Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Retro Red Lipstick Feature- Make Up For Ever


Red lipstick has been one of my makeup must-haves since I was in high school. I have tried many brands from Revlon to MAC and this is my very first lipstick by Make Up For Ever. I bought shade #205 (a true, blue-based red) at my local Sephora for $19.00 USD before tax. Color 205 is not only a cherry red with blue-pink undertones, it has a brightness that is better than MAC's Ruby Woo! I used to prefer true, slightly darker reds like MAC Russian Red or Nars' Red Lizard, but in the past year, I find myself gravitating towards brighter reds like #205, MAC's Lady Danger, and Nars' Heat Wave. Whenever I see vintage ads for red lipstick, the shades look brighter, more vibrant than most reds available today. Therefore, I have been on a lipstick quest to seek out more vintage-inspired colors and Make Up For Ever #205 totally "fits the bill."

When I brought my lipstick home, I promptly put it in my freezer for about an hour. After waiting, I put on a pair of rubber gloves and gently wiggled the frozen lipstick out of its modern, black plastic tube and then I popped the it into a clean, sterilized vintage metal tube:

Here is a swatch on the back of my hand. Notice the brightness and intense color!:

This is how #205 looks on my lips and face overall:

Not only is this lipstick beautiful, it feels very silky and smooth upon application. The color just glides on! After swiping my lips with this lipstick, I blot once with tissue, and apply MAC's lip pencil in Cherry or NYX's lip pencil in Hot Red. The lipstick stays 'true' and lasts for about a couple of hours. Also, the color did not turn pink or fuchsia at all. It just stayed a nice, cherry red!

So, if you are on the hunt for a bright red with vintage flair, give Make Up For Ever #205 lipstick a try!

10 comments:

  1. Thank you, Pixie! It is really a beautiful color and I recommend it for all cool-toned girls!

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  2. I wish I could wear a red lipstick, but have just never found one that looks good on me. I am more of a coral sort of gal..if I wear it at all...

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  3. Thanks for recommending this color, I will have to pick up. Especially since you are a natural redhead like me. I hate finding a color that I love everything about except the way it looks with my hair! So I've mostly stuck with the darker tones (Russian Red forever!) myself, but am always dreaming of a brighter color.

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  4. Pixie,

    If you prefer coral tones, then MAC's So Chaud, Nars' Jungle Red, or Julie Hewett's Belle Noir might be more to your liking. These are indeed red shades but they have a warmer/coral undertone. Also, if you are afraid of red, sheerer texture reds like Nars' Manhunt or MAC's Lady Bug are good to try.

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  5. Nicole,

    If you are a cooler toned redhead who loves red lipstick, #205 is a great color. If you are warmer-toned girl, than colors like MAC So Chaud or Lady Danger would be great. I am a neutral but I lean more on the cool side so I can get away with both cool, pinker reds and coral reds.

    As a redhead, one lipstick we vintage ginger girls must have in our makeup arsenal is MAC Lady Danger! It is a bright, warm red that is just to die for! Every time I wear it, ladies come up to me and ask what I am wearing. Another amazing shade is Nars' Heat Wave! I just ordered it from Neiman Marcus online and I cannot wait until it gets here!

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  6. Thanks for the advice! I've been looking for an excuse to buy new lipstick, and I believe I just found one.

    Also, have you ever used Besame Cosemetics? I love the packaging and have used their foundation and powder with decent results, but have never tried their lipstick.

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  7. Nicole,

    You are so welcome! I always seem to find an excuse to buy lipstick! Interesting, huh? lol!

    I love Besame Cosmetics powder and rouge. I wanted wanted to try their foundation but I have not done so yet. I am still finishing up my MAC Mineralize.

    As for the lipsticks, the Enchanting lipsticks are fabulous but so tiny! They retail for about $15.00 USD but I heard they are discontinuing them for their newer lipsticks which are larger in size, have a different formula, and also come with matching pencil and some weird-looking lipbrush. The new price is $35.00 USD.

    The original formula is intensely pigmented and the lipstick feels very luxurious on the lips. The product lasts a long time. I really like Besame's original formula but it is a shame the price was a bit high for a tiny lipstick (it is like 1/2 the size of a MAC lipstick bullet). Instead of bringing in a new formula that is not as rich and opaque in a larger tube, Besame should have kept the original in the gold tube and made it bigger!

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  8. I love your brows. Can you tell me what products you use & do you have a blog for brows? Thanks!!!

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  9. I think $40 is too much to pay for a lipstick.

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    ReplyDelete