My tryst with lipsticks + Colorbar Matt Velvet Lipstick Mini Review

Image by ezezfun via Flickr

The lipstick is the one item every woman has. Even those who claim to hate make up have at least one lipstick in their collection. 

For a long time I struggled with finding the right lipstick for myself. I almost gave up and started to use gloss instead. But in the last few weeks I have had a turn around and have begun enjoying lipsticks again. 

Part of the credit goes to Rima – whose love for lipsticks prompted me to give this product another shot.

Below is what I was doing wrong & what I am doing right now.

1.      Skin tone: This is essential for you to be able to get the right color. My skin has cool undertones, but I would buy lipsticks meant for warm undertoned people – lipsticks with a lot of Corals, nudes and browns undertones to them. I would get pinks that had brown undertones and then wonder why they made me look pale, muddy and weird. It never stuck me that I should get lippies with cool undertones. I started to realize this when one day I wore TBS Cheek and Lip Tint on my lips. This is a cool fuchsia pink, and it seemed to suit me.

There are two types of skin tones: warm and cool. Typically, those with fair or pink skin will have "cool" undertones. Those with yellow, tan and olive skin will mostly have "warm" undertones.

If you have cool undertones: Wines, plums, pinks and violets are good choices.

 If you have warm undertones: Corals, nudes and browns are best.

2.      Pigmented lips: I have very highly pigmented lips. They are almost bright pink, but I kept trying to subdue the pink by using brownish pinks – which looked very muddy on me. Finally I decided to stop fighting and just live with the pink. I bought lipsticks in cool pink tones. Not frosted Pinks. Just cool pinks. And Voila – I suddenly began to be able to carry off lipsticks with elan.

3.      Using the wrong texture of lipsticks: I was using wrong textures. I am more of a eye make up girl, hence I would avoid using lipstick because I noticed it would either draw attention away from my eyes or clash with my eyes (strong eyes – strong lips). Then I realized that I was using crème lipsticks – that applied really thick and opaque visible layer on my lips. I need a texture that would not compete with my make up – the answer lay in matt.

Creme

Rich color in a shiny, opaque formula. Some cremes are frosty with a hint of shimmer built in. They are usually creamy and moisturizing so that your lips don't feel dry. Because of the oils in creme lipstick they don't have that stay-put power like a matte.

Matte

These are shine-free, rich, opaque lipsticks that are high in pigment. They are usually long-lasting or transfer-resistant so that the color will last. They can be worn alone or under clear gloss. Usually they have a tendency to feel slightly dry on the lips.

Currently I am using Colorbar Lipsticks from the Velvet Matt range. They cost around Rs. 200 and are available in a wide range of shades to suit all skin tones. 

I own the shades – Bare, Irish Rose, Twig and Brick-o-la.

What I love the most about these lipsticks is that

1.      They have a very amazing baked vanilla fragrance to them. I just love using them

2.      They are quite long lasting (2-3 hours) and leave behind a tint so you are not left bare faced

3.      They have a very good range of colors – especially in pinks

4.      Cost effective – they cost Rs. 200

5.      The texture is just amazing – you see the color on the lips – but no thick, goopy texture even when layered. It's like you get the color without the texture of the lipstick - I don't know how else to put this.

6. They go on very smoothly - I generally don't like matt lipsticks because they tend to pull and drag on my lips. But this applies smoothly.

However they are not moisturizing and some people may find them drying.

Because I was not a lipstick person - I really don't know how this compares to the big daddies - however it is much better than Lakme (which I have used, as you are well aware)