Guerlain Rouge G Rose Barbare and Gwen-- A Quick Review

I'm one of those who prefer to do away with out-of-the-house retouches for my makeup. I'd rather go the extra steps (primer, layering, Skindinavia finishing spray) than be endlessly worried about fading blush, melting foundation, etc. I draw the line at lipstick though-- I know there are some all-day formulations that are quite popular like OCC Lip Tars, Lime Crime mattenes and Revlon ColorStay liquid lipstick but in my opinion, they don't really last all day unless you don't mind having junky-looking lips. In order to help staying power, those lipsticks need to have less 'slip' and more pigments which basically ends up sucking moisture on the puckers. Plus, they're a pain to take off so unless you bring some makeup remover, you won't get a freshly-applied look when it's time to top up. A friend of mine uses nothing but these all-day formulations and by the end of the day, her lips look like an old woman's, complete with fading color that has considerably settled into the lip lines.

Guerlain Rouge G  in Rose Barbare. This is Limited Edition, I think. Do correct me if I'm wrong.

Packaging-wise, Guerlain Rouge Gs are pretty hard to beat. But I don't know what to do with the case once the lipstick is finished. There's been rumors that Guerlain will start selling refills soon, but then again, that rumors been around for years. 

Guerlain Rouge G in Gwen

These two Guerlain Rouge Gs mostly live in my purse along with a packet of oil-blotting sheets. Rose Barbare is a sheer pink lipstick that gives my lips a very sweet, plump appeal while Gwen is a full-on red for those (rare) days when I'm not in the mood for pink or peach. Locally, Guerlain Rouge Gs retail for P2500 each, but you might be able to score better deals from online sellers like I did. 

Guerlain Rouge G Rose Barbare swatch

Guerlain Rouge G Gwen swatch

To be honest, I mostly bought these for the packaging. I know there are some of you who feel that Rouge Gs are unparalleled but I've tried lipsticks that have the same feel-- not all of them high-end too. Rose Barbare actually reminds me of a Revlon lip butter. But hey, the experience of slipping the lipstick out of its sheath and having that mirror pop up is something that no other brand gives you. I just feel so grown-up whenever I do; retouching is actually a pleasure.

As you can see from the swatches, the Rouge G formula has a lot of moisture. It's the sort of product that a woman might not buy for herself but which she would love to receive as a gift. With Mother's Day coming around, this would be a cool gift idea too.

Fanny Serrano Lipstick in Peri Sherry vs MAC Cosmo Review and Swatches

Not all of my lipsticks have to be worth more than a thousand bucks, you know.

I have a fairly reasonable lipstick collection. Enough to have some good selections for a variety of looks but not so extensive that I could pull various intensity of shades and finishes. This is not such a problem because I like mixing lip products to create different effects (I have an amazing combo that will let you get three popular MAC colors from just one lipstick. When I'm not so lazy I will take photos and show you. But don't hold your breath because in case you're not in on the secret yet, me not being lazy or legitimately busy occupies a very narrow window of opportunity.)

Anyhow, most of my lipsticks are from (surprise!) MAC. A couple are from Guerlain, and Revlon. And I have one from FS (Fanny Serrano) which I will share with you today. I cull my collection regularly, and as my aunts and cousins will attest, I'm ruthless about culling be it shoes or clothes or makeup. If they're not earrning their space in my closet or train case, they have to be evicted and re-placed. They always find willing homes though: I have a lot of cousins.

Anyhow, the above blather is meant to show you that this inexpensive lipstick holds its own against some great contenders in my collection:

Fanny Serrano Moisturific Lipstick in Peri Sherry (P300/4g)

I'm not sure but I think it's being touted as a dupe for MAC Twig. I don't have Twig myself but I do have MAC Cosmo and Peri Sherry is pinker than Twig so they may just be right about the dupe thing. Here's Peri Sherry and Cosmo side by side:

That's Peri Sherry on the left, Cosmo on the right. As you can see, the FS bullet is a bit thicker than the MAC one.

And here's arm swatches of the two:

MAC Cosmo below, FS Peri Sherry above

I don't really buy intentionally buy lipstick dupes myself not because I'm a snob but because I feel like I have already earned the right to some good products. You see, when makeup junkies get older, we tend to be less forgiving of products that don't perform or feel as good as they should. Plus, I think I already mentioned that I'm a WAHM and I don't get/need to wear makeup everyday. On the infrequent days that I do, I look for a good experience.

And that's what I get from this lipstick: beautiful color, great pigmentation, smooth texture, semi-glossy finish and pretty decent staying power. I would even go so far as claim that it feels like a MAC Amplified to me.

Peri Sherry

Peri Sherry

Peri Sherry arm swatch

Pros:

• not drying
• comfortable to wear
• great pigmentation
• decent staying power
• sturdy packaging
• inexpensive
• proudly Filipino made

Cons

• the printing on the packaging and the bottom sticker ruins what could be an elegant look. 

You couldn't see the printing in the picture above because I turned it over but MOISTURIFIC LIPSTICK is printed right on the sides of the lipstick cap. If you look closely, you may be able to see an M right above the  cut. As for the bottom sticker, have a looksie:

Too bad, because the metallic blue packaging really got my fancy. Maybe one of these days the packaging could get a tweaking. Maybe they could just eliminate the bullet printing and refine the bottom sticker fonts to up the ante. But that's just me nitpicking.

NYX Extreme Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm, Swatches and Review

Ever since I discovered Mac lipsticks, I rarely stray from the brand especially since I don't really wear makeup everyday and a single bullet takes me ages to finish anyway. But NYX matte lip creams have always been something I wanted to try out, even though I am not a fan of mattes in general. When I attended the Maven event a few weeks ago, I saw that Digital Traincase had a booth there and I was able to swatch me some of the lip creams. I took home Stockholm (P280).

MAC Russian Red Lipglass is like a secret lover

When it was time for me to go to college, one of the things that I was excited about was finally being grown-up enough to wear lipstick everyday. I figured that because I was no longer in high school and I was going to UP (known for its freedom), I could assert my adulthood by wearing lipstick to classes. Yes, it was that shallow :0  You see, I grew up in a very strict home (my grandparents raised me) and before UP I couldn't even lay claim to tinted lip conditioner.

Now that I'm a mom myself and earning my own money, I can be as kikay as I want to be. And while I can be quite comfortable walking around in the daytime sporting a smokey eye every now and then, I have yet to own up to red, in-your-face lips. And that is why my MAC Russian Red lipglass is being treated like a hot and steamy secret lover: in the privacy of my bedroom, I love the heck out of it and sing its praises. And yet, before I go out in public, I remove all traces of it on my lips and pretend that it does not exist...

Poor MAC Russian Red lipglass; what we have is so beautiful but I just can't bring myself to let the whole world know. Alas!

Ok, ok. I'm stopping the melodrama. On to the review, shall we?

Avon Ultra Rich Mega Impact Lipstick in Fuchsia Fun Swatch, Review

In my review for the Avon Ideal Luminous blushes (click link to see post), I already complained about how hard it was to pick specific colors based on their catalogues. I was looking for a good dupe for MAC Girl about Town, which was a bright fuchsia pink color, because that particular shade was only available in North America. As a MAC makeup artist had recently texted me that this shade will never be available in their local stores, I bought Avon Fuchsia Fun. On Anne Curtis’ catalogue images, it looked very opaque, and very pigmented.