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.

L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream: Catering to 5 People, at Most

BB creams are kind of gimmicky. In America, most are just tinted face lotion. DD creams? CC creams? If you pick a letter out of the air, I'm sure someone will name it the new big thing. Anyway, I don't like slapping Revlon Colorstay on my face every day so I thought I'd pick up some drugstore BBs.

The back, if you need ingredients.

Here's the L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream, with "Beautifying Beads; encapsulated pigments infused in an ultra-light lotion with antioxidants Vitamins C&E". L'Oreal claims this BB cream "delivers 4 beautifying actions in 1: hydrates, corrects, evens and perfects. Instantly transforms to your perfect shade for a flawless, bare skin finish. Over time, more beautiful skin" (Source).

Let me skip right to the punch line. Don't buy this BB cream.

First off, why are Beautifying Beads capitalized. Also, how are they beautifying. If you've never used this BB cream, you'll notice it comes out as a white lotion with little round things in it. As you press them and rub them into your skin, they pop and color comes out. It sounds like a neat idea in theory, but damn is that inconvenient. You have no clue what color you're going to get--and if you don't rub it enough, you're going to have weird half-white skin.

"Beautifying Beads" 

This lotion may be "ultra-light", but the problem is it won't be so super light when you have to slap more and more on to cover your gross skin. This product was tinted but at the same time kind of transparent. It basically just sits on your skin. It feels a little greasy. L'Oreal also gets a finger-wag because saying "over time, more beautiful skin" is so vague and unmeasurable that it really shouldn't be said at all. Also, no sunscreen in this BB.

L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream next to Maybelline Dream Fresh BB

It may be a bad product, but L'Oreal's nozzle is snazzy and convenient.

Now the real kicker is the shitty color choices. "Instantly transforms to your perfect shade"? God no. They're so horrendous that unless you're medium toned, pink, have a fake tan, and have relatively clear skin, this BB cream can go straight to the trash. If you have really dark skin, sorry, since L'Oreal only caters to the medium. The colors available are Fair, Light, Medium, and Deep. Somehow, they managed to alienate just about everyone.

I'm pretty pale. Usually I fall under 'ivory' or the 2nd lightest shade so I grabbed Light. Jesus Christ was this awful.

L-R: Unblended gloop, hardly blended but still white, Fair color, Light color.

Yeah, you're seeing that right. The Light shade is fucking orange. I don't think even someone with a fake tan could use this successfully because it's just so damn orange. And guess what, Fair is literally fucking white. There must be a good 10 skin tones between Light and Fair. It looks ok on the back of my hand, but on my face it's white. And I can't tell what the color is supposed to be because of the damn Beautifying Beads. Is it white? Or am I not blending it out enough? It just gives my face a white mask with a pink undertone, so I can't use it either way (since I'm yellow-toned).

Here's my arm zoomed out, to give you a better idea. Note how the Fair shade doesn't cover my faded lipstick swatch.

So overall, this BB cream is supposed to hydrate, correct, even and perfect. It does hydrate, but if you pile on, it's too greasy. It doesn't correct either, since the colors are off and super duper sheer. Again, doesn't even and perfect for those reasons too.

Look, I even put it on my face. Because I hate myself.

I couldn't dare to go outside to take photos. The orange looks even more orange in natural light.
On the rest of my face I've been wearing Maybelline's BB in Light for 10hrs in 100 degree heat. Still looks ok.

Just don't buy it. If you want an affordable but more neutral and more appealing to more skin tones, try Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream. It still is targeted towards the white medium tones, but they lean more neutral. Plus, there's coverage. I have acne and it covers it pretty well and makes the rest of my skin look less blotchy and red.

L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream retails for  ~$10 for 1 ounce. For comparison, Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream retails for ~$7.50 for 1 ounce, depending on where you buy.

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.

SERIOUSLY, SKIP IT: Maybelline Master Duo 2in1 Glossy Liquid Liner

If I could try every eyeliner in the world and compile a list of the shittiest eyeliners in the world, this would probably come in second. And I haven't even tried nearly all that exist.

The eyeliner in question is Maybelline's Eye Studio Master Duo 2-in-1 Glossy Liquid Liner. That's the kind of title that begs some editing and shortening. Why. Is there some word quota someone needed to fill.

Two. I bought TWO.

Anyway, this thing is called 2-in-1 because (supposedly) the tip is shaped like a pancake so you can use the thin (not actually thin) side to get vaguely thinner lines, and the fat side to get fatter lines. In theory it sounds good, but the tip of any regular liner can easily do the job of both and get you a precise point.

L-R: Fat side of Glossy Liner, 'thin' side, L'Oreal Lineur Intense Liquid Eyeliner tip.
That small variation in thinness makes a huge difference on your face. 

So, you're asking, why is this eyeliner so shitty? Well let me tell you, internet user. It's so shitty that I bought two to be sure I had something to write about. First off, this shit is literally dirtied, vaguely colored water in a neat container. Somewhere the whole Maybelline corporation is laughing evilly while googling their own product, knowing they successfully conned thousands of dollars out of curious customers. The bottle says 'shake well' probably as an excuse for being so shitty.

"But Mr. Maybelline, this is garbage."
"Obviously you didn't shake it enough."

I shook these for a good 10 minutes. My arm got tired, I made my boyfriend shake it. Still, I got some creek water-esque liquid on my eyeball. Gross.

Not only is this infused with an X-TRA DOSE OF WATER™, this eyeliner takes forever to dry and it still feels wet. You touch it and it feels like a big goop of school glue dried on your eye. They call it the 'glossy finish' but I feel like I've got tape on my eye. It pulls at my skin. I blink and I'm tempted to pull it off my face.

Here's the gorgeous, even-more-vibrant-in-person tags. The Teal is a lot more 'teal' in person, trust me. It's beautiful.

I've also got to address the misleading marketing. The fucking color. The one thing of the eyeliner you want to be awesome. I'd pay for a shitty, runny formula if the color I got was like a neon sharpie. The bottoms of my eyeliners show off an awesome, vibrant green and blue. I saw them in Walmart and thought, damn, I want that on my eyeball. It's also mildly annoying that the website doesn't state the size you're buying.

Even on the tip the teal was gray. The navy looks like it would be ok, but no. It's garbage.

L-R: Navy Gleam swatch without shaking, swatch after shaking, Glossy Teal swatch without shaking, swatch after shaking.
In person, these look even more gray.

Too bad what you get is sad and pathetic and kind of no excuse for such awfulness. The swatches look the same, whether you shake the bottle or not. You're telling me, Maybelline, no one stopped and said "hmm, the color is kinda gross and gray. Is this right?"

If the colors weren't advertised as being vibrant, I probably wouldn't mind the gray mess. Maybe someone wants a slate blue. If the formula was ok, that would be neat to have.

But they're advertised as bright, standout colors which is a clear indication someone fucked up somewhere.

Since I hate myself, I applied this eyeliner on my eyeballs and let it sit on my face for 12 hours. I sat at home all day, no sweating or anything. The blow picture too 5 fucking coats of eyeliner to get that color. A lot of it dripped into my eye, too. It burned.

Freshly applied. No mascara. See those clumps on the eyelashes? THAT'S EYELINER.

At the end of the day it looked faded and uneven. I never touch my eyes (you shouldn't either), so I rubbed it once to see what would happen.

See that little bit on the left? That's not a mole. That's eyeliner bits.

Haven't touched this side. Those faint bits are also eyeliner. Look how the color seemed to separate on my eye.

It basically peeled off just like a sticker. If you rub or touch your eyes throughout the day, you're going to have a disaster.

So overall, this eyeliner is garbage and you shouldn't even be looking at it in the drugstore. If you'd like to try a colorful eyeliner, try Revlon Colorstay Skinny Liner (~$8). It comes in a pretty blue and green and I've had much better luck than with this catastrophe.

Maybelline's Eye Studio Master Duo 2-in-1 Glossy Liquid Liner retails for $8 (more or less), for 0.05 fl oz of product ($160 per fluid ounce). That's not outrageous; in fact, most drugstore eyeliners are ~$8. You should still save your money, though. Even if it was free, it wouldn't be worth the gas you waste driving to the drugstore.

SERIOUSLY, SKIP IT: Sonia Kashuk Brush Couture Kabuki Brush

Ok, it's 3:09am and I made a makeshift photo area to inform you of this awful, awful brush. It's that awful that I had to review it.

So this garbage thing is the Limited Edition Brush Couture Kabuki Brush by Sonia Kashuk (yes, you read right, that's two 'brush' in one name). I've had really good luck with this Target-exclusive brand--until I picked up this monstrosity. You can check it out on the Target website where it retails for (drumroll) $12.99 of pure waste-of-money. I'm an impulse-shopper so I grabbed it when it was marked down to $6.48 (still too much). It's cute--! Kabuki brushes are useful--! It's so cute though--!

NOPE. The cute is where the advantages stop.

See this piece of shit to the top? That's a crappy $2 Walmart brush I got to tickle my rats with. That thing and this kabuki brush literally feel the same. I can't apply powder or blush because it pokes and makes it feel like I stuck my face into fiberglass (which, if you don't understand the simile, you shouldn't try). It's cute, but it's worthless if you actually want to actually use it.

This motherfucker sheds like an unbrushed cat. The first time I used it to dust some finishing powder on my face, I found 6 hairs just sitting around on my skin. There's no way that was from my cat, even if her fur is literally everywhere. And it continued shedding the next few times I used it. I theorize if you continue using this thing, it'll eventually thin to nothingness.

Size comparisons L-R: Elf Studio Kabuki Brush, cheapo Walmart brush, Sonia Kashuk Kabuki, Ecotools Large Powder Brush

If you want a good, awesome, fantastic kabuki brush go buy the Elf Studio Kabuki Brush. It costs $6 (often on sale for less), is amazingly soft, dense, and mine hasn't shed a single hair. This is literally my favorite face brush. If you love the designs and cuteness of Sonia Kashuk brushes, I suggest looking up reviews or making sure you can return it if it fails. They're cute and all, but often hit-and-miss.

The most useful part of this purchase is the oversized box the brush came with. It's really, really sturdy and pretty cute. I'm gonna throw it in my drawer to store lip products. This brush is going into my rat toy box so they can chew it and pee on it and then ignore it when it's no longer fun.

It's cute and functional. How I wish the brush actually was.

Here's my babies chewing on their now-outdated toy.

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.