Lip Service

I have recently begun to try and find a lipstick I don't feel ridiculous wearing on a daily basis. I have never been a regular wearer of lipstick. This is partly due to the fact that I can never find a color that looks nice on me, after about 10 minutes I have more on my teeth than lips, and it transfers onto EVERYTHING I come into contact with. So, I gave up wearing anything on my lips besides the occasional chap-stick when I was about, oh, 15 or so.

Since I have been trying to do a more "glam-vintage" look lately, and have even been keeping my finger and toe nails glossy red,  I decided it was time to go back on the hunt for a lipstick.

First off. let me remind all of you that I am cheap. I mean cheap. I don't like to go somewhere and spend more than $10 on a good dinner, and I find most of my clothes at my local thrift store on the weekends because of their 2 for $1 special. Hence, spending $15-$30 or more on lipstick is not really an option for this gal.

The first lipstick I bought was by Wet 'n' Wild. Yes, I am aware of the fact that I am over the age of 12, and it is not 1990, but the price sucked me in. Besides being so cheap, the other reason that I wanted to try Wet 'n' Wild first was because they had a new matte lipstick that was touted as being a "long lasting matte finish". This sounded like a product that would fit into the Old Hollywood glamor vibe I have been going for.  The first Wet 'n' Wild lipstick that I tried was Cinnamon Spice (917B). It was pretty, but it was a bit too dark. With my pasty white complexion I was paranoid that I looked a little too gothic. So the next day I bought Stoplight Red (911D). This was beautiful in the package. It looked like Elizabeth Taylor had dropped off her favorite lipstick for me to try out. Alas, this was too red. It just didn't look right on me. It made my teeth look yellowish, and didn't match my skin at all.

Saddened, I decided to layer them. Putting one on top of the other looked pretty good. Having to mix them just right was a little annoying, but I could live with applying two lipsticks and blending them. I mean if they looked good, stayed in place, and lasted I would finally have a pulled together total makeup routine, and that was incentive enough.

But, while the DID stay matte, unfortunately I did not think that they were long lasting. Now, I have no other Wet 'n' Wild lipstick products to compare these with, but after about 45 minutes to a hour after application I could see my natural lip color poking through in spots through my meticulously applied lip color.

Another sore spot with me was the fact that the Stoplight Red lipstick's cap became dislodged multiple times in my makeup bag and purse, the lipstick decorating everything it came in contact with. I did not have this problem with the Cinnamon Spice, but would not buy this kind again for that reason alone.

Also, these lipsticks transferred onto everything. My sweater, my son's cheek when I kissed him lightly, my hand when I scratched my face, my lips even managed to leave a lasting impression on a few unsuspecting victims who made the unfortunate decision to hug me the past week or so. Their shirts will never be the same.

Now, I admit that the packaging did not say "transfer proof". I assumed that long lasting and transfer resistant were close cousins.

So, on to the next lipstick. I decided that I would probably have to raise the stakes a bit if I was to find a decent product. This time I decided to go with Rimmel lipstick. Now, I have had a little experience with Rimmel in the past, and was pleasantly surprised by their products. I decided to go with Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in True Vintage (123). And while yes, I am a sucker for packaging and names, the color looked like the perfect balance between the gothic deep blood reds and the orange/red fire engine reds that I just can not pull off.

I love this color. It is definitely the vintage color I was going for. It is a pretty and deep red, but it doesn't look too fake or loud. Yes, it still does transfer, but not as much as the others did. I have been more careful on how I hug people, and am making a conscious effort to blot so that I won't be so prone to coloring everything around me.

I do remember a few years ago trying a lipstick that was supposed to be very transfer proof. It was one of those with the two-step process of first applying the color, letting it dry, and then layering a moisturizing top coat on top of that. I had a few problems with this lip color. I ran out of the moisturizing top coat WAY before I ran out of the lip color and my lips became so chapped that they were flaking and causing the lipstick to look horrible anyway. My lips don't feel dry using the Rimmel, and after a hour the color is still true. 

Also, gratefully, the Lasting Finish Lipstick's cap has managed to control its contents quite nicely so far and there have been no further casualties in my purse. :)

 This is Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick, in True Vintage.