Lipstick Diaries #6: Lipstick Queen Jean Queen and MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

I look kinda drunk in both of these pictures. Oops?

Anyway! We're halfway through the Lipstick Diaries, and I think it's really giving me perspective on what does and doesn't work for me. Guys: I like pink. Pink works with my skintone. I need to just admit it.

Also, sorry there have been so many lipstick-centric posts as of late. I swear I'm working on other stuff!

Lipstick Queen Jean Queen is one of the lipsticks that I think really just "does it" for me. It looks a little brighter in this photo than it actually is, but the general color is close: a slightly warm, glossy watermelon pink that works on almost everybody. Seriously, my mom wore this to my sister's wedding and she has a completely different skin tone. It's such a perfect slap-it-on-and-go color, great for casual wear or days at work. Maybe we'll get lucky and LQ will produce a version with SPF...they could call it "Cut Off Jeans" or something like that. *nerd*

MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus is another personal favorite of mine--I love it enough that I bought another tube for a giveaway. It's the perfect saturated, cool-ish fuchsia pink. This one has an Amplified formula, so it's very pigmented and creamy. Also, if you apply-blot-reapply, you'll get tons of wear out of it even without a lip liner. I get tons of compliments when I wear VG Miley! (They're apparently coming out with another Miley Cyrus shade and it's going to be orange...? I think? Somebody keep me posted!)

Lipstick Diaries #2: Lipstick Queen Pinky Nude Saint and Bright Rose Sinner

It's a dilemma as old as time itself: do I keep a lipstick that flatters me, but doesn't make my heart beat faster? Or do I keep a lipstick that doesn't flatter me, but warms the cockles of my heart?

On the left, we have Lipstick Queen Pinky Nude Saint. In a purely objective sense, this one works for me: it's not too brown or too warm, it works with my complexion, and it's easy to wear. Unfortunately, I don't feel excited or energized when I wear it. The problem is that it's pretty much the exact same color as my lips. No, I don't mean it's "My Lips But Better" (MLBB), I mean it's the actual color of my lips, just a bit smoother and glossier. Yeah, it works for me, but there has to be a nude pink lipstick out there that will work for me AND thrill me when I wear it.

On the right, we have Lipstick Queen Bright Rose Sinner, which was a gift from my mother. (So, y'know, there's immediate sentimental value.) This is a very versatile lipstick because you can apply it full-on (as seen here), blot it for a softer look, or use a tiny amount under balm to create a rosey stain. It's gorgeous, and I love looking at it in all of its saturated goodness. But it just doesn't seem to look right on me. I having nothing wrong with a color "popping," but it needs to make me look better in the process. Bright Rose Sinner just seems...completely disconnected from my face. *sigh*

Side note: how do we feel about the rest of what's going on here? I've got extra glow and stronger brows on the left, and less glow and softer brows on the right. Preferences? I'm in an experimental phase.

Lipstick Queen Jean Queen Gloss

 

 I won't be giving this product a number rating. I'm not much of a gloss person; in fact, I generally avoid the stuff, and Jean Queen is one of just three glosses in my collection. Therefore, I don't think I'm enough of a gloss aficionado to really rate it. I am a Lipstick Queen person, however, and I'm a huge fan of the Jean Queen lipstick. So when I saw that b-glowing.com had this product on sale, 50% off, I pulled the trigger and bought a gloss.

First, let's talk about the packaging. This is something Lipstick Queen always does well! The box is just plain cute, albeit way too big for the product inside--there's a loooot of empty space inside that box. Perhaps it would have been more economical to do one of the blister packs they use for their other products...?

 

The actual tube is clear plastic, so you can see how much product you've used. The cap is metallic blue, just like the Jean Queen lipstick tube. There's a brush tip applicator, which I almost always hate in those "clicky pen" formats. There's no twist-up mechanism in this gloss, though: you squeeze the tube and it pushes product up to the brush. This makes it much easier to get your product out of the tube, but be forewarned that you only need a little bit of pressure to dispense a lot of gloss. Also, I'm not sure how well this will work when you start running out of gloss--you'll probably have to squeeze really hard to get those last dregs out.

This is a very lightweight gloss. It's not sticky or heavy, which makes it a comfortable option. However, stickiness is usually what gives gloss its staying power. The Jean Queen gloss lasts for just a couple of hours on my lips. But it doesn't feather, and because it's such a wearable, slap-it-on-and-go shade, it's no big deal for me to reapply it. After all, there's no mess to clean up.

Wait. Renee likes a gloss? Oh, my. Lipstick Queen just made Hell freeze over...again.

As you might guess, the Jean Queen gloss and lipstick are very, very similar. The lipstick is slightly more opaque, while the gloss is shinier and has more berry tones than pink when swatched on my hand. On my lips, however, they're practically identical

The best way to wear these, however, is layered. You get a tad more pigmentation when you combine the two, and of course, there's the shine factor! Here's a photo of me wearing both the Jean Queen lipstick and gloss:

So which would I recommend you buy? For most, it's going to come down to preferences about formulas: go for the gloss if you want more shine, go for the lipstick if you want more staying power. If you have very dark skin/lips, you'll probably have better luck with the lipstick because it is slightly thicker and more opaque; hence, it's more likely to show up on your lips.

To be totally honest, I'm really glad I have both. They make a great everyday pair, and while they're nice individually, the color and shine is well and truly amplified when you layer them. At around $20 each, these are great mid-end products that are definitely worth a try.

FOUL TEMPTRESS! Duping (most of) the Stila Convertible Color palette

Truth time: Stila is not a brand I am particularly drawn to. I think most of their products would sell better if they were priced lower and sold in the drugstore as "almost mid-end" stuff, like Hard Candy or Flower Beauty. However, there is one product Stila makes that I am madly in love with: the Convertible Colors, their cream lip-and-cheek product that is eh for lips, great for dry cheeks like mine. Through some mystical magic, I've resisted the urge to buy a ton of those things.

Now they've come out with a limited edition palette of Convertible Colors for their spring collection. My magic is fading. Those suckers are tempting. Imagine: having every color I could want for trips to visit my boyfriend, beach vacations, and rushed work days! With 12 shades for $49, I'm having a hard time not buying the thing.

So I decided to be proactive and steal a page from the bloggers who attempt to dupe eyeshadow palettes: I'm trying to find alternatives to this palette in my current stash. I use cream blushes exclusively these days, and I'm only interested in duping 8 out of the 12 colors (the top left corner has lots of brown tones, which I could give or take on my pale skin). Here are my results!

I lined up my stash and, based on how the product looks in the pot/tube and how it wears on my skin, I made my choices. With two notable exceptions, I think my line-ups are close enough to count. And the two exceptions? Well, I think I kind of prefer them to the shades in the Stila palette.

Let's take a closer look at what I came up with, starting with the peaches and corals on the left.

I swapped Stilla Gladiola for MAC Neon Orange lipstick. Yes, this is a lipstick, but the formula is quite creamy, so I can use it as a blush. Neon Orange is a faux dupe because it has distinct red tones, whereas Gladiola is a true orange. Still, it functions fine on my cheeks. My only quibble: Neon Orange is so dense that I have to mix it with some moisturizer or foundation if I want to wear it as a blush and not look like a clown.

I swapped Stila Peachblossom for Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Moist Glow in Tansoleil and Stila Gerbera for Becca Beach Tint in Grapefruit. The swatches make it look like I should've alternated Tansoleil and Grapefruit; on my cheeks, however, Tansoleil pulls slightly darker and more orange, and Grapefruit has the softer, peachier tones. Beach Tints and CMGs are two of my all-time favorite formulas, so I'm glad to see they work as dupes!

The most accurate swap for this portion of the palette is probably Stila Petunia for Kiss Me Touch Me Lip&Cheek in Mango. An afforable Korean cream, Mango is incredibly smooth and super-pigmented. It's a pink coral that borders on neon.

On to the reds and pinks! I swapped Stila Tulip for the Lipstick Queen Rose & Shine pot. The Lipstick Queen product looks more red than the Stila in these photos, but it looks like a true berry shade on my cheeks. Beauteous.

The most obvious faux dupe in this whole set-up is Chanel Fantastic, meant to replace Stila Rose. The Chanel appears lighter and pinker in these photos than it looks on my cheeks; when I actually put it on my face, it has more of a plummy shade to it. Still, it's a far cry from the deep, purpled burgundy of Stila Rose. As much as I wish I could truly dupe that shade, I really do think this Chanel blush would be the more flattering option on my skintone. Furthermore, swatches of Stila Rose are varied: sometimes it looks burgundy, sometimes it looks dark pink. Hmmmm.

Two more very accurate dupes are Stila Hibiscus for Canmake CL01 and Stila Fuchsia for Kevyn Aucoin Isadore. I've owned Fuchsia in the past, and I replaced it with Isadore because I prefer the Kevyn Aucoin formula. I haven't owned Hibiscus, but I've had a similar red shade from Stila: Poppy. I prefer the Canmake because of its jelly texture. As the swatch suggests, this product is hard to overdo because it maintains that gooey, delightful jelly sheen on the skin.

Those are my dupes and faux dupes! Have you found anything to replace the Stila palette? Or have you tried the actual Convertible Color palette? Comment with your thoughts!

25 Tops: Lipstick Queen Pink Sinner

Let me get this out of the way: I've been dealing with something akin to face dysmorphic disorder. I obsess over my face, my skin, and my makeup all throughout the day; I look at myself in every mirror in the house, and I'm never satisfied. I'm not 100% sure what's going on with me, but I think it's a combination of aging changing my skin ever so slightly and general stress. Logically, I know there's nothing wrong with my skin, and there are so many people with bigger problems: painful acne, aching rosacea flare-ups, fungal infections...I'm just having a moment. So please bear with me while I try to get myself back in balance.

All of this being said, I'm currently trying to find a foundation that can replace MAC Face & Body. It's still quite beautiful on my skin, but my bottles are getting old (they're from January 2011). While I keep the bottles in the fridge, and while they seem to be functioning properly, I get a little icked out putting a 3 1/2 year old product all over my face. Before I shell out $70 to replace them, I'd like to see if I can find something with medium coverage that matches me out of the bottle.

This flash photograph provides the best representation of the colors. I don't wear Lipstick Queen Pink Sinner very often, but I think that's because I mostly wear bright lips, and if I don't, I wear something strong enough on the eye that I feel better with quite a pale lip. Pink Sinner doesn't fit that bill: it's a slightly warm, mid-tone pink that gives a distinct rosebud look. Really, I should wear it more. It's a KEEP for now! What do you guys think?

I'm going to PURGE NARS Penny Lane, however, because it's too brown for my skin. The Wet n' Wild Nude Awakening palette, I'm...not so sure about. I LOVE the super-pale shade in the top left, and there's less fallout with Nude Awakening than with other WnW palettes. But a lot of the other shades seem really sheer. Hum...that's a MAYBE. I also PURGED my Makeup Forever HD Pressed Powder recently. I'd originally bought it for my mom, but she's not wowed by it, and I never really use it.

For reference, here's the FOTD in natural light on a cloudy day (aka, a regular day in Pennsylvania), and with flash on a standard definition camera:

KEEP PILE:
1. Hourglass Muse
2. Hourglass Riviera
3. Hourglass Icon (mini-size)
4. Chanel Dragon [D/C]
5. Lancome Pale Lip
6. Bite Beauty Velvet
7. Lipstick Queen Saint Pinky Nude
8. Lipstick Queen Jean Queen
9. MAC Scarlet Ibis [LE]
10. MAC Viva Glam Nicki [LE]
11. Urban Decay Native
12. MAC Candy Yum Yum
13. Lipstick Queen Sinner Bright Rose
14. Lipstick Queen Sinner Pink

PURGE PILE:
1. MAC Neon Orange
2. MAC Sounds Like Noise [LE]
3. NARS Cruella
4. NARS Roman Holiday
5. Lipstick Queen Saint Berry
6. Bite Madeira
7. Beauty Cosmetics Flouron
9. Bite Pomegranate

MAYBE PILE:
1. MAC Impassioned
2. Elizabeth Arden Poppy Cream

NEW STUFF:
1. MAC Relentlessly Red
2. MAC Sushi Kiss

STOLEN:
1. MAC Please Me

 LEFT TO CONSIDER/TEST:
1. MAC Petals and Peacocks [LE]
2. MAC Party Parrot [LE]
3. Bite Quince
4. Bite Cranberry
5. MAC Betty Bright [LE]
6. MAC Ruby Woo
7. Lipstick Queen Rose Sinner
8. MAC Viva Glam VI Special Edition [LE]
9. Laura Mercier Mulberry lip stain
10. Maybelline Super Stay Non-Stop Red
11. MAC Lady Danger
12. Revlon Black Cherry
13. MAC Girl About Town

Birthday Bright: Lipstick Queen Bright Rose Sinner

It's my birthday, so I'm celebrating by making an Oooh-I-Love-It post about the early birthday present my mom bought me. We stood in front of the display for a good 15 minutes last month; I was waffling because I wanted to get something my mother would like (she's big on nudes and soft pinks), but we all know I'm attracted to brights (and she did actually like Hot Rose Saint!). Finally, she told me to get whatever looked the best to me. And I, of course, went for a bold Sinner: Bright Rose.

Like most opaque lipsticks, Bright Rose Sinner can be blotted on for a softer, more sheer color, or layered several times for fuller, brighter coverage. I obviously prefer the brighter version on the right, but the toned-down look is definitely a better choice for conservative work environments or family functions.

I will say that Bright Rose Sinner is a bit creamier and less matte than my other Sinner lipsticks, which I bought roughly a year ago. I'm not sure if the formula has changed as a whole, or if the difference is unique to this shade.

New Lipstick Queen Saints

I recently finalized some swaps and received two new Lipstick Queen Saints: Pinky Nude and Berry Nude. I have a low tolerance threshold when it comes to sheer lipsticks, and the Saint formulation is one of the few I'll tolerate because you can layer it up to get decent pigment. I also find that most of the shades play well with my coloring because they're so layerable; the only shade that looked downright dreadful on me at every intensity was Coral Saint.

Same makeup, just two different lipsticks! Berry Saint has a very 90s brown pluminess to it, so I'll have to whip it out for grunge and 90s looks. Pinky Nude Saint is a wearable, beige pink shade that reminds me of Urban Decay Naked. Berry looks a smidge patchy here, but that has more to do with my application than with the actual formulation of the lipstick.

How Lipstick Queen Saint Rouge Made Hell Freeze Over

Do any of you remember that Lipstick Queen review I did earlier this year? If you don't remember it or haven't read it, you should probably get on that, just because. If you did read it and you do remember it, I'm pretty impressed...but since the folks who read it have probably already forgotten my little rant about sheer, "moisturizing" lipsticks anyway, here's a quote:

I do not like moisturizing lipsticks. I think moisturizing lipsticks are bullcrap. In my experience, they're too oily, they slide all over my lips, they lack pigment, and they barely last past an hour. I do not need my lipstick to be moisturizing. If I want my lips to be moisturized, I'll use lip balm. End of story. [...] I also tend to shy away from sheer lipsticks and go for more opaque formulas...

I want my lipsticks opaque and satin-or-matte; to Hell with "sheer and glossy"! So you can just imagine my surprise when a friend sent me a cut-up tube of Lipstick Queen Saint Rouge as a swap extra. I was all, "Girl, don't you know me?!" And I swatched it, but otherwise ignored it for a few months.

And then this happened.

SNOW! I get that I'm from Pennsylvania, so my response to the first snow of the year is supposed to be a lot of grumbling and whining. My actual response?

I'm not exaggerating. I woke up, looked out my window, saw snow, and immediately shouted, "WHAT'S THIS? WHAT'S THIS?!" My cat was not amused.

Point is, as soon as fall starts fading in to winter, I whip out the golds and reds. And if I'm going to wear a bunch of gold eyeshadow, I'm not going to wear a full-on red lip--it's just overwhelming on my face. That means I need something a little less intense.

Enter Lipstick Queen Saint Rouge.

This particular formulation is described as being 10 percent pigment versus the Sinner line's 90 percent. This means it's got a lot more of the base ingredients and emollients in it, so it's no real shock that the Saint lipsticks are touted as "sheer" and "moisturizing"...but the "long-wearing" claim threw me a bit. It's been my experience that anything marketed as sheer and moisturizing will slide all over the place and/or last less than an hour on my mouth. Not a bad thing for some people, but definitely not to my taste, and most certainly not a sign of something long-wearing.

But the Lipstick Queen Saints are long-wearing, at least as far as light-and-glossy formulations go. While the shine will fade from my lips after an hour, the actual color stays for a good 3-4 hours, provided I'm not eating anything too greasy or oily. And there's a decent amount of pigment in these puppies: they're not opaque by any means, but they also don't go completely clear on my lips the way most sheer lipsticks do.

I will quibble with the "moisturizing" claim. As I've already mentioned, I could give two shits if my lipstick is moisturizing--that's what a balm is for--but I actually found this formulation to be the tiniest bit drying. To be fair, this was only after I'd applied the lipstick 2 or 3 times throughout an 8 hour work day. But I have zero dryness problems with Jean Queen or my Sinner lipsticks, so it's a bit boggling that the so-called "moisturizing" formula is the one that can parch my lips if I'm not careful.


Still, it's a wonderful formula, wonderful enough to make me go against my creed...and buy a sheer lipstick. I was actually planning on picking up Saint Pinky Nude, and I'm more than a little miffed that it's suddenly out of stock at Nordies. I'M HAVING A LIPSTICK EPIPHANY, PEOPLE, STOP INTERRUPTING ME!

RATING: 4 out of 5

Available at Nordstrom.

NOTE: the final photo in this review is possibly the best representation of Saint Rouge's color.

Underrated Effortless Beauty Must-Haves

The idea of "effortless beauty" used to be something of a joke to me. It always felt like an effort (albeit an enjoyable one) to blend out my foundation and concealer, comb through my lashes, fill in my brows, perfect my lipstick, and wing my eyeliner. But as I've gotten older, tried a wider variety of looks, and experienced a whole new generation of makeup textures and finishes, I've come to realize that some products really ARE effortless. The modern beauty world is inundated with natural-looking, easy-to-apply makeup, the kind of stuff you can throw on your face in five minutes without brushes or fusses. And while some of these products, like Becca Beach Tints and Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat, are cult classics, others don't seem to get the attention they deserve.

Topping my list is the Elizabeth Arden Crystal Clear Gloss ($14, ElizabethArden.com). I'm not a gloss girl in the slightest, but this one is truly special. It's sticky enough to last for hours without making your lips feel gummy, and it has an unusual "blurring" effect that seems to reduce the visibility of lip lines. It looks beautiful on its own or over any lipstick. I'm also not one to bother with fancy eyeshadow looks on most days, but even if I'm in a hurry, I can find time for the Wet n' Wild Fergie eyeshadow primer ($5, drugstores) and a slick of Lancome Pink Zinc eyeshadow ($19, Nordstrom). The Fergie primer has actually replaced my Too Faced Shadow Insurance; I might cry if they discontinue it. And yes, Pink Zinc + MAC Satin Taupe is my favorite smokey eye...but Pink Zinc is gorgeous on its own. I feel like Lancome eyeshadows get zippo love.

If there's something I do love, unequivocally, it's a bright lipstick and loads of mascara. But it's difficult to smear on a red lipstick when you're sitting on a bus at 7:30 in the morning. So I go for Lipstick Queen Jean Queen ($18, Nordstrom) instead: it's a beautiful watermelon color that's bright enough to make an impact, but also sheer and creamy enough that it can be applied without a mirror. If I need a no-mess mascara that's layerable, I turn to Estee Lauder Sumptuous ($24, EsteeLauder.com). One coat looks quite natural, three coats is lush and full, and the brush makes it a bit easier to apply than, say, CoverGirl Clump Crusher if you're prone to poking yourself in the eye. (Guilty.)

For glowy-but-natural looking skin that takes me all of 2 minutes, I turn to three specific products: the Tarte Tinted BB Treatment in Fair ($34, Sephora), Charlotte Ronson Liquid eyeshadow in Sky (sadly discontinued), and Makeup Forever Uplight #11 ($29, Sephora). The Tarte BB is supposed to be a primer, but because it has a tint and some SPF, I just use it as an on-to-go sunscreen and tinted moisturizer, sometimes topped with a smidge of powder. The Uplight and liquid eyeshadow both have incredibly unique formulas that leave my eyes and cheeks looking soft and dewy. After I slap on these three products, I can slap on some brow pencil, mascara, and multipurpose cheek/lip products for a 5 minute makeup look. All while sitting in the back of the bus!

My Makeup Bag

I'm one of those women who really should get out of the habit of carrying a makeup bag. It was a necessity when I was in graduate school because I almost always rolled out of bed after 2 hours of sleep and slapped on a full face of makeup whilst riding the bus to the office. Now that I'm seeking employment and rarely spend my nights at other people's houses? Not quite as necessary. I could get away with my lip color and a powder compact. But I stubbornly cling to the carry-a-makeup-bag tradition in the hopes that I'll have more adventures, find exhausting but gainful employment, and never be without an essential touch-up item.

One thing I definitely need to put in this bag, though, is a travel packet of makeup remover wipes. I'd never rely on a makeup wipe to clean my face on a regular day, but if I get stuck somewhere and can't access my complete skincare routine? Girl.

First, the non-makeup stuff I carry! I always worry about running out the door with messy, smelly hair, so I carry my spin pins, a bobby pin, a ponytail holder, and a solid perfume. The solid perfumes from One Hand Washes the Other are a godsend because they won't leak or melt and make a mess out of my bag! My emergency skincare treatment of choice is the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Daily Moisturizer for Face, which is creamy enough to moisturize my face, but light enough to mix with other products. I've only seen that product in kits, but keep your eyes peeled at TJ Maxx and Marshall's! Last, but not least, a mirror my friend Jessica gave me. I'm paranoid about food getting stuck in my giant horse teeth, so I check that mirror more than I'd like to admit...

And the makeup! A few of these items rotate in and out: the sample Chantecaille gloss is there in case I want a bit of shine, I'm due to replace the Estee Lauder Sumptuous mascara with a new mini, and I switch the Becca Beach Tints every month or so--they're sheer enough to work with most lip colors. The Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows in Soft Blonde isn't the Holy Grail that Shu Uemura Hard Formula in Seal Brown is, but it's still quite pretty and very travel-friendly. I do think I need to find an alternative to the Palladio Rice Paper Sheets...they aren't terrible, but they kick up a good bit of powder when I pull them out, which defeats the purpose of carrying a pseudo-mess free powder.

The other items are major loves of mine and definite makeup bag staples! Benefit High Beam has been one of my all-time favorite highlighters and all-around wonder products for years, and it really breaks my heart that they no longer sell this $10 travel size. :( On the bright side, many of the kits contain mini-High Beams! I also keep a travel-sized Anastasia Clear Brow Gel to hold my crazy brows in shape and, if the need be, to add some shine to my lashes. That's one of the few products I own a full-sized AND travel-sized version of, because I never ever want to be without it. Lipstick Queen Jean Queen is a Holy Grail that stays in the makeup bag because it's suitable for any and all makeup looks. And of course, my base products: the Tarte BB Tinted Treatment in Fair and the Clinique Airbrush concealer in Fair. Both of these products are sheer, lightweight, and absolutely bulletproof.

Winter Favorites

I've been dealing with some freak breakouts and plenty of dryness this past winter, not to mention odd shifts at a very dirty workplace that necessitates endless hand washing. Hence, most of my makeup looks have revolved around getting my glow back without using particularly obtrusive cosmetics. I've also rediscovered some old loves and stumbled across some fantastic new products!

One of those new products is CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara ($7, drugstores). I continue to be stunned by how much volume and separation this mascara provides; it's definitely one of my new favorite mascaras! I also fell in love with the MAC Lustre Drops in Pink Rebel ($19.50, MAC, limited edition). I thought these would be too dark and too bronze for my uber-pale skin, but they actually make a fantastic highlight over my neutral and warm blushes. I can mix a drop in to more matte foundations to soften up the finish.

A lovely MakeupAlley user was kind enough to send me a Lipstick Queen Jean Queen lipstick ($18, Nordstrom), and it almost immediately became my Holy Grail "everyday pink" color. Other pieces of MUA swap perfection: the Shu Uemura Hard 9 Formula brow pencil in Seal Brown ($23, ShuUemura.com), which I just wrote a straight-out rave for, and the L'occitane Hand Cream ($10, Nordstrom), which saves my constantly-washed hands from cracking at work.

I've rediscovered great products like the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Primer ($42, Nordstrom), which really does make all of my foundations look far more natural and glide on like a dream. Another fantastic primer is my Elizabeth Arden Lip Fix ($21.50, ElizabethArden.com), which helps hold my bold lipsticks in place. Makeup Forever Uplights ($29, Sephora) are some of the most underrated highlighters out there! A little of this soft, super-blendable gel formula goes a very long way. (The shade shown here is #11, a very natural and dewy highlight with hints of pink.) And last, but most certainly not least, I've rediscovered my love for Cargo Catalina powder blush ($30, DermStore.com). Talk about a product that doesn't get the love it deserves! I don't care for most powder blushes on my skin, but Cargo's formula is GLORIOUS: soft, but not powdery; pigmented, but blendable; comfortable, but long-lasting. Catalina in particular is a bright, pastel pink that's perfect for fair skin tones.

Review: Lipstick Queen products

I'm a lipstick addict. This probably doesn't shock you, given the title of this blog and my blatant inability to wear particularly dramatic eye makeup on a regular basis, but I just want to make that point very, very clear. I am not a casual lipstick user. I am not the kind of woman who puts on some lipstick as an afterthought to finish a look. For me, lipstick is the single most important part of my makeup, the most exciting and exhilarating step in the process of painting my face. Just the feeling of applying lipstick fills me with the warm fuzzies. Tacky leggings and uber-black mascaras are fun; lipsticks are necessary. I am a lipstick addict.

It turns out I'm not the only one. "Renee!" you might gasp. "Some bitch named Poppy King stole your 'Lipstick Queen' title!" And if we were still in the PLQ (Pre-Lipstick Queen) era, I might've agreed with you, shouting, "DAT CROWN IS MIIIINE!" But we are now in the LQO (Lipstick Queen Obsessed) era, and oh, gaddamn, Poppy King can take any crown she wants as long as she keeps making awesome, awesome lip products. Seriously, I almost wet myself when I saw this display at the Denver airport:

Now, before we get on with this review, let me just get a little something out of my system: I do not like moisturizing lipsticks. I think moisturizing lipsticks are bullcrap. In my experience, they're too oily, they slide all over my lips, they lack pigment, and they barely last past an hour. I do not need my lipstick to be moisturizing. If I want my lips to be moisturized, I'll use lip balm. End of story.

What I do expect from my lipstick, however, is that it not be drying. IE, I do not need it to add moisture, but my lipstick should not taketh mine moisture away and leave me with Sahara Desert Mouth. I also tend to shy away from sheer lipsticks and go for more opaque formulas, and while I'm not all about "longwear" products, I like a lipstick that lasts for a few hours. Everything I've tried from Lipstick Queen fits this bill to a T.

The Lipstick Queen brand, as a whole, has the kind of packaging that appeals to me: simple, elegant, and no-fuss. Lipstick Queen products generally arrive in really pretty blister packs or boxes, but because I was stupid and didn't keep them around, I don't have any pictures for you. Suffice to say that they are Super Duper Pretty (TM), and you can find pictures of that shtuff on the Lipstick Queen website. The prices are quite reasonable and fit in to mid-end category, with all of these products ranging in price from $18-22, depending on the formula.

The biggest issue with this brand is that it's a niche brand, meaning it doesn't have major production or advertising funds and therefore doesn't pop up in regular retail locations all that often. (Hence why I flailed like a maniac when I saw a Lipstick Queen stand at the airport.) I purchased Free Ride from the airport and got Sinner Pink at Beauty.com, while the Jean Queen lipstick and Chase pencil came from MakeupAlley.com users. Your best bet is usually to purchase these products online; SpaceNK, Nordstrom, and Beauty.com all carry a wide range of Lipstick Queen products.

Let's start with the lipsticks. The Lipstick Queen Jean Queen lipstick ($18) is specifically designed to compliment various shades of denim. In other words, it's a warm pink that's meant to pop against the 90% of denim clothing that's a cool blue color. The few swatches I could locate on Google made this product look like a light, slightly-coral pink, so I was downright appalled when I uncapped my own tube. In the bullet, Jean Queen looks like a rather dark rose-red color, which, hey, I'm not against, but that's not what I signed up for! Fear not: it applies as a not-too-bright, just-right warm, watermelon pink. It's what I call a "pigmented sheer," meaning it has a lot of color payoff, but you can sort of see your lips peeking through the product. (Man, it's hard to explain that concept...) The formula is glossy and smooth, which I would normally hate, but it actually stays on the lips quite nicely; after eating, for example, I notice that a lot of the shine has gone away, but the color is still on my lips. I wear this color even when I'm not wearing jeans because I think it works well with my coloring. I'd actually go so far as to call this a Holy Grail. If you prefer glosses, they make a click-pen style gloss version for the same price.

The Lipstick Queen Sinner lipstick in Pink Sinner ($20) is quite different in terms of formula. It's not glossy or slick at all, but rather creamy, opaque, and satiny, with fantastic color payoff and 4-5 hours worth of flawless staying power. This lipstick has a 90% pigment formula, meaning it's rather dense and I can feel it when I'm wearing it. This is fine by me, but those who prefer a weightless lip color will probably want to stick to Jean Queen or one of the Saint lipsticks, which are composed of 10% pigment and therefore contain more of the lighter base ingredients. The only odd thing about this product is that, while it looks like a medium beige pink in the tube and swatches that way on my hand, it has a noticeable peach tinge to it when I wear it on my lips. I hated this inexplicable color morph the first time I wore it, but I've come to love it, and I now consider Pink Sinner a "nude I can actually wear." This formula also plays well with every gloss I've paired it with, including the thicker Bobbi Brown Rich Colour Gloss in Tutu and the very thin NYX Round Gloss in Natural.

The Chinatown Glossy Pencil in Chase ($20) is the perfect option for those who found the Revlon Balm Stains too drying and the Clinique Chubby Sticks too sheer. Chase is a particularly lovely and wearable coral red. This is a another "pigmented sheer" product, and you can continue layering it until you get the color saturation and glossyness you desire. It's incredibly slick to the touch, almost greasy feeling, but it doesn't slide off of your lips or feel disgusting when applied; actually, it's quite comfortable and non-drying, and is probably the closest thing to "moisturizing" in this entire review.

Perhaps my least favorite product of the bunch is the Oxymoron Matte Gloss in Free Ride ($22), but that doesn't mean it's bad. I just had to pay a markup for it because I bought it at a duty-free airport shop ($28 plus tax), which I kinda hate, and the color doesn't quite work on my lips unless I pair it with a pencil or a gloss. The formula is reminiscent of a dry-ish cream blush, meaning it feels hard when you first touch it, but it easily warms up under your fingertip and becomes quite creamy. My first impression was that it was a matte lipstick in a pot, and that calling it a "matte gloss" was a gimmick, but it really does behave a lot like a gloss: it's lighter like a gloss, but matte and opaque like a lipstick. This doesn't have the staying power of, say, the Pink Sinner lipstick, but it certainly doesn't smear all over my mouth, it just sort of fades after a few hours. I actually prefer this as a blusher; the dryer formula can make it a bit tricky to blend in to my dry cheeks, but it looks quite natural and brightening if you apply it correctly. Essentially, it's a lovely product, but it's best for people whose tastes run somewhat counter to mine.

Overall, I am completely obsessed with this brand and would rate all of these products a standout 5 out of 5, with your personal satisfaction depending entirely on your preferences. I plan on owning a number of the Sinner lipsticks, and I'm actually considering purchasing the Jean Queen gloss and a Saint lipstick. Considering how I feel about most glosses and sheer lipsticks...well, that says something about this brand's mystical voodoo magic.

And hey, speaking of tacky leggings...guess what I'm wearing under that black tunic?