Julie Hewett Lipstick in "Femme Noir"

During my latest search for the 'perfect' vintage red, I recently discovered a fabulous lipstick brand; Julie Hewett Los Angeles.

Julie Hewett was the lead makeup artist for the 2001 film "Pearl Harbor." During production, Ms. Hewett realized the modern lipsticks in her collection were not up to par for creating the period-correct look on the actresses. Faced with frustration, Julie decided to make her own lipsticks and thus, Julie Hewett Los Angeles was born.

Julie's line of lipsticks includes sheer and full color shades. The full colors, i.e. the Noir Lipsticks, boast rich, vibrant pigments paired with a semi-matte texture. The colors range from coral, neutral bright red, bright blue red, brick red to succulent eggplant. The lipsticks cost $22.50 USD and they can be purchased directly from Julie Hewett's website and from various 'brick and mortar' locations. Here is the Julie Hewett site:

http://cart.juliehewett.net/

When I was visiting my hometown of Richmond, Virginia two weeks ago, I went to Carytown to browse the vintage wares at Bygones. As I was walking down Cary Street, I spotted Le Visage Makeup Boutique and I decided to check it out. Le Visage is a small speciality shop that carries a nice selection of relatively unknown brands, including Julie Hewett! I was so excited to finally see the lipsticks in person! As many girls know, there is nothing better than swatching lipsticks firsthand. Online swatches do not compare!

http://www.levisagestudio.com/

I swatched a few shades including Femme Noir and Rouge Noir. Rouge Noir, a neutral bright red that leans slightly warm, really caught my attention but it was sold out. I also swatched Femme Noir, a bright red with a hint of a blue/pink base. I liked this color and thankfully, it was in stock.

Here is the Julie Hewett tube. It has a lovely vintage shape! The goldtone is quite retro as well!

Here is the lipstick bullet. In this photo, you can really see the pink undertones.

This is a swatch of Femme Noir on the back of my hand. The color is a bright true red with a pink base.

This is me, before hitting the gym this morning, wearing Femme Noir. The lipstick feels really creamy on and lasts about 4 hours before I need to touch up. The color does not bleed and it has a good balance of slip and grip. Moreover, MAC's lip liner in Cherry pairs amazingly well with Femme Noir.

Here is Misty, helping me take pictures this morning. Eventually, she was getting annoyed and then insisted that I put the camera phone down so we could go downstairs and start breakfast.

So, if you are looking for intensely pigmented, vintage reds, give Julie Hewett Los Angeles Noir Reds a try!