Mac's Impassioned Dupe? Bright Coral-pink Lipsticks Comparison

Bright pink lip colours with warm coral tones are some of my favourites, especially in the hot summer months. These watermelon-fuchsia shades, as I like to call them, are fun statement shades that get you noticed. I have a few variations of such lip colour and only two of them I'd describe as dupes.  

Catrice Ultimate Colour 250 Matt About Pink 

(matte)

Just like me to start with the odd one out. Matt About Pink is in the bright coral-pink family except it's lighter and more of a bright peachy-pink. This shade's matte formula is not ideal due to the lack of smoothness which can result in an uneven application, though it's not impossible to apply it nicely. It's one of my favourite and most worn shades in my collection. 

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids 910 Shocking Coral 

(cream)

This shade as well as the rest of the Vivids range are much loved in the beauty community. A bright statement shade, it's the pinkest choice in the bunch since the coral tones in it are much more subdued that in the rest. The formula is lovely with a superb pigmentation and a comfortable creamy finish. Though, I have to say that it's not one of my favourites because even though it's a stunning colour in the tube, it somehow manages to look a bit off on my skin tone, so I prefer other more coral choices.

Catrice Ultimate Shine 210 Kiss Kiss Hibiskiss 

(glossy shine)

Old formula. The new version is in the Ultimate Colour range with a creamy finish called 320 Kiss Kiss Hibiscus

I have the old shine formula that is one of the most sensitive formulas to heat I've ever tried and it melts so fast, which you can surmise from the state of my lipstick. It's a super bright watermelon shade with a glossy finish that is very similar to Impassioned with the finish being the most obvious difference. I'm not a fan of the glossiness which also means the staying power is not the best, but I do love the colour. 

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm 210 Unapologetic 

(creamy matte)

My most recent addition to my lipstick collection and the subject of my latest review. On my lips it's pretty much an exact dupe for Impassioned in terms of colour and finish. It's a lipstick in a twist-up pen with an easy-to-work-with superbly pigmented creamy matte formula. Staying power is not its forte, but it's one of the easiest bright lip products to reapply, so it would be my choice to carry in a bag on the go.

MAC Impassioned 

(amplified creme)

MAC describes it as bright fuchsia, but in my opinion it's too coral for a fuchsia and I'd call it a bright watermelon fuchsia. It has a creamy, comfortable formula and it is all in all a wonderful lipstick to work with. MAC lipsticks are expensive, particularly in Europe, but they are worth it. I have the sample size from The Body Needs.

MAC Relentlessly Red 

(retro matte)

Another bright coral-pink but with stronger red tones and a gorgeous matte finish. This is my favourite lipstick currently both in terms of colour and finish, though the formula is dry. I think this shade looks best on me and it's a lipstick I'd love to have in full size.

Beauty UK Lipstick 10 Passion

(cream)

The darkest in the bunch and my first bright shade that I bought years ago. Passion is a fuchsia shade that is leaning to rose and is not as bright as the rest. The formula is a very lightweight creamy one that is easy to apply and feels comfortable to wear, however, it's my least favourite due to how it starts to look after a while. The light formula migrates on the lips and it creates darker ridges giving an appearance of wrinkly lips, however, it's the most affordable in my selection, so it's probably not that surprising that the formula isn't the best. Just as Revlon's matte balm, it has a minty scent.

Unapologetic looks a bit more coral toned swatched on the skin compared to Impassioned, however, on my lips I honestly see no visible difference. I'll go as far to say it's a 99.99% dupe on me in terms of colour and formula.

The next closest one is Catrice's Kiss Kiss Hibiskus with exception of the glossy formula, however, since this version is discontinued and I don't own the new creamy version, I can't say for sure it's as similar as well. Relentlessly Red has a matte finish, is deeper and leans more towards red on the lips. Beauty UK's Passion is darker, less bright and more rose toned. Maybelline's Shocking Coral is lighter and less coral. Catrice's Matt About Pink is matte, lighter and peachier.

You can see all the lipsticks I've ever swatched in my swatch gallery which is regular updated for more comparisons. 

Are you a fan of such shades?
Have a great day!

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm 210 Unapologetic

I was terribly excited when I first heard that Revlon is launching a matte version of their pencils and I patiently awaited their arrival in our neck of the woods. Swatches were popping up all over and Unapologetic caught my eye, so I had my mind set on getting only this shade, however, when they arrived in our drugstores, a very limited shade range was offered with my chosen shade missing. You know what happens in that case - I take my money elsewhere and this time it was Boots international where I even got this one for "free" since it was a part of the 3 for 2 offer. As soon as I opened the box, the pretty bright coral-pink pencil appealed to me.

Texture and finish: It's a very smooth and creamy matte lipstick that glides on the lips with ease.  The application is very comfortable and fast due to the shape. The finish is not completely matte, it's more of a creamy-matte, which will appeal to those who usually find matte lipsticks too drying.

Shade and pigmentation: It's a bright, coral-toned pink, though, it's a strange shade on me, since on my lips it can look either warm or cool toned. I think it screams summer. It's very easy to get full opacity and it mostly takes just one swipe.

Staying power: I was disappointed by the staying power of this product. Most matte lip products I've tried are some of the most long lasting products, but due to the creaminess this one wipes off so easily that it doesn't survive eating or drinking and it fades completely by itself in about 3-4 hours. At around 2 hour mark I already feel the need to reapply because it's too faded. It also doesn't wear off evenly and leaves a ring of colour. Having said that, it one of the easiest bright shades to reapply due to the shape and creaminess.

Packaging: A fat pencil with a twist-up mechanism. It's easy to use and apply precisely, however, I have a feeling that when the tip gets blunt, it'll be much harder to get a crisp line.

Scent: A strong minty scent upon application and it has a slight cooling effect on the lips.

Price and availability: I got mine on Boots international website because our drusgtores don't carry this shade. It was £7.99, here Colorburst mattes costs about 10€.

It's not amazing, but still a nice drugstore lipstick-pencil, especially for those who like matte finish and wish to avoid the unpleasant dryness. The colour is cute, in my opinion the cutest in the Colorburst matte bunch, however, I actually prefer MAC's Relentlessly Red when it comes to these bright pink-coral shades. It's a nice shade to wear in the warm part of the year and it feels very comfortable on the lips.

 Have a great day!

Makeup Revolution Lipstick Dazzle

Colour: A frosty fuchsia shade which  looks more muted frosty rose-fuchsia on the lips. I'd be pretty if it weren't for the frost, which didn't look good in any decade.

Texture and pigmentation: It's similar in texture to Essence's lipsticks, so light, creamy and very easy to apply. Two swipes give full coverage. It feels comfortable on the lips and it doesn't dry them out.

Finish: It looks creamy, but leaning to futuristic frosty waters. It's not the worst frost and it could pass for a creamy shine, but the silver reflect does not appeal to me. 

Scent: It smells like crayons to me, but it's not strong.

Staying power: The light creamy texture means that the staying power isn't the best. What's saving it is the intensity of the shade which is the reason that it manages to last longer than a lighter shade with the same texture would, but it fades unevenly, forming a ring of colour when it's wearing off. It doesn't survive eating or drinking.

Packaging: The packaging is very similar to MUA's and Beauty UK's lipsticks, but of a poorer quality. The plastic feels cheaper and the lid doesn't stay firmly shut, so I expect it would fall off all the time inside a bag.

It's an ok lipstick for the price, though the frost is completely unnecessary. It feels comfortable on the lips and the pigmentation is nice, but don't expect great staying power. 

Šminke Makeup Revolution lahko dobite na Ličila. si za 1,95 € in so na voljo v več odtenkih.

Makeup Revolution lipsticks are available in Makeup Revolution shop.

Have a great day!

*The product was sent to me as a gift and no conditions were set.

H&M Lip Tint Raspberry Red

H&M is not known for their make up line though it's not that modest especially abroad. We get only occasional bits in Slovenia and these lip tints were placed at the registers (H&M Citypark LJ). There were a few colours to choose from, I remember a blue toned pink and one was red. The warm pink caught my eye called Raspberry red. 

Texture: I wouldn't call them tints since that usually means a product with a sheer but long-wearing texture, however, these are actually very pigmented liquid lipsticks. The smallest dot of product goes a long way and it's really hard to wash it off the skin if you swatch it. This type of texture plus the small nozzle applicator means that you need a lip blush to apply it, especially if want a nice precise look. You can apply it with fingers if you're skilled, but mostly it looks too messy.

It can be used as a blush and it gives a cute pink flush to the cheeks. 

Shade: A warm, bright pink. Such warm pinks are rare since most are very blue toned that's why it got my attention.

Staying power: Based on the fact it took a lot of soap and water to get the swatch off my hand, I expected great staying power, but for some reason this doesn't last long on the lips. It starts to fade within an hour even if you don't eat or drink. After a few hours on a faint trace of colour is left. So staying power is not impressive.

 As a blush:

Packaging: A soft tube with a small nozzle. It holds an impressive 12.5g of product.

Price and availability: I found them at the registers in H&M and they cost 3.95 €.

It's a cute product with great pigmentation and a lovely shade, but staying power is a disappointment for such a bright colour. Still, I wouldn't dismiss them if you come across these lip tints in H&M, maybe the red one's staying power is better, I actually have a mini H&M red lipstick and it's fabulous.

Have a great day!

Lancôme Rouge In Love Lipstick 340B Rose Boudoir

I got this as a very generous gift back in December (thank you!) after it was pinned on my Pinterest wishlist for over a year. Lancôme Rouge in Love lipsticks were launched a couple of years ago and there are 31 shades available. Rose Boudoir is in the Boudoir Time or B group, which are cocktail shades.

340B Rose Boudoir is vivid pinky-coral with a creamy finish that is very, very similar to Bourjois' Fraise Remix and a colour that is more suited for spring/summer time. It's not just the colour that is similar, but also the formula. I've often said that Bourjois' Rouge Edition lipstick are the best formula I've tried and Lancôme Rouge in Love feels almost spot on. It's another pigmented, lightweight formula, but Lancôme's feels just a touch creamier. I need one, maybe two swipes for full intensity, however, I also like to blot it and wear it as a sort of a stain. Like that it gives that lovely flush of colour that really brightens up the face (wearing it like that here). It doesn't dry out my lips, nor does it settle in lines. It is slightly rose scented, but it's barely noticeable.

There are no outrageous claims on this lipstick, but a rather down to earth promise of a 6 hour wear. I'd say it lasts about as much, but of course, if you eat or drink in the mean time you might want to refresh the colour, though it fades evenly without leaving a ring of colour, so it's completely up to your own preference of whether you like that half-worn off or the full intensity look.

The tube is heavy, metallic and daintily chic. It's smaller than most lipsticks, though it still holds 3.4g of lipstick which as much as the Bourjois one and 0.4g more than a MAC lipstick.

As far as dupes go, I'm always very conservative with that word, but Fraise Remix and Rose Boudoir are incredibly close. Fraise Remix is pinker, however, I tried them side by side on the lips and I don't notice much of a difference. Pink About it, on the other hand, is less pigmented and matte. (The lipstick on the right in the second picture is Maybelline's Shocking Coral, which is much pinker.)

I don't know the exact price because it was a gift, but I believe it was about 28€ in Müller (I'm guessing). It's 27.30€ on Feel Unique.

If you ever wanted to treat yourself with a good lipstick, these are incredible, however, the drugstore range offers another gem formula, Bourjois' Rouge Edition that feels almost exactly the same for about a third of the price, it's just the colour range that is different. 

Have a great day!

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer Eclipse

Since I fell in love with Rimmel's Kate Matte Lipstick in 107, I've been on a search for a similar shade in a matte lip cream form which is my favourite formula to wear. I didn't find a matte version yet, however, I stumbled upon a post about new shades of Apocalips by chance (is it just me, or did this launch go mostly unnoticed in the blogging world?) and the deeper shade called Eclipse landed in my cart in minutes.

I already own the shade Stellar which is an absolutely gorgeous, bright pink-coral and it landed in my Best Buys in 2013 post. Apocalips are very pigmented liquid lipsticks with a glossy finish that gets more satin/matte when it's wearing off. The doe foot applicator is excellent for a more precise application (you'll notice in my review for 107 how difficult it is to apply nicely based on my lip swatch, but I managed to get some nice results with this one). The applicator has a small depression on one side of the applicator where the product gathers, so there is no need to dip the applicator in the tube several times. Due to the pigmentation, it's better to apply it gradually. I apply it in dots, then spread the product by rubbing my lips together and fix the edges with the applicator. I'm not a fan of a shiny finish, so I almost always blot it and I'm left with a matte finish, but there is enough intensity left for my taste. I also love wearing this as a stain as shown in the last picture. I apply a dot of product and rub it in with fingers. What's left is a nice berry stain that is very everyday appropriate.

Eclipse is a deep burgundy, a very vampy colour and perfect for autumn/winter if you're into such shades. Compared to Rimmel's 107 it's more red/burgundy and less berry. When I saw it in the tube, I thought this is not what I expected. It looks different in the tube than on the lips, almost a bit grey and brown.

What bothered me most at Stellar was the horrible scent, but it looks like they fixed that problem since Eclipse has a much more mild and a bit different version of the scent. 

It lasts so long on the lips and leaves a lovely stain behind. Like Essence matte lip creams, it does transfer on the glass when you're drinking, however it does survive a meal well enough, providing you don't eat anything greasy. It looks great as it's half worn off since it fades evenly. It doesn't dry out my lips at all.

(A prime example of my hair misbehaving, but I'm wearing a matching cardigan - my favourite at the moment.)

As a stain. It's a bit more burgundy and not as intense, but my camera picked it up as too pink.

Rimmel is available almost everywhere with a notable exception of Slovenia. You can get Apocalips lip lacquers on Feel Unique, All Beauty, Fragrance Direct and Asos. I paid 7.49€ on Feel Unique.

I've been feeling über crappy today, but writing this post made me feel so much better, so I hope you enjoyed it and have a great day!

Catrice Ultimate Colour 260 It's a Matt World

It's a Matt World is one of the shades that is about to be discontinued, so I snatched it up at half price. Normally it takes me about a month before I review a product, but I decided to speed it up for this lipstick since it would be pointless posting about something you can't get any more. If you're interested in what else is going out, Moonchild has a post about it in here. These products currently have a huge discount, so grab what you want before they're gone. I posted the upcoming new products by Catrice for Spring/Summer 2014 in this post if you haven't seen them already.

It's a Matt World is a warm, but leaning more to a neutral red. It's not the most pigmented or bright shades as it needs a few layers to get the maximum intensity and compared to my other reds this is a more subtle red. The pigmentation instantly reminded me of essence's long lasting lipstick in 02 all you need it red, though It's a Matt world still packs more of a punch. The formula is a winner. This is one of the smoothest formulas I've tried, like it's packed with silicones and very reminiscent of the discontinued Revlon's mattes. This is such a pleasant lipstick to apply, it doesn't cling to patches and is not drying. It's not a matte finish rather more of a satin.

It fades evenly and looks really nice when it's half worn off. It lasted a decent amount of time on the lips, approximately 4 hours. Drinking wears it off a bit, but it survives through enough that you don't need to reapply it you're not fussy about such things.

It's a Matt World is a decent red that might not blow away those who love richly pigmented lip colours, however, it's a nice lipstick for those who want something more than a reddish lip stain or a balm, but aren't sure they want to venture into bright colours just yet. For 1.99€ that it costs now, I find it better that 02 all you need is red, so if you're interested go check it out.  

Have a great day!

Mac Lipstick Samples from TheBodyNeeds #2

I ordered some more Mac's lipstick samples from The Body Needs. I already wrote about them in my first post here, where you can find swatches of nine other shades. I said it before and I'll say it again: I find the idea of Mac lipstick samples genius, especially for those like me who live in a country where Mac isn't sold and it's very difficult to get online.

I got five of them : Sunny Seoul and Peach Blossom are cremesheen + pearl finish, Full Speed is a sheen supreme, while Dangerous and Relentlessly Red are the latest retro matte finish.

Peach Blossom is a pale peachy pink shade in the cremesheen + pearl finish range. It's Hue's warmer and a hint darker cousin. The formula's of the two are also very similar - soft, very comfortable, slightly moisturising and a bit shiny/glossy. 

Sunny Seoul is a frosted light warm pink. On me it's more of a light to medium colour. The formula is the same as at Peach Blossom.

Full Speed is a bright warm watermelon-coral shade from the sheen supreme line. It's a great summer shade when applied full on, however, I also love it as a stain because it just brings so much life to my face while still looking natural (like a no-makeup makeup look). The formula is one of those lipstick/lip balm/lip gloss hybrids and this is a very pigmented version of such formula with a lovely shine.

Relentlessly Red is a gorgeous bright pink with some coral and a matte finish. I don't know why it's called red because it's pink. It's quite dry, but not like Ruby Woo. I adore this shade. It's so me since I love bright matte shades.

Dangerous  is an orange based red with a matte finish. It's Lady Danger's sibling, however, not quite a twin. Lady Danger is more orange and brighter, but the finish is the same. Formula is retro matte and not as easy to apply as Lady Danger. It's closer to Ruby Woo's yet not as dry.

Pictured left to right: Ruby Woo, Dangerous, Lady Danger and Russian Red (swatched in the previous post):

Have a great day!