Lipsticks are back! So I decided to pull together a list of my favourite purple lipsticks that are great for the fall/winter. As a matter of fact, they are great all year round! I have a preference for matte lipsticks so they feature prominently in this list. They are at different price points, so there is something for everyone. And these all look amazing on women of colour – from dark skin to light – I even added a bright or too.
So check out my list below, and definitely look at my video, where I have tried them on!
Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation
I don’t wear foundation about 99% of the time, but when I do, I look for something that helps me even out my skin tone and that feels like it is almost not there.My philosophy, at least when it comes to foundation is, less is more. I know that everyone right now is about that full coverage….but I’m not here for that.I want my skin to look flawless…but like I was born like that. Enter the Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation on dark skin.
Make Up For Ever has already established themselves as the leaders in both waterproof makeup and products that have amazing performance under the newest video technology.Over the past few years, MUFE has be reformulating their entire line to get ahead of the changes in TV and film.They have already brought out an entire new line of gel-textured eye shadows, which by the way, are mind-blowingly good!
The Details
This is an update to their original HD foundation, and this time they have made it even lighter in weight and added hyaluronic acid which helps make it suitable for all skin types.It aims to give flawless, next best thing to skin coverage when viewed in 4K and 8K technology.So what are 4K and 8K? Right now standard HD video is 1080p, and basically 4K is four times better than HD and 8K is 8 times. So it’s called UHD (Ultra HD).So if you think you can see every pore and wrinkle now, wait until UHD becomes more common!
Back to the review.So the existing line was reformulated and the colour range was also expanded to a fantastic 40 shades! 4…0 shades! There are few companies out there that boast of so many.If you find a line with 20-25 shades, you would consider that luck.They have also renumbered and broken the line up into Y(yellow based) and R(red based) shade.If you look at some of the bottles, they have also included the corresponding shade number from the older line.I picked up shade R530 which is shade 180 from the old line.I love that they have not forgotten us darker ladies and have given us such a selection.
My shade: R530=180
Packaging
Love the pump top!
The UHD comes in a cylindrical, plastic bottle with a pump top and it contains 30ml of product which is pretty standard.This makes dispensing much easier to control and you won’t run the risk of wastage from having to decant or breakage of the bottle.The pump works quite well and dispenses a small amount of product.
By the way, check out my video review or keep reading below the fold for more!!
Here’s just a small haul of two, indie brands that I have wanted to try in forever! I love that more an more companies are coming out with different products, colours and textures and filling the void that major companies don’t. Colour Pop and Makeup Geek have been two brands that have gotten the beauty world buzzing with their unique offerings.
Let me just say this one time….I am absolutely impressed with both of these brands. I can tell a lot of work and thought went into creating these pieces. Amazing quality, amazing textures and what is the best part, is the price. I have not problem paying more for products from small companies, especially if they are minority-owned or they release products that work well on dark skin, but the eyeshadows are between US$5 and $6! Hella cheap! And they are cruelty free too! Makeup Geek was founded by Marlena, who is a makeup artist and YouTuber and I have been following Marlena for years! She is one of the OG YTers when video was shot in 240p. She has grown a lot and I am happy to see her being so successful. She clearly puts in a lot of work and knowledge into her shades and products and I love that she is so aware of the needs of people of colour and has some amazing colours that work so well with my skintone. Colour Pop just celebrated their 1 year anniversary a few months ago and they have been on every one’s lips! Their Eye Shadows and Lippie Stix are almost legendary! And I love the fact they they have swatches of their products on light, medium and dark skin! There are some amazing colour selections and the packing is so cute!
Anyway, here are the things that I have bought so far. I highly recommend checking them out, and I will be purchasing quite regularly. There is also a video of me reviewing these products and will be available below once live. And I have already used some of these products in a tutorial, take a look!
Makeup Geek Cosmetics: foiled on the left, other 2 are mattes
I love a matte brown eye shadow for crease work and blending. And her mattes are divine! So buttery, smooth, not chalky and so richly pigmented! The regular eye shadows are $5.99 each and the foiled ones are $9.99 and come in pan form only and MG ships worldwide! So my Caribbean people, doh sleep!!!
Cocoa Bear
MG: Cocoa Bear
This is a matte, very warm brown colour with strong red undertones. This is gorgeous, especially and tan-to- dark skintones. This is a great transition colour especially for those cool, smokey looks.
Bitten
MG: Bitten
This is an unusual and unique colour, a matte, burgundy red. Red shades can sometimes be hard to wear, but this is another great blending/transition colour. Women with deep, dark skinniness, this is an amazing colour. Works well with brown and purple looks.
Masquerade
MG: Masquerade
This is a foiled eyeshadow. Very high shine/metallic factor. Shimmery, but not chunky, very smooth. A stunning, stunning rich red-purple colour! And it can be used both dry and wet to amp up the intensity. Ugh! This is beautiful! Very regal! I used this in one of my latest looks.
Swatches
From the top to bottom: Bitten, Cocoa Bear, Masquerade
This kinda blew my mind when I saw that this was coming out! Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics has made their name in the beauty industry off of tubes of lip colour called Lip Tars. These are heavily pigmented, vegan lip colours in squeezable tubes made to mix and match. A myriad of gorgeous and unique colours but dammit they were always leaking everywhere! I have Lip Tar stains in my handbags, in my kit, on my clothes…Even when they changed to the needle-nosed tubes, it made life a lot better but when I make a colour mix on a client, I always have trouble telling them how to replicate it. For the beginner or the on-the-go girl, the tubes were not the best to throw in your bag.
OCC has just taken 25 of their top shades and created Lip Tar Ready To Wear.
OCC’s Lip Tar RTW
Same amazing, minty formula but now housed in a regular cylindrical tube with a doe-foot applicator. SO…EXCITED! These colours are still available in their original form for the makeup artist, but this new version is great for the average consumer.
I received a couple of colours to try. I think you can totally guess which one is my favourite! 🙂
A note: these Lip Tars have a long drying time. They take more than a minute, which gives you enough time to mix other colours. When they dry, the finish is matte, but not the desert dry of your typical liquid lipsticks. They also dry down to an opaque finish. Because of that, I would suggest pairing with a lip liner to help prevent bleeding. In these pictures, they look shiny as they had not dried fully.
Here is what they look like.
OCC Lip Tar/RTW
I love the packaging! The tubes look like syringes! The applicator is you typical doe-foot and you can control the amount of product on it using the wiper on the inside of the tube.
Earlier this year, fellow Caribeña, Afro-Latina and model Joan Smalls gave all kinds of face with this look for the Met Gala.
Joan Smalls, Met Gala 2015 via The Zoe Report
I was immediately smitten! Very dramatic and smokey for evening, but quite bright and definitely a great look for warm-weather evening. Joan is a brand ambassador for Estée Lauder, so her makeup artist used all Lauder products, but I used what I had available, mixing and matching when needed. If you love a look, you certainly don’t need to go out and buy the exact makeup to make it work. I also took the opportunity to try out the brand new, 4K/UHD compatible foundation from Make Up For Ever. I will be writing a separate review on this one. I also got some new shadows recently, including my first taste at the Makeup Geek eye shadows. I have been a fan of Marlena for years and I am really happy to see her being so successful with her line. She is very smart and knowledgeable and I love that she has a serious love for makeup and even though she has her own line, she is all about great makeup from any brand.
Anyways…here is what I came up with.
It is actually quite a simple look, just lots and lots of blending to get that swept look. All details of the products used are below and remember to substitute your own products when needed.
