Pucker up for a red hot Valentine's Day
Lipstick
WITH Valentine’s Day upon us, it’s time to pucker up ladies – with red hot lips!
Sexy red lips are a trend that return season and after season so it’s always essential to have a trusted red lippy at hand.
But it’s especially true at this time of year when love is in the air and kissing is on the agenda!
Red glosses and lippies are often seen being sported by A-listers, with Pixie Geldof, Rihanna, Fearne Cotton, Christina Ricci and Gwen Stefani all recently snapped with a striking rouge pout.
However, pulling off a bright red shade that doesn’t look cheap and tacky is no mean feat so here at Tried and Tested, we felt it was time to get mouthy and give our views on which colours and brands we have fallen in love with – or which ones should be kissed goodbye.
Lasting Colour Lipstick, Collection 2000 – RRP £3.49
IN a sultry deep red shade, Collection 2000’s Queen of Hearts was a winner from the off.
The Lasting Colour lipstick went on easily, though careful application was a must – any mistakes with this rich stain would be impossible to erase.
I enjoyed the matt finish of this lipstick, though it did make my lips feel a little dry, and the blood red shade gave my simple, black outfit a bit of vintage pizzazz. Perfect for wowing my Valentine.
I applied the shade straight after breakfast – two cups of tea, a bottle of water and five hours later, my lips were still richly red and hardly needed a touch-up. The outline of my lips was intact too, with no bleeding round the edges or smudging.
Collection 2000 has created the most enduring lipstick I have ever tried – at a purse-pleasing price too. At only £3.49 I am tempted to try a few other colours. There are a few wacky shades to choose from, including coffee break (deep brown) and Mudslide (vibrant purple).
The makeup has only a subtle perfume – a vast improvement on the heady scents that used to be found in lipstick of this price bracket.
The packaging was the only giveaway of this lipstick’s budget background, being thin plastic with a shiny hologram, but this can be overlooked for the reward inside – seriously hardy matt makeup.
SC - 4/5
GloMinerals, Glo Sheer lipstick, available from www.outlineskincare.co.uk – RRP £15
I DON’T usually go for red lipstick, but loved Jamaica by glominerals.
It’s not full-on red, more reddish-brown, which was probably what tempted me to try it in the first place. And the colour is not too full-on, either – enough to show you’re wearing lippy without looking clarted.
If you’re in need of more colour, just add a couple of extra layers for stronger effect.
The smell, and therefore the taste, is delicious, it’s almost good enough to eat. And it’s lovely and moisturising, too.
Reasonably priced at £15.
KA - 4/5
Red lippy has to be applied with precision for that diva effect.
Sheer Cover Berry lipstick palette, available to buy from www.sheercover.co.uk – £21.95
THE idea of this palette is great. For the price of what one lipstick or gloss can cost you get six fab colours to choose from.
The casing is smart, complete with mirror and lip brush and the colours range from pale pink, through to bright red, to a deep maroon – meaning you can chop and change as you please. It also means that if bright red isn’t your thing all the time, you can pick something else to tickle your fancy.
However, whilst the concept is great, the stayability of the lipsticks isn’t. It’s dead easy to put on, especially with the lip brush, but it doesn’t stay on very well. In fact, after half an hour of wearing it I was already reaching for more.
Potentially, if you are on a night out an only have a small clutch or evening bag to hand, the container is a little bulky.
CD - 3/5
Volume Sensation Lipstick, Collection 2000 – RRP £2.99
RICH in colour – if a little too bright for me – Cherry Pop was my first venture into the Volume Sensation range from Collection 2000.
Applying the shocking red lipstick, I was aware of a cool tingling sensation. The range claims to contain "40 per cent volumising ingredients". Whatever they are, they certainly had some affect as I could feel my lips were fuller after only a few minutes.
The cooling tingle lasted a while, an hour at least, but because of the juiciness of this moisturising lipstick it bled onto the skin around my lips after a few hours and needed frequent colour touch-ups. By the end of the day I felt a little bit of a mess with blurry red-stained lips.
The second shade I sampled was more up my street – a dark, classy Ruby Red. The same problems occurred, however. This is not the kind of lipstick you could rely on to see you through a romantic evening out with minimal smudging.
It is, however, OK for women who don’t like the dry feeling you get from some lipsticks.
In this instance, you get what you pay for.
SC - 2/5
Proto-col LED lip glosses, available at www.proto-col.com – £10.95
THE thing about this gloss is that it’s got a gimmick. And whilst the gimmick is not terribly useful on a day-to-day basis, when out at night in clubs and bars, this is very handy indeed.
Hidden in the lid of the wand is a little LED light. When you remove the wand from the container the wand illuminates making it easy to see where you are applying your lipstick. On the main body of the packaging – which by the way is very slick – is a little mirror, so you can make sure you don’t go wrong. A winner!
This Strawberry Crush colour is not bright red, but it is glossy and applies like a dream. The applicator is also unusual and is sturdier than a brush, and this makes it very easy to stay in the lines.
The advantage of this gloss over some lipsticks is that if it doesn’t last long, you don’t end up with a manky looking bright residue on your lips.
That said, you don’t really need to worry about it rubbing off as it is very durable.
CD - 5/5
Arbonne Cosmetics Strawberry and Runway Rouge – RRP £17
BOTH shades are great for branding the cheek of your chosen Valentine hunk with a long-lasting kiss. Light on the lips, the two shades can give you either the cheeky, pinkier tones of Runway Rouge or the juicy scarlet of Strawberry. Both feel nice, don’t dry out your lips and have just enough shine – so they don’t look either gloopy or unflatteringly flat and matte.
And if you don’t want to end up with a lip job like Heath Ledger’s Joker in Batman: The Dark Knight, try the Arbonne sticks. There’s absolutely no danger of the rich reds bleeding into any cracks around the lips.
More good news is that, despite the relatively lightweight formula, the colour lasts for hours. The lipsticks maybe aren’t totally smooch-proof, but your Valentine might volunteer to help you test that out for yourself...
MC - 4/5
Susan Posnick Colorforever in Mick, available from premium salons and spas or at www.skinbrands.co.uk – RRP £21.00
CALL me stingy, but in this economic climate I am not sure many of us can afford to splash out over £20 for a lippy – me being one of them!
I really had to question whether it would be worth forking out so much cash, and if I’m honest I don’t think it would.
For a start, it comes in a box which looks cheap. However, I guess it’s the lippy itself that’s more important.
It is double-sided with a lip colour on one side and a plumping conditioner on the other. You simply apply the lip colour first, allow that to dry completely, before slapping on the conditioner to give a lipgloss finish.
One aspect I did like is that you can vary how much colour you use, so if you layer up the colour you can go for a more dramatic look or if you want a more subtle affect you can simply use a spot of colour. The "mick" shade is like a dark berry colour, and smells lovely and fruity.
It boasts that its colour is long-lasting – well I would say it lasts longer than a lipgloss, but not as long as I would hope when it costs £21 a pop!
HB - 2/5
2True Lip gloss, available from Superdrug – RRP £1.99
RED lipstick is the colour of choice this year, according to celebrity gossip magazines.
If I’m honest, I’m a more neutral shade kind of girl and find bright red lipstick a little intimidating on other women, never mind myself.
But in the name of love, I agreed to give this bright red gloss a go and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised.
Firstly, I find a gloss more wearable than a lipstick, so the texture suited me perfectly. And the price is pretty ace too. At £1.99, a girl simply can’t go wrong. There is also a lipstick in the same shade, if this takes your fancy. Now, I won’t be wearing this shade to work, I’m just not one hundred per cent comfortable. However, I’ve got a little bright red dress and this colour, shade No6, goes perfectly. And I have to say, when I wore it on a night out, I did feel rather glamorous, darling! So I haven’t been converted for day-to-day wear, but for a special occasion, most definitely.
I think the perfect outfit, with perfectly matching lipgloss has been picked for when my fiancé takes me out for a romantic meal on February 14. Now is that a big enough hint?
JM - 4/5