SERIOUSLY, SKIP IT: Butter London Lippy (in Snog + Dupes)

I love Butter London. I love their logo, their website layout, their packaging, and their nail polish. It's square. Squares are excellent shapes for basically everything.

I tried really hard to like the Lippy Liquid Lipstick. Like, really hard. I put it on in the morning and I ate with it and then I was so grossed out I wiped that stuff right off.

Look at that cute rectangle.

The packaging is fantastic. If I could scrub out all the pink gunk and pour in a different product, I totally would. Although now it's more likely I'll put it in my box of lip products and pull out every now and then, quietly admire, then put back to resume gathering dust.

The product itself is totally confusing. I have no idea what I own. It's called a Lippy--but so is every lip product from Butter London. Is it a lip gloss? Is it a liquid lipstick? I have no fucking idea. From the packaging it looks like the Lippy Liquid Lipsticks, but the little sticker at the bottom assures me I'm holding a lip gloss that's 0.24 fl oz. The box, on the other hand, corrects me: "no, honey, it's 0.25 fl oz."

Whatever it is, I hate it.

Typical applicator.

The smell, oh man, the smell. When you open the package and smell it, it's ok. It's something between old perfume and a Jolly Rancher. But like if the Jolly Rancher had no sugar. Just that overbearing, synthetic fruity smell. The kind of perfume your elderly aunt has been wearing since the 50's. Color payoff is great, but it doesn't dry either.

The worst part is actually smearing this glop on your mouth. The texture is really thick and liquid lipstick-y, but boy howdy is this thing sticky. It stays in place, but I feel like I stuck one of those weird sticky strips you find on the back of samples but on my lips. You know the ones. Like clear boogers attaching your already-tiny primer sample to unnecessary cardboard.

And then you start to taste it. Imagine walking though the perfume department right as someone sprayed a bottle, and the perfume gets in your mouth. And then you eat a bar of soap. That's exactly what this Lippy tastes like. When I ate some sandwich I couldn't taste anything but soap--and it was a damn good sandwich too. Even after you remove it, the smell lingers for a good, long while.

Because I hate myself, I photographed it on my lips. No flash.

There are the sacrifices I make in the name of blogging.

As much as I wanted to test the lasting power of this thing, I just can't keep this slathered on my lips. The perfume scent is so overbearing and I don't want to perpetually feel like someone shoved a bar of soap in my mouth.

Like any responsible blogger, I bring you less disgusting dupes. I have entirely too many lip products, mostly drugstore, so I quickly managed to pick out a few similar shades.

L-R: Butter London Snog, Maybelline Color Elixer in Celestial Coral (~$9), Maybelline Superstay 14HR Lipstick in Continuous Crandberry, Eternal Rose (~$9), Revlon Super Luxurious Lipstick in Pink Velvet, Love That Red, Fire & Ice (~$8). 

L-R: Butter London Snog, Maybelline Color Elixer in Celestial Coral (~$9), Maybelline Superstay 14HR Lipstick in Continuous Cranberry, Eternal Rose (~$9), Revlon Super Luxurious Lipstick in Pink Velvet, Love That Red, Fire & Ice (~$8). 

Flash, same order as above.

I wouldn't call any of these identical in the swatch, but on the lips, it's a lot harder to spot the differences. In person, Continuous Cranberry is a lot redder. The closest dupe is the last one, Fire & Ice. The undertones differ slightly, but again, on the lips the difference is imperceptible.

I would spring for Revlon's Fire & Ice and toss Snog right in the trash. The color is so great, but everything else gets a sad emoticon from me.

The Lippy Liquid Lipstick retails for $18 for 0.24 fl oz ($75 per ounce). In comparison, OOC Lip Tars are $19 for 0.33 fl oz ($57 per ounce) and are much better quality. Revlon's Super Luxurious lipsticks are ~$8 for 0.15 oz ($53.33 per ounce).

Bonus:

To make up for the mediocrity of this 'lippy', here's a picture of the bun showing off her weird rabbit feet.

The thing she's chillin' in was intended to be a litterbox, but she decided it makes a better bed.

Skip It: BITE BEAUTY Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo in Palomino / Violet (+ much needed dupes!)

Bite Beauty is a Sephora-exclusive brand that markets natural, 'good enough to eat' lipsticks. They claim each of their Luminous Creme Lipsticks contains "super antioxidant resveratrol" and that "each lipstick contains the amount of resveratrol found in five glasses of red wine" (Source). This makes me raise my eyebrows a bit. The lipstick may contain the antioxidant, but applying a thin layer on your lips once a week will give you absolutely none of it. You will neither absorb enough through your skin, nor will you lick off enough lipstick to get any measurable benefit. Maybe if you sat down and chowed down on your $24 dollar snack, but not if you use it as intended.

Well anyway, I decided to pick up the $12 Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo in the Vibrant shade, which includes two mini bullets in colors Palomino and Violet. Violet is self explanatory, but I have no clue why they chose to name the fuchsia 'Palomino'.

One of these is not what it's named.

Source
Now this is a palomino.

This tiny thing is tinier than anticipated. Obviously Bite made the box 4x bigger than the actual lipstick so you feel like you're getting tons of product.

The back of the box, if you like reading lengthy ingredients lists.

The two colors here look really vibrant and exclusive, but they're actually pretty plain. They're bright, but no special snowflake.

Nonetheless I slapped both ends to my lips and smeared them around in the usual fashion.

Palomino on the top lip, Violet on the bottom. I blotted Violet somewhat and they both looked disappointedly similar after that.

These Luminous Creme Lipsticks applied like butter. Like literal butter: they were, in fact, a little too creamy. When I tried to layer on more pigment for a really vibrant punch, they sort of slipped and slid around in an uncertain way. Not to mention the two have basically the same undertone. If you wear them as a stain, they'll look the same. But overall, they felt ok on my lips and stayed alright. The finish is satiny and shiny, far from matte.

I wear my lipstick all day without reapplication, that's why I don't like liquid products. This duo, though, faded significantly and within 4 hours, taking the shine with it. The stain still lingered, so that's a plus in my book, but it was no longer a vibrant shade, but a very typical snooze-worthy fuchsia.

The problems came in after 6 hours and at the end of the night. The Luminous Creme Duo dried my lips out so fucking much. I think the Revlon Super Luxurious mattes are drying, but in an acceptable way; I'm not particularly sensitive to dry lips. This duo, though, was out of control. It went on so buttery at the start, but deteriorated to a disgusting smear on my lips.

You can clearly see the straight line where my lip ends and lipstick begins.  My lips are so chapped.

I had to scrub this stuff from the fine lines and chapped spots after the photos; my lips were starting to flake because they were so dry at that point (10 hours). It felt and looked absolutely disgusting. I have over a hundred lipsticks, many drugstore, and nothing has fried my lips this much.

Here's how the colors look when first applied next to the worn version.

On the plus side, even when your lips are cracking, the duo goes on smooth for reapplication and doesn't emphasize fine lines.

Overall, I'm really disappointed that this cute little duo is like a disgusting little bullet of deception. I won't return it, it's cute to keep for later reference, but I definitely won't be wearing it. Thankfully, the colors are pretty easy to come by in the drugstore, with an actually decent formula and good lasting power.

First up is dupes for the Violet shade:

L-R: Bite's Violet ($12), Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Brazen Berry (~$8), Covergirl Lip Perfection in Divine (~$7), L'Oreal  Colour Riche Caresse Lipstick in Violet Chiffon (~$10), Revlon ColorBurst Lacquer Balm in Whimsical (~$10) 

L-R: Bite's Violet ($12), Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Brazen Berry (~$8), Covergirl Lip Perfection in Divine (~$7), L'Oreal  Colour Riche Caresse Lipstick in Violet Chiffon (~$10), Revlon ColorBurst Lacquer Balm in Whimsical (~$10) 

Same order as above, but with flash.

Maybelline's Brazen Berry leans cooler than Violet, while Covergirl's Divine is a spot-on dupe in person. I've worn it on many occasions and it still looks fresh and purple after my 10 hours, so I would definitely pick it instead of Bite's.


And now here's the dupes for Palomino:

L-R: Bite's Palomino ($12), Maybelline Superstay 14HR Lipstick in Eternal Rose (~$9), Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Vivid Rose and Fifth Ave. Fuchsia (~8)

L-R: Bite's Palomino ($12), Maybelline Superstay 14HR Lipstick in Eternal Rose (~$9), Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Vivid Rose and Fifth Ave. Fuchsia (~8)

Same order as above, but with flash.

Maybelline's Eternal Rose is the only one that leans on the red side. The other three are basically the same on the lips. I would say Maybelline's lipsticks go on a tad more sheer than Bite's--but you can easily build up color, while Bite Beauty's duo just sort of slides around.


So in the end, I don't recommend this little impulse buy. You can easily get two full lipsticks for the same price, but with a formula that lasts great for my 12hr wear. The dupes get a Veronica thumbs up, while Bite's Duo gets thumbs down with an added fart sound effect.

You can price Bite Beauty's Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo in two ways: as 1 lipstick, or as two small ones. If you combine the sizes, Lipstick Duo retails for $12 for 0.1oz ($120 per ounce), but if you buy it for only one color, it retails for $12 for 0.05oz ($240 per ounce).

The regular sized Luminous Creme Lipstick retails for $24 for 0.13oz ($184 per ounce). So it's up to you to decide whether this is a good deal or not.

Perma Faves: MAC x Lorde Lipstick in Pure Heroine (Review + Comparison)

If I could marry one person in the world, it would be Lorde. Not my boyfriend or anyone--but Lorde. Since this isn't a post dedicated to her, I'll keep the ranting to a minimum.

I only began buying high-end makeup pretty recently and wanted to get a MAC lipstick, but none really jumped out at me. The stars basically came together when I found out there was a Lorde-themed lipstick. Hell yeah, I'm gonna buy it. Good thing the MAC website has free shipping since I wanted this sucker immediately.

Be jealous.

The Lorde collection included an eyeliner and an Amplified finish lipstick in Pure Heroine, obviously named after the album. I'm still not sure if we're talking protagonists or drugs, but whatever. You can be jealous since the lipstick is sold out now.

This one comes in the usual MAC rounded style and swatches beautifully. Honestly, I would have preferred a more Lorde-esque dark plum, but this is totally fine.

No flash, but held up right next to a light.

In the tube, Pure Heroine looks like a really dark purple, but when you really look, it has a really bright fuchsia undertone.

Flash.

I have lipsticks that have a similar fuchsia undertone, but I love how this one wears off. Instead of getting grossly patchy like my other lipsticks, it wears off to an even pink stain. In fact, sometimes I blot off all the dark and leave that nice magenta--it's like a two-in-one. Great for the lazy (i.e. me).

Freshly applied, full color. It's very moisturizing without sliding around.

You don't need a lipliner with Pure Heroine; it doesn't sit in the fine lines and seep outside your lip line.

Freshly applied, with flash.

I then dabbed it with a clean square of toilet paper until nothing else came off and got to that nice-looking stain.

This is a much more daytime color.

With flash and wind in my face.

I was sort of cleaning out my photo folder and happened to delete my 12-hours-later picture, but let me describe it for you. Pure Heroine wore off really evenly; I didn't have that awkward ring of color on the outside of my lips and on the inside it became a gradient from my lips to the color. None of that 'straight line of lipstick' stuff.

It did disappear somewhat from the corners of my mouth after the 12-hours and the rest had lightened by about 50% of the above stain, but not in a gross, patchy way. So overall, even if you wear it as a stain, this lipstick definitely stains. My lips didn't feel disgustingly dry at the end either and I started without any chapstick underneath.

And because I have too many drugstore lipsticks, I tried to pick out some similar colors.

L-R: MAC Pure Heroine, Maybelline Color Sensational in Brazen Berry (~$8), Revlon Super Luxurious in Plum Velour (~$8), L'Oreal Infallible Le Rouge in Everlasting Plum (~$10), Maybelline Color Sensational in Deepest Cherry (~$8), Maybelline Color Sensational in Mauve It Up (~$8), NYX Butter Gloss in Raspberry Tart (~$5),  Revlon Just Bitten Kissable in Crush (~$9).

L-R: MAC Pure Heroine, Pure Heroine as a stain, Maybelline Color Sensational in Brazen Berry (~$8), Revlon Super Luxurious in Plum Velour (~$8), L'Oreal Infallible Le Rouge in Everlasting Plum (~$10), Maybelline Color Sensational in Deepest Cherry (~$8), Maybelline Color Sensational in Mauve It Up (~$8), NYX Butter Gloss in Raspberry Tart (~$5),  Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain in Crush (~$9).

Out of my 100s of lip products, I don't have an exact dupe. As you can see, all my berry/purple shades are on the redder side, while Pure Heroine is cooler and purely purple.

Taken with flash.
Same order as above.

Some of these do leave a stain, even after vigorous scrubbing. Same order as above.
L-R: MAC, MAC, Maybelline, Revlon, L'Oreal

** Update: If you've got a Pure Heroine-colored hole in your heart, check out Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in Shameless (~$9). The color is spot on, but the finishes are different, since the Matte Balm is, you know, matte. I don't find it drying and it lasts all day, albeit wears off to be a tad more patchy stain than Pure Heroine. But the color is a perfect dupe.

Overall, I love this lipstick. It wears off well, lasts ages, and can give you two different colors with minimal effort. And it's Lorde themed. Come on. Totally worth the $16.

MAC x Lorde Pure Heroine retails for the usual $16 for 0.1oz ($160 per ounce).

Skip It: Sephora Luster Matte Long-Wear Lip Color (Fig Luster + dupes)

Come on, Sephora. Why must you throw so many words into your product names. It's like you're trying to fill another page of essay but have nothing more to say. "Matte! Luster!" a Sephora executive exclaims, hitting his fist on the conference table. "Dammit, Jimmy, we need more words!"

This product isn't inherently terrible. It's not even 'awful'--but it sure as hell isn't worth the $16.

Why? you ask your screen, looking befuddled. Well, fellow reader who most likely googled 'sephora review' and was redirected here, I'll tell you.

When I buy something 'high end' I like to think I'm paying for 3 things: packaging, product, and exclusivity. If packaging didn't sell, then perfumes would be pretty ugly looking. And of course if I'm paying $16 for something so tiny, I want it to work better than a $10 drugstore thing. I also don't want to buy something that I already have duplicates of.

For me, Sephora's Luster Matte Long-Wear Lip Color in Fig Luster get's a big old "Nooope" on all 3 points.


1. Packaging

This packaging is terrible. I'm not even going to sugarcoat it. It looks cheap and it screams drugstore. Imagine a MAC lipstick. Looks nice and sleek and heavy. Now imagine the opposite. Or, you know, just look down. 

Why does the Sephora $16 product look cheaper than the $7 Revlon lipgloss? Let's break it down.

The big chunky words on the cheap-feeling "matte" cap look juvenile. Revlon has a luxe-looking gold band under a shiny, dense cap. Sephora's got those unappealing black letters on the body--while the Revlon is totally clean. The Sephora Luster Matte reminds me of those little lipglosses my 9 year old sister plays with.

All in all, the packaging doesn't scream "I'm high end, I'm $16" to me.


2. Product

This was the section that most tempted me to keep this thing. "But it's $16! It's better than drugstore! I should keep it!" I rationalized.

It's ok. It's decent. It gets the job done.

L-R: wet, 'dry', Clinique's Long Last Lipstick in Heather Moon, $15

With flash version for the picky.

It goes on really smooth and light-weight; I can hardly feel it. Nice. I find liquid products hard to manage, but I did an ok job.

Check out my disembodied lips. I didn't feel like doing a full face of makeup for a B- product.

No flash.

Flash.

It doesn't really dry though. The Luster Matte isn't sticky either--but it still feels wet. If you're planning on drinking, plan on subtly and sneakily wiping off your cup. No bonus points for that.

The wear time is ok. You eat, it starts to come off on your food. You'll have to do some touch ups. Meh. I have drugstore products that give me the same effect, but with more of a true matte.


3. Exclusivity

I don't have a huge lip collection. I still managed to find colors that were close to this one.

First off, look above for the Clinique Long Last Lipstick in Heather Moon. Entirely forgot to add that one to the list below.

L-R: Sephora Luster Matte in Fig Luster, Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Sultry, Covergirl Lip Perfection in Romance, ELF Matte Lip Color in Tea Rose, Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick in Iconic Iris.

Same, but with Flash.

When I brought home the Sephora Luster Matte and slapped it onto my face I already knew I had a shade that gave me the same effect.

Revlon Matte Balm in Sultry ($9) is one of my favorite shades: it gives the same pleasant end result but is just more pink. And it's a matt crayon. Come on, it's great.

The Covergirl Lip Perfection in Romance ($7) is a really really close dupe to Fig Luster. It doesn't seem like it on my arm, but in natural light it actually looks quite similar.

ELF Matte Lip Color in Tea Rose ($3) is my favorite shade. Like, out of my whole collection, next to aforementioned Sultry. You should definitely go buy it. In comparison to Fig Luster, it's cooler and more purple.

The last one I included is Revlon's Ultimate Liquid Lipstick in Iconic Iris ($10) since it's the other liquid product. This one is more of a shimmery brown-red that basically lasts forever. This line of liquid lipstick isn't for the weakhearted. I have to manually scrub this stuff off. The swatch on my arm is still shimmery, too.

So, I have colors that I prefer to the Sephora Luster Matte Fig Luster. It's a nice color, but I don't need it.

3.5: Prices

So I guess here's a bonus category.

Sephora Luster Matte Long-Wear Lip Color retails for $16 for 0.14 fl oz ($114.28 per fl oz). In comparison, OOC Lip Tars are $19 for 0.33 fl oz ($57.57 per fl oz). The Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick is $10.99 for 0.1 fl oz ($109.9 per fl oz).

If you're thinking "But Veronica: I really like that shade, I don't really care about packaging. The formula sounds good too." Then you're in luck. Run down to Sephora and try it. There are far more exciting colors than Fig Luster that might be original enough to make me and you overlook the ugly tube.

Bonus:

Here's some pictures of this blog's namesake trying on Fig Luster.

Check out that Revlon swatch still chilling on my arm.

She's sulking because that's never coming out.