of balm. (You can also apply balm after the stain, which creates a very pretty, glossy look; be sure to let the stain "set" for a few minutes first, though.)
11 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lips -Cover Girl - Outlast Lipstain - 400 Everbloom Kiss
kmbirkel 1/6/2009 8:49:00 AM
Please click "continued" for swatches and pics!
The first thing I want to say about the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstains is wow - as a collection, these are remarkable.
For each swatch, I drew a rectangle on my arm between black lines (for contrast - I used Wet 'n' Wild MegaEyes Defining Marker, which, by the way, is just like MAC's new felt-tip liner and is absolutely amazing), let it dry for a few minutes, and then went over it again to ensure that each color showed up as pigmented as possible for the sake of comparison and truth of color. Others before me have said they are very pigmented, and I half-agree with that statement; some are incredibly pigmented, others significantly less so (and with little exception, they generally get more pigmented as the shade numbers increase). The less pigmented of these lipstains are very layerable, but the more pigmented ones seem to be relatively unaffected by the amount of product you use. I'll show the pictures first, and then describe each shade. In all of the pictures, the lipstains are placed in ascending numerical order from left to right.
With flash:
Without flash:
Shade descriptions and reviews (Pigmentation scale: 1 = least pigmented, 10 = most pigmented):
*** 400 Everbloom Kiss (shade currently being reviewed): Bright, cute, sweet pink, neutral in tone. Creates an innocent and (very) youthful look. Pigmentation: 2 ***
405 Berry Smooch: Sophisticated, cool-toned mauve-berry shade. Reminds me very much of NARS' Sin blush (without the shimmer, of course). Simply gorgeous. Pigmentation: 1
410 Bit of Blossom: Vivid pink shade that rather tends toward the "fuschia" direction, but without being overly cool (definitely cool-neutral). This makes for a sassy sort of look (exactly what you don't get with the "Sassy Mauve" shade, incidentally), one I imagine fitting on a MAC MA, for example. Pigmentation: 6
415 Teasing Blush: Sultry, neutral pink-red-brown color, remarkably hard to describe; for some reason, I can't get past the word "blush" (in its name) - it doesn't really mean anything, but somehow it's still the most fitting descriptor I can think of. This one may well be my favorite of them all. It's just... sexy. Pigmentation: 4
420 Sassy Mauve: Sophisticated, subdued wine color; "mauve" definitely hits the nail on the head. While this is a very pretty color, I wouldn't call it "sassy." It strikes me as one of the more mature colors in the line, and reminds me somewhat of Lancome's popular Beach Plum Juicy Tube. Pigmentation: 5
425 Plum Pout: Deep, cool red; not very plummy at all, in my opinion. This is almost the exact color of MAC's Dubonnet lipstick. Love it! Pigmentation: 10
430 Coy Coral: Warm, salmony-coral shade, markedly different from the other lipstains. While this stain does go on more smoothly and evenly than most of the others, I'm very unimpressed by the color and quite honestly can't think of any skin tone this would complement (but feel free to try to prove me wrong!). Pigmentation: 8
435 Flirty Nude: Rather warm pink-brown tone (but with more brown than pink). It's almost a darker, more opaque version of NARS' Dolce Vita lipstick, but not quite as pretty. This is just an average color, in my opinion; not ugly but not beautiful, either, though I suspect it might better compliment darker skin tones than my own. Pigmentation: 3
440 Wild Berry Wink: Bright cool-neutral red, the exact color of my fingers after a day of picking fresh blackberries in the end of August. Stunning. Pigmentation: 9
445 Cinnamon Smile: Warm brown, caramel-mocha shade. I mentally file this under "no way," next to "Coy Coral"; while I do think it's more likely to work on some skin tones than the coral shade would, I'm having trouble even figuring out what those skin tones might be. It's just... very, very brown. Pigmentation: 7
Whew! That was a mouthful. Don't let my "pigmentation scale" scare you off, either. As I mentioned earlier, some of the less pigmented shades are the prettiest, and very buildable.
I haven't worn them all out and about yet, but the ones I have (415 and 420, I believe) lasted through dinner and a play/movie (two different nights). I found myself re-applying every few hours to maintain the vividness of color; they didn't fade too much, but when they did, they faded evenly. As with most lipstains, the CoverGirl Outlast stains tend to cling to patches of dry skin, so it helps to exfoliate your lips before applying (this can be done with a lip buffer, a washcloth, or even a soft-bristled toothbrush) and/or prep your lips with a small amount of balm. (You can also apply balm after the stain, which creates a very pretty, glossy look; be sure to let the stain "set" for a few minutes first, though.)
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lips -Cover Girl - Outlast Lipstain
kmbirkel 1/6/2009 8:28:00 AM
Please click "continued" for swatches and pics!
The first thing I want to say about the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstains is wow - as a collection, these are remarkable.
For each swatch, I drew a rectangle on my arm between black lines (for contrast - I used Wet 'n' Wild MegaEyes Defining Marker, which, by the way, is just like MAC's new felt-tip liner and is absolutely amazing), let it dry for a few minutes, and then went over it again to ensure that each color showed up as pigmented as possible for the sake of comparison and truth of color. Others before me have said they are very pigmented, and I half-agree with that statement; some are incredibly pigmented, others significantly less so (and with little exception, they generally get more pigmented as the shade numbers increase). The less pigmented of these lipstains are very layerable, but the more pigmented ones seem to be relatively unaffected by the amount of product you use. I'll show the pictures first, and then describe each shade. In all of the pictures, the lipstains are placed in ascending numerical order from left to right.
With flash:
Without flash:
Shade descriptions and reviews (Pigmentation scale: 1 = least pigmented, 10 = most pigmented):
400 Everbloom Kiss: Bright, cute, sweet pink, neutral in tone. Creates an innocent and (very) youthful look. Pigmentation: 2
405 Berry Smooch: Sophisticated, cool-toned mauve-berry shade. Reminds me very much of NARS' Sin blush (without the shimmer, of course). Simply gorgeous. Pigmentation: 1
410 Bit of Blossom: Vivid pink shade that rather tends toward the "fuschia" direction, but without being overly cool (definitely cool-neutral). This makes for a sassy sort of look (exactly what you don't get with the "Sassy Mauve" shade, incidentally), one I imagine fitting on a MAC MA, for example. Pigmentation: 6
415 Teasing Blush: Sultry, neutral pink-red-brown color, remarkably hard to describe; for some reason, I can't get past the word "blush" (in its name) - it doesn't really mean anything, but somehow it's still the most fitting descriptor I can think of. This one may well be my favorite of them all. It's just... sexy. Pigmentation: 4
420 Sassy Mauve: Sophisticated, subdued wine color; "mauve" definitely hits the nail on the head. While this is a very pretty color, I wouldn't call it "sassy." It strikes me as one of the more mature colors in the line, and reminds me somewhat of Lancome's popular Beach Plum Juicy Tube. Pigmentation: 5
425 Plum Pout: Deep, cool red; not very plummy at all, in my opinion. This is almost the exact color of MAC's Dubonnet lipstick. Love it! Pigmentation: 10
430 Coy Coral: Warm, salmony-coral shade, markedly different from the other lipstains. While this stain does go on more smoothly and evenly than most of the others, I'm very unimpressed by the color and quite honestly can't think of any skin tone this would complement (but feel free to try to prove me wrong!). Pigmentation: 8
435 Flirty Nude: Rather warm pink-brown tone (but with more brown than pink). It's almost a darker, more opaque version of NARS' Dolce Vita lipstick, but not quite as pretty. This is just an average color, in my opinion; not ugly but not beautiful, either, though I suspect it might better compliment darker skin tones than my own. Pigmentation: 3
440 Wild Berry Wink: Bright cool-neutral red, the exact color of my fingers after a day of picking fresh blackberries in the end of August. Stunning. Pigmentation: 9
445 Cinnamon Smile: Warm brown, caramel-mocha shade. I mentally file this under "no way," next to "Coy Coral"; while I do think it's more likely to work on some skin tones than the coral shade would, I'm having trouble even figuring out what those skin tones might be. It's just... very, very brown. Pigmentation: 7
Whew! That was a mouthful. Don't let my "pigmentation scale" scare you off, either. As I mentioned earlier, some of the less pigmented shades are the prettiest, and very buildable.
I haven't worn them all out and about yet, but the ones I have (415 and 420, I believe) lasted through dinner and a play/movie (two different nights). I found myself re-applying every few hours to maintain the vividness of color; they didn't fade too much, but when they did, they faded evenly. As with most lipstains, the CoverGirl Outlast stains tend to cling to patches of dry skin, so it helps to exfoliate your lips before applying (this can be done with a lip buffer, a washcloth, or even a soft-bristled toothbrush) and/or prep your lips with a small amount of balm. (You can also apply balm after the stain, which creates a very pretty, glossy look; be sure to let the stain "set" for a few minutes first, though.)
54 out of 54 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Unlisted Brand - Pretika Sonic Dermabrasion Facial Care System (Clarisonic dupe)
kmbirkel 12/2/2008 1:07:00 PM
I, too, was falling victim to the Clarisonic hype, so when I heard about this Pretika kit, I thought it was too good to be true. This is something of a preliminary review because I've only been using it for two days, but I will say that I already can't believe I ever lived without this. Skincare is a passion of mine, so I've done lots of research on products and ingredients, as well as tried countless ones myself - and I have NEVER seen such an incredible difference in my skin after just 1-2 uses of a product as I have with this one. I was late to class yesterday after I used it for the first time because I spent several minutes just staring at my skin in the mirror, unable to believe my eyes. So I just had to write a review – here goes! WHAT IT IS AND WHERE YOU CAN GET IT: The Pretika SonicDermabrasion Kit costs $29.99 at Rite Aid (though not all locations carry it – I couldn’t find it in PA, but found it right away while home in WA) and is available, albeit for as much as $60, on various websites. It comes with a brush, plug-in charging dock, spare brush head, Microdermabrasion Scrub, and "Hydrating Firming Complex.” The brush works on a timer so you don't space out and use it for too long on any one part of your face; it beeps every 20 seconds to let you know to change areas, and turns off automatically after 60 seconds (but you can just turn it back on again if you're not done yet). Replacement brush heads are available on the company's website, www.pretika.com - and nowhere else, as far as I can tell - and you get a set of 4 for $20 (plus $8-13, depending on your location, for ground shipping). The instructions in the kit are easy to follow and the brush itself is very user-friendly; the only problem I had was when I first tried to charge it, it took me a couple of minutes to get it to "sit right" in the charging dock so it was actually charging, but now that I’ve figured that out, I don't have that problem anymore. USAGE AND RESULTS: The instructions in the kit recommend the following process (this is my "abridged" version): cleanse skin with a mild cleanser; apply "dots" of scrub to forehead, cheeks, chin, and nose; turn on brush, press it to face and move in an upward, circular motion, concentrating on each area for 20 seconds; rinse face and brush; apply "dots" of Hydrating Firming Complex in the same places and repeat the same motions with the brush; leave on skin as a moisturizer; clean brush. I would not personally use the Pretika to apply a moisturizer - that seems counterintuitive and unnecessary to me, and if your moisturizer contains certain ingredients (such as oils that won't emulsify like jojoba oil, which is something I use), it could accumulate on the brush head and ruin it. Yesterday I used it in the shower with my L'Oreal Power Buff Scrub (it's the same as the one in their MicroDermabrasion kit, just cheaper and marketed for men); both the L'Oreal scrub and the Pretika one have aluminum oxide crystals, but I prefer the look of the rest of the Power Buff ingredient list to the Pretika one. This morning I used it with my regular cleanser (Paula's Choice One Step) and saw similar results to yesterday, so I think the impressive results must be mostly attributable to the brush itself – it certainly does feel like it's doing some pretty "deep cleaning." On that note, I would NOT recommend this to anyone with rosacea or skin that's super sensitive to abrasive physical touch (like face scrubs with ground nuts, or scratchy washcloths, for example) because it really does scrub like crazy. I have moderately sensitive skin in that I break out easily in reaction to a lot of products and treatments, but so far my skin seems to love the Pretika - no "purging" or anything like that, as some have reported experiencing with the Clarisonic. Both times I've used it, I've followed it up with a chemical exfoliant (Paula's Choice 2% BHA Gel). That might seem like overkill, but I'm pretty sure it's that combination that's giving me the mind-boggling results I'm seeing, because I don't think regular manual exfoliation or chemical exfoliation alone could produce results like this. And my understanding of brushes like the Pretika and the Clarisonic is that they're supposed to help your other skincare products absorb better, so it makes sense, at least to me. I've done this routine - cleanse with the Pretika and some cleanser/scrub, follow up with a chemical exfoliant and a moisturizer - two days in a row so far, and my skin looks the best I can remember seeing it look in years. Since my preteen years before acne took over, at least. I'm already starting to formulate great ideas like using it at night (instead of in the morning - don't do both, that will aggravate your skin) and following it up with my Black Opal Essential Fade Complex (hydroquinone-based skin evener), envisioning miracles like acne scars being gone forever. That might be a pipe dream, but I'm closer to believing it's possible now than ever! COMMENTS ON THIS AS A CLARISONIC DUPE: I can't speak much to this because I have never tested the Clarisonic myself. However, based on what I've seen and heard, the two seem comparable (with the exception Angelyshis noted, that the Pretika only has one kind of brush head). I saw reviews on drugstore.com saying that the battery never worked or that it crapped out on them. The kit comes with a 30-day warranty, but I will add that Rite Aid is generally great about returns; if this were to happen to you and you bought it there, I bet you could bring it back to them, explain what happened, and they’d give you a refund or at least an exchange. Clarisonic apparently has incredible customer service, so if that’s really important to you, you might want to consider springing for the real thing. RECAP: I’m amazed, I love it, and I would recommend it to anyone but people with rosacea or hyper-sensitive skin. EDIT: Still works just as well as it did when I bought it! :
30 out of 31 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Candles -Bath and Body Works - Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Candles
kmbirkel 11/8/2008 2:51:00 AM
This is the one and only candle I have ever spent a significant amount of money on, burned all the way down, and then repurchased - let alone multiple times :) I don't think I'd want this scent as a shower gel or a lotion, but as a sweet-smelling candle that warms up my apartment (both literally and figuratively!), I love it to death. I just bought two more for the kitchen and my bedroom, and it looks like I'm going to have to buy a third because my roommate loves it so much he swiped the one from the kitchen and keeps it in his room now! It's bad enough that it's already a seasonal scent; believe you me, I will be so cranky with B&BW if they ever discontinue this completely that they'd lose my patronage forever. Seriously... it's that good. :)
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Other -Ulta - Ulta- whole store
kmbirkel 10/16/2008 11:00:00 PM
I'm intrigued by the negative reviews here; there must be a vast difference in product availability, organization, and customer service between stores. I went into an Ulta for the first time today (Northgate in Seattle) and it was a great experience. I called ahead to ask for directions and the woman on the phone was incredibly kind and helpful. When I got there (thanks to her help!), I mentioned that I had never been to an Ulta before, and she explained the layout of the store to me, as well as their return policy. I was the only shopper in the store at the time, amidst probably 5 or 6 employees. They were kind enough not to hound me (I hate it when store employees make you feel like a shoplifter!), but also seemed to be available to help whenever I had a question or couldn't find anything. The store was very clean and well-organized, and the employees seemed to be enjoying themselves. The thing I loved most of all, though: they had products I haven't been able to find *anywhere* else, indeed some I hadn't even seen before! I have been trying to hunt down this obscure Neutrogena sunscreen (Active Breathable) for a reasonable price both in stores and online for months (I'd find it online occasionally, but shipping would always be super expensive), and to my surprise they had several on a shelf there! Snatched one up right away. They also had this great trio of Stila smudge pots, one of my favorite products, for only $30, and Max Factor and NYX products, which I have *never* seen in stores before in my area and was thrilled to be able to try without having to purchase online. Additionally, their policy (at least at the location I went to today) is that you can return anything within 60 days as long as you have the receipt and packaging... hey, it's not Sephora, but for a discount store that has both HE and D/S products, I'm happy with it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Neutrogena - Healthy Volume
kmbirkel 10/9/2008 12:28:00 AM
*Click "continued" for a picture!*
This mascara is easy to apply and looks very nice on the lashes. One coat was not very noticeable at all; two coats and it looks lovely. It gives a soft, natural, healthy look. In fact, I think this is more like what I would expect a mascara called “Full & Soft” to look and feel like! It is definitely not overly dramatic though – very good for wearing grocery shopping or to class, maybe, but probably not your match for a night out on the town. In general, I would recommend it!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Almay - One Coat Mascara (Thickening)
kmbirkel 10/9/2008 12:26:00 AM
*Click "continued" for a picture!*
I was very unimpressed by this mascara. It looked funny going on my lashes, and for a mascara called “One Coat,” it looked remarkably uneven and lackluster after just one coat. I applied two coats (carefully, I might add, because the brush is a total PITA) and it still looks… just okay. Not terrible, but not great either. And close-up, my lashes do not look “nourished,” they look straggly and weird. To finish my thought about the brush: it’s very thick toward the handle end and then tapers almost to a point startlingly quickly. The angle is a straight line – it’s not rounded or softened at all – which makes the brush very difficult to work with. I’ve been using all kinds of different mascaras daily for nine years now and I have never in my life poked myself in the eye so many times with one brush, let alone in one application. It also caused the product to leave little “dots” everywhere along my bottom lash line because it was so difficult to control where it was all going. This was not the worst mascara I’ve ever tried, but it comes pretty close – I honestly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous in Carbon Black
kmbirkel 10/9/2008 12:24:00 AM
*Click "continued" for a picture!*
I love the big fat brush on this mascara – it’s fun to work with and makes for easy application – you can get a lot of product on your lashes in no time at all. While I didn’t get quite the effect I was expecting after all the rave reviews, my lashes did look much fuller and thicker, and just generally prettier. This is a lovely mascara and, so far, one of the best drugstore mascaras I’ve tried.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous mascara
kmbirkel 10/9/2008 12:23:00 AM
*Click "continued" for a picture!*
I love the big fat brush on this mascara – it’s fun to work with and makes for easy application – you can get a lot of product on your lashes in no time at all. While I didn’t get quite the effect I was expecting after all the rave reviews, my lashes did look much fuller and thicker, and just generally prettier. This is a lovely mascara and, so far, one of the best drugstore mascaras I’ve tried.
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