How Lipstick is Made

I am the kind of person who really likes to know how things are made and where they have come from.  In fact I actually did my whole university dissertation on it because I am just that keen.  But for anyone who is like me and thinks about how things are made here is a video from YouTube that I found on the manufacturing processes involved in making lipstick! It does not show the entire process which would include sourcing the materials or transporting them to a store but it is still pretty interesting.  If you are an impatient person it might be worth loading this video up and fast forwarding parts as some sections are a bit repetitive.  It is only 6 mins though.

Avon Spiced Wine Pro Luscious Pout Lipstick/Gloss Top Coat with Mirror Review and Swatches

Avon spiced wine bullet lipstick and lid with gloss and mirror

Application

Effect of lightly running a finger across the lipstick

Swatches of the lipstick and gloss on my arm 

Price I Paid

The pot with the lip gloss was limited edition and I bought it for £4 although this edition can still be found in clearance magazines.  The lipstick spiced wine can still be bought online just without the gloss.

Design

The lipstick is conveniently shaped and to create a defined lip line and I think the idea of a small mirror in the lid is great for checkups.  The gloss in the lid is also a great idea in theory as well!

Colour

I really like the colour of this red as it is exactly as the title described, more of a wine colour rather than a ketchup red.  The gloss is very glittery and the colour does not match up with the red at all, I really don't understand the point of it with this lipstick colour which is probably why they have discontinued the gloss part of this.

Texture

The lipstick is really creamy and does not dry out my lips although this is a really tricky colour to keep in place especially if I plan to eat or drink anything while out.  It smudges incredibly easily and as I have quite long hair I find I end up with streaks smeared all over my face after a few mins.  The gloss is very sticky and glittery and it is impossible to apply over the lipstick without smearing it all everywhere rendering it completely useless.  I have not worn this lipstick since the day I bought it because although I really like the colour I ended up looking ridiculous while I was out because it smudged and stained my skin and this staining wouldn't come out with water so I ended up giving up on it and carefully wiping it all off.

Smell

No particular smell at all.

Ingredients

Avon products are often quite harsh on the skin so if you have very sensitive I would be careful of this product as I found the formula stains skin.

Overall Reaction

I really like the colour but the formula of this lipstick is a real pain.

I would score this product 1/10

Avon Ultra Colour Rich Brilliance Lipstick Berry Glitz - Swatch and Review

 The lipstick itself



Swatch on my hand of the colour

What the colour looks like on me

Price I Paid

£4.00 on offer half price.  RRP £8.  Avon always have offers on their products so I have never bought any full price it is better to wait a month and buy it when it is on offer as I found there are deals on each product every other week.

Design

A slightly strange title of "ultra colour rich brilliance lipstick," i don't think it required so many adjectives.  The container is very smart and feels reasonably high quality.  The pink colour makes it easy to find in a handbag which is good because I carry around some huge bags and things always get lost in them. I feel like Mary Poppins whenever I fully empty them because I find loads of things I had completely forgotten about.

One issue I had with this product is that there isn't very much of it on the stick and compared to other more expensive brands and it gets used up very quickly.  Although for the £4 price i paid still think it is good value.

Colour

It is often better to test avon products by finding a representative and trying out their samples. or look up swatches of them online before purchase because the colour swatches online and often in the catalogues almost never match up properly to the actual product!

This colour is a really pretty pink, I think the colour title "berry glitz" is a bit misleading because it is a slightly darker than bubblegum pink so i'm not sure what berries they would be talking about!  What i really like about it is that it has a little glitter in it, not a tacky amount but enough just to add a real shine to your lips.  The glitter is kind of mirrored but seems to reflect pinks and blues, which I really like in a lipstick because blue hues tend to make teeth look whiter which is an added bonus!

Texture

The texture is what I love most about this lipstick.  It glides on very easily and really moisturises unlike alot of other lipsticks so it is perfect for dry lips and i used it almost every day during winter.    Another positive is that it wears off evenly, although it does only last two or three hours for me and wouldnt survive a whole meal.

Smell

Doesn't smell of anything really perhaps very slightly flowery.

Ingredients

Contains vitamin E and jojoba oil which gives it it's moisturising properties.

Overall Reaction

I really like this lipstick as daywear, only downside is that it gets used up quite quickly and there isn't alot to begin with so i would not want to spend the £8 on it. 

Paying £4 for this product i would score it 9/10



Mac Cremesheen lipstick in Pure Zen and Cremesheen Glass in FashionWhim - Photos and Swatches

Mac Cremesheen Lipstick in Pure Zen

Mac Cremesheen Glass in Fashion Whim

Swatch of the two, with the Glass on the Left and Lipstick on the Right

Pure Zen on its own

Fashion Whim over Pure Zen

After a scarring incident a few years ago I have felt extremely reluctant to use MAC products.  What happened was a lady at a MAC counter matched me up with a foundation that looked perfect in the shop. After purchase I applied it in my bedroom the next day where there is not a huge amount of light so I was unable to see the colour clearly but from what I saw it went on pretty easily and seemed to blend in. I was going on a shopping trip with a few friends all the way to oxford street that day and after a few hours shopping i finally decided to try something on in River Island.  However, to my horror when I looked in the mirror of their brightly lit dressing rooms I realised my face was a very embarrassing shade of orange.  I shouted to one of my friends who kindly informed me that all of them had been talking and laughing about it all day because it was just awful.  I dropped the clothes I was trying on and my friends rushed me to Debenhams (I did cover my face with my jumper on the journey so I probably looked even more stupid) and luckily a very nice assistant at the Maxfactor counter in Debenhams gave me a makeup wipe and matched me up with a different foundation to wear which I still use to this day! 

Recently, two of my very good friends surprised me for my birthday with a MAC makeup lesson which was alot of fun and changed my opinion completely on their products as the lady who was helping did a much better job.  After the lesson they let me choose some of the products as a birthday present and these were two of the products. :)

Price I Paid

I got these as a present but Pure Zen lipstick retails at £14 and Fashion Whim Glass retails at £17.  Which to me seems a little strange as I would have thought the lipstick would be more expensive.

Design

The lipstick comes in a normal bullet style case that can easily be twisted up and down.  It is very simple to apply thanks to the pointed tip of it.  However once it starts being used up this would round out it might be worth buying a lipbrush in order to apply it right up to the edge of your lips.

The lipglass comes in a very smart looking glass bottle with an easy to apply stick applicator with a slanted bud at the end attached to the lid.

Colour

Pure Zen is described by MAC as a "frosted warm nude" and is a very light beige colour with some very tiny pink metallic flecks in and is highly pigmented and therefore gives great coverage as a lipstick.  It is slightly more matte than most lipsticks I use but does still have a slight shine to it.

Fashion Whim is described as "light beige" by MAC and is slightly yellow toned and peachier in comparison with pure zen but gives a great shiny look over the lipstick.

Texture

The lipstick is very thick and i find if i have dry lips it is necessary to exfoliate them by rubbing them with an old toothbrush a little and keeping them well moisturised before application because it does pick out every imperfection. I find that if i have dry lips using this lipglass over the top hides this significantly although it does push the lipstick underneath around a bit so it can cause it to look streaky if i have not applied it carefully. 

I would say that the lipglass on its own does not actually seem to do an awful lot on my lips, it makes them very shiny and there is a hint of the nude colour but for the price i probably wouldn't bother with it if i were to use it on its own without the lipstick.

Smell

Both the lipstick and the lipglass don't seem to have any particular scent maybe slightly of baby powder but unless I was smelling it from the tube I would not notice it at all.

Ingredients

MAC is a reputable brand owned by Estee Lauder and I would think that the ingredients are of a pretty reasonable quality and they do not smell of chemicals like some other brands.  However, I would note that both MAC and their parent company Estee Lauder are well known to test on animals in China so if this is something you do not agree with it might be wise to steer clear of those products.

Overall Reaction 

I was very pleasantly surprised with both of these products!  I wear them most when I am wearing dark eye makeup and a blusher as on their own they do slightly wash me out as i have incredibly pale skin to begin with but when i do wear this kind of makeup it really finishes off the look!

I would score Pure Zen lipstick - 8/10

And i would score Fashion Whim glass - 6/10