Colourpop Lippie Stick & Ultra Matte Lipstic

I sat at my computer staring at the Kylie Jenner Lip kits considering whether or not I could afford it and how much I was willing to spend to link myself one degree closer to the fabulous Kardashian-Jenner family, when I suddenly remembered that Buzzfeed did an article comparing the lip kits to cheaper alternatives. Colourpop was one of the brands that ranked pretty high on their list. So I browsed the Colourpop website and referred back to the Buzzfeed article and consulted my roommate who happens to be versed and talented in makeup. And all signs pointed to trying Colourpop, plus who could beat the prices ($5 to $6 per item) and the $5 coupon they offer when you sign up for their email list (that basically covers the cost of shipping).

After spending far too much time staring at the pictures of swatches trying to decide what would look Bossy with a matching lip pencil, and an Ultra Matte Lipstick in Creeper. The names for their lipsticks are adorable and add to my want for every single one of them

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good with my skin tone (transparent), in my first order I purchased a Lippie Stick in

The first thing I tried was the Bossy Lippie stick. The first thing I noticed was that it smelled amazing! It smelled like vanilla and not in an overwhelming candle kind of way, but in a delicious cookie kind of way. It made putting it on an even more pleasant experience. The color was perfect. It’s a nice matte color, not too dark, not too light. It made my lips stand out just enough. It stood up to a lot too. It didn’t wear off from drinking coffee, though it did leave traces behind. It didn’t even wipe off when I ate, the only reason I needed to reapply was that I’m still new and don’t know how to eat with lipstick without making a mess and wiping everything off.

Next I tried the Creeper Lipstick with the Bossy lip pencil. The picture on the right is a picture of me with the Creeper on after a few hours of drinking coffee and water. When you view a lip item, at the bottom of the page it recommends which lip pencil goes with that color which is super helpful. I have never used lip pencils before and even after using it twice still feel like I’m doing it wrong, but I can see how they would be helpful so I thought it would be worth the investment. The colors match up perfectly, and using the pencil helps me stay in the lines a bit since the lipstick is liquid. The pencil is easy to use. It’s softer than a regular pencil, so it doesn’t scrape or anything when you drag it along the lip. The lipstick is great too. It goes on super wet and dries within seconds into a nice matte. It is a little dry and I find myself licking my lips a lot or trying to apply chapstick a lot, but I think that that’s a given with matte lipsticks.

Overall I’m very impressed with the Colourpop lip products. They leave some residue through eating and drinking, but I think that it is rare to find something that doesn’t and for the price they last for a good amount of time. I already ordered a few more. My main objective was to purchase the lip primer, to see if that affects the durability, but sadly it was out of stock when I placed my order but that just means that I’ll have to place another order!

Younique Product Review - Shadow Palette and Lipstick

My first major step into the world of makeup was when I purchased some products from Younique. I was hesitant because the items are a little pricy, but everywhere I looked I saw great reviews, so I decided to give it a try.

I first purchased the Moodstruck Addiction Shadow Palettee #1, which has 7 warm shades in peach and brown. I figured that this would be the best tones for someone who was just beginning, and the colors matched the current shadow set I owned and loved (review on that coming next!).

I also purchased the Moodstruck Opulence Lipstick in Excessive which is a darker red. I absolutely love lipstick and that is often the only thing I will wear when I go out with people. Typically it's just a $0.99 stick from Rite Aid's Wet and Wild Collection, but that tends to wipe off very easily, so I decided to try something a little more upscale to see how it stood up against the cheap stuff I was used to.

I have used the Moodstruck palette three times now and love it. It is a little stressful that there aren't any instructions on what colors to use and that it's up to me to mix and match on my own--I have always suspected that I'm a little colorblind because matching colors does NOT come easily to me. But so far it hasn't gone too poorly. To the left is a photo of what I have tried the past three times I used the palette. I'm going to attempt something different next time, because I suspect that if I continue to use the same colors I'll run out of those few colors very quickly before I've even touched the rest of the colors.

I used the lipstick once, and I loved the color. It didn't last quite as long as I would have hoped. I put it on before I left for work, and by the time I finished with my breakfast and first cup of coffee it had almost completely worn off. I know it's pretty typical to expect lipstick to rub off from eating and drinking, so I wasn't too bummed out, but I was upset that I had left the stick at home. Thankfully I had a back up of another brand so I could keep up the look.

I find that I often feel a little foolish and over dressed if I wear makeup on an average day, but when I did my eye shadow and wore lipstick I got quite a few compliments which felt good. It also didn't feel that out of place in my office, considering the dress code is business casual. It definitely would have felt strange if I was still going to classes though. I'm definitely going to continue trying to perfect my makeup and  take an extra step everyday.

Let me know if you have any experience with these products, any color matching suggestions (forreal I need these) or any other tips!

Thanks for reading,

Sammi