Swatches and Review--Mirabella Colour Sheer in Posy

As you may have read previously, I really liked my Mirabella Colour Sheer lip color in the shade Daydream, which I received through my ipsy subscription. (Swatches and review are linked here.) I was excited to receive another shade, Posy, in a trade on makeuptalk.com.
*I received this product in a trade conducted on makeuptalk.com. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the companies mentioned in this post.*

Application was smooth and easy to control. Posy applied creamy, but without being slippery, much like Daydream. It felt moisturizing for about four hours without eating or drinking, slightly more moisturizing than Daydream for me. Daydream is a ladylike shade, whereas Posy is a little sassy. I need both to express myself. :)

Posy is very pigmented, but sheer to start, as it is supposed to be.  It is very easy to build, however. Shown below is one swipe on the right, and six swipes on the left.

Alrighty, the before photo with bare lips, natural light indoors: 

And the after photo below, natural light indoors. I am not wearing any lip liner or other lip products for these photos other than Posy.

The photo in which I'm not smiling turned out much better, and is the most true-to-color photo (at least, on my monitor):

The next photo is in artificial light indoors (what am I always looking at off to the side?):

These closeups are outdoors in natural light, but the clouds had rolled in:

Mirabella sells their Colour Sheers for $22.00 each on their Web site, in 14 different shades. I have to be honest and say that I do not pay those type of prices for a lip color, so I am glad that I received my two Colour Sheers through my ipsy subscription and through a trade. As a matter of fact, I can't think of a single beauty product that I pay that much for...coupons, sales, samples, and trades for me! Otherwise, my 'stash' wouldn't be so large.

In any case, I am very happy with Posy. Moisturizing, colorful, creamy, and flexible enough to be sheer or opaque. What do you think?

*I received this product in a trade conducted on makeuptalk.com. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the companies mentioned in this post.*

Swatches and Review--Mirabella Colour Sheer in Daydream

Recently, I resubscribed to ipsy. (You can read more about ipsy at the end of the post.) In their May bag, one of the products they sent for subscribers to try is Mirabella Colour Sheer lipstick. I received the shade Daydream. I also have the shade Posy, which I received in a trade on makeuptalk.com, but I'm going to save that for another post.
*I paid for the subscription which provided this sample. There is a referral link later in this post.*

Application was smooth and easy to control. Daydream applies creamy, but without being slippery. It felt moisturizing for a few hours. My lips were not dried out after that amount of time, but no moisture was being added to them from the lipstick.

Applied lightly, yellow artificial light

Applied lightly, natural light

Daydream does have a shimmer to it that borders on a frost, but it doesn't quite go there, which is to its advantage. It is enough, though, that from close range it will emphasize any skin on your lips that has not been exfoliated. You can see that it also emphasized the lines in my lips, as they were dry to begin with that day, but it didn't sink into them and make the color uneven.

Applied lightly, white artificial light

I am not wearing any lip liner, balm, or any lip product in these photos other than Mirabella Colour Sheer in Daydream. Here are my bare lips for reference:

Bare lips, sunlight

Applied lightly, outdoors in the shade

As the product name suggests, this is a sheer color, but still pigmented and buildable. See the swatches below on my arm to show how you can certainly start subtly and build from there.

One swipe, artificial light

Six swipes, artificial light

Mirabella sells their Colour Sheers for $22.00 each on their Web site, in 14 different shades. I am skeptical of their representations of the shades, though, so you may want to look for reviews and swatches like mine online. Mirabella's site makes Daydream look like some sort of super pale lilac. I hope that it was just human error and they accidentally posted the wrong image.

Built-up color, artificial light

I've been keeping Daydream in my purse since I received it, and using it on the go. I'm happy with the product, so I look forward to trying my other shade, Posy.
If you're unfamiliar with ipsy, their Web site describes their service this way: "Each month, subscribers will receive a beautiful Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products. Members can watch and play along with the stylists with the same products that they are using. All for only $10 a month." They also give out coupons or coupon codes for the brands sampled that month.
*I paid for the subscription which provided this sample. There is a referral link in this post.*

My referral link: http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h051fwxig0n810mm. You don't have to use my referral link, of course, but I would appreciate it very much. (If two people sign up for an ipsy subscription using my referral, I get a bonus product in my next Glam Bag.)

Shorty Post--Bold Red Lips

Bold red lips can be great if you find a red that works for you. My favorite red lipstick (so far) is NYX 'Chic Red'. 

The products:

NYX Lipliner Pencil in 'Hot Red', shade #817

The results:

 

Rolling my eyes at myself: Not smart to apply creamy red lipstick before any other makeup! I see smudges in my future. In my next post I'll show you what makeup I paired with this bold red lip.

NYX Cosmetics are available on their web site and at ULTA. The Slim Lip Pencils retail for about $3.50, and the Extra Creamy Round Lipstick retails for about $4.00. (I'm not sure how long the sale lasts, but as of March 14, 2013, ULTA.com has both products Buy 1, Get 1 for 50% Off.)

*I purchased the above products with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands or web sites mentioned in this post.*

Review and Photos: COVERGIRL Blast Flipstick--Vixen

A while back, I received three free lipsticks through BzzAgent.com, a company that facilitates market research for the various brands that they work with and sends samples to consumers in exchange for honest feedback and spreading the word about the products. These lipsticks were COVERGIRL Blast Flipsticks.

COVERGIRL Blast Flipstick in Vixen 

COVERGIRL Blast Flipsticks are a dual-ended lipstick, designed so that you can wear each end by itself, or wear them together in varying combinations for different looks. I think they have a pretty good selection of different shades; I believe there are 13. I gave the shades Stunner and Minx to acquaintances to try, and I kept Vixen. Below are lots of photos of Vixen worn in various combinations and lighting. My thoughts will be at the end.

The first set of photos are all of the light pink shade with the darker shade blended on top.

Sun

Partial sun

Shade

The next set of photos are all of the darker color with the light pink blended on top.

Shade

Sun

Artificial light

The third set of photos is the light pink side of Vixen by itself.

Shade

Indoors, natural light

The last set of photos is the darker side of Vixen by itself.

Shade

Indoors, natural light

I was very happy with Vixen. I felt that the application was smooth and creamy, although a little waxy. It smells waxy/like plastic, too, so that is a downside, but it fades. The whole concept seems like a good one to me. I read some reviews that stated that the Flipstick was not long-lasting for them, but I found the opposite to be true. Also, Vixen was very pigmented and left a nice, even stain on my lips after wearing away. I did not find Vixen to be drying nor moisturizing to my lips.

COVERGIRL Blast Flipstick retails for $7.99 and is available at most mass-market retailers (CVS, WalMart, Target, etc.).

*This product was provided to me for my honest review.*

Studio Gear Lipstick Review and Swatch

I received Studio Gear Complete Color Lipstick from one of my subscriptions to beauty samples, ipsy, in May 2012. (It was named MyGlam at the time. They offer 4-5 beauty samples per month for $10, mostly makeup: http://www.ipsy.com/theglambag. I love this service!) The first photo cracks me up; through some fluke of the flash, the lipstick appears to be almost hallowed.

 



 

I received the shade Pink Blush. I find the name to be misleading. You would think from the shade name that it will be subtle and demure--wrong. This is a vibrant, bold pink, leaning toward fuchsia. It's creamy, but with a nice sheen to it. 

 

 

I did not have high expectations of this lipstick. I had never heard of the brand. Also, my two favorite lip products, Tarte Lipsurgence and L'Oreal Infallible Rouge, are hard acts to follow. But I was pleasantly surprised; I loved this lipstick. 

 

Yes, the above photo is only my lips. The rest of my face was a mess that day.

 

You can purchase Studio Gear Complete Color Lipstick here for $16.00: http://studiogearcosmetics.com/store/products/lipstick/.