Halo darlings. Iโve got a quick review to share, and itโs all about the lip product I mentioned during my previous posts. I was so excited when I got my hands on the Nars Soft Matte Tinted Lip Balm. It looks like the perfect matte lip balm for any occasion, especially for Zooming :D. Well, guess what? Iโm happy to report that it is indeed an amazing product that checks all the boxes. Hydrating? Yes. Comfortable? Oh yes. Pigmented? Yes, yes. Long-wearing? Totally, yes.
The Nars Soft Matte Lip Balm is a limited-edition lip product from Nars. It comes with the signature Nars-style packaging, but it has a gray metallic tone. At a glance, the shades tend to be on the nude spectrum, or should I say, in varying intensities of the nude tone (excusez moi, this is the academic side of me talking ๐ lol). I do find the shades to be somewhat sheer, especially the ones that I got. But also, a few of the shades tend to be more opaque as they get deeper/darker.
Unrestricted โ Pink nude. This is a beautiful mix of sheer pink and sheer nude. I like this a lot, and the pigment stays on for more than four hours.
Brief Encounter โ Neutral Nude. This just gives me enough color on the lips. Perhaps a little too nude for me. But the effect just gives that enough warmth that slightly contrasts my skintone.
Whip Lash โ Rusty Nude. I didnโt expect how dramatic this shade could get. Itโs like a brownish brick red. Itโs a beautiful shade for medium skintone and perfect for Fall.
The Nars Soft Matte Lip Balm is like Glossierโs Generation G lipstick (swatched HERE) but with more moisture. It is indeed comfortable, matte, lightweight, long-wearing and will give you that diffused and blurred lip texture effect. It seems like it is the perfect formula for the next generation of comfortable lip products. I hope this product will be made permanent by Nars soon.
Tom Ford recently released a couple of new lip products, one of them is the Lip Sculptor which is basically a lip liner with a lip brush, and another one is the newest Lip Color Satin Matte, which is a velvety soft matte lipstick that is meant to be high impact and long-wearing.
I went to my local Tom Ford beauty counter to check out these two new products and also to swatch the colors and find out which ones would look well on my skin tone. I picked two colors from the Lip Sculptor line and also picked two from the Lip Color Satin Matte.
Lip Sculptor ($46) – This lip liner glides comfortably on the lips and it has a built-in lip brush on the other end. It contours, sculpts and defines the lips and it’s great with any Tom Ford lipsticks or with any other lip color as well. This sets into a matte finish and can be easily corrected if the application wasn’t accurate. There are different shades available from this lip liner and they are all beautiful, especially the deep ones. Since this lip liner has an easy-to-glide formulation, this could potentially be worn as a lip color, provided that your lips are not the type that dries easily. Unfortunately, for me, this is too drying when used as a lip shade. On the other hand, since this particular lip liner is quite matte, I don’t really see how the lip brush on the other end can work with this liner unless of course it’s meant to define the lips with a lipstick, which I suspect is what it’s really meant to be. The price of this lip pencil is high, but the quality is very good. Having a few is worth a try.
Lip Color Satin Matte ($55) – This newest lip color from Tom Ford is very pigmented in just one swipe. It has a creamy feel once applied on the lips, then it sets into a true satin matte. It is one of the most comfortable matte lipsticks I’ve ever tried since it’s non-drying, lightweight, and soft-focus without emphasizing too much lip lines. It has a blotted effect as it wears for several hours. This particular lipstick, however, does transfer but it’s not to the extreme since the color will still remain on the lips. On me, this lasts about six hours after drinking tea or coffee, and about four hours for the lighter shade after eating. The darker shade tends to stay longer. There is no strong scent detected, but only a faint buttery one. However, finding the right shade from this lip color line that would look well on my complexion was such a dilemma. There are for sure several Fall/Winter colors like deep berries and reds but I had a hard time finding the right nude or neutral beige for my light-medium skin tone since most of the nude and neutral ones are either too nude or they’d pull off as bright pink or coral on me. Another thing I noticed is that it’s pretty hard for me to accurately apply this lipstick on my lips since this has a slightly angled flat round tip, as opposed to being more pointy like most lipsticks, so, I always end up overlining my lips. But then, that’s easy to remedy, I just use the lip brush that came with the Lip Sculptor above. Anyway, I can’t seem to find a product that closely resembles this lipstick, especially when it comes to its texture and its finish. For starters, this is definitely not as mattifying as the Tom Ford Lip Color Matte. This lip color is more comfortable and it feels more lightweight. This also feels a bit hydrating but it’s not shiny. I’m thinking perhaps the Dior Ultra Rouge Lipstick might be on par, but I will have to investigate more, and speaking of that, I will be reviewing that lipstick soon. I also think the YSL Rouge Pur Couture The Mats (reviewed HERE) might be similar as well, and probably the Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet too, but the Chanel ones may be a bit more mattifying than this TF Lip Color Satin Matte.
Bottom line, this latest Lip Color Satin Matte and Lip Sculptor from Tom Ford are worth the splurge. These perform just like what they claim. The Lip Sculptor is a reliable lip liner that sets well and applies smoothly. It truly contours and defines the lips. The Lip Color Satin Matte is one of the most comfortable easy to wear matte lipsticks I’ve ever tried and I really like its velvety matte effect on the lips.
Whaddup guys! As you may know in my Insta lately, I recently went to NOLA and I had a fabulous time. A review of my trip there will be out very soon. When I decided to go there, I packed some lipsticks with me for the trip. Theyโre not necessarily new-releases, but just a bunch of what I discovered lately, and Iโve been testing them before, during, and after my trip. Excited to see which random lipstick favorites traveled with me to The Big Easy?
Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss in #119 Bourgeoisie (0.19 oz: $30) โ Iโve been so stoked by the Chanel Glosses since my last lipstick review that I decided to add another one to my stash. I picked this shade because I like that it has some shimmers and it’s on the dusty rose side, which is more like the type of color I tend to gravitate towards. Since my lips have some pigments, this color looked more like a nude gloss on me. So, I’ve been using this as my wear-alone gloss, especially when I don’t feel like wearing any lip color and just wants to moisturize and add shimmer to my lips throughout the day. Itโs also an ideal topcoat for any lip color which I did pair with the Laura Mercier Velour Extreme Matte Lipstick that I also brought with me to NOLA. That particular LM lipstick is reviewed below.
Sisley Paris Phyto-Lip Twist Tinted Lip Balm in #2 Baby ($50) – I’ve been so curious about this balm+lipstick hybrid from Sisley Paris. It’s supposed to make the lips supple, moisturized, smoothed, and plumped with every use. It’s also an easy to apply kind of lipstick since it is housed in an XXL pencil with a twist-release type. I definitely love the ease of using this lip product, it is practical and easy to apply. The formula is certainly hydrating, just like a balm, and the pigment is pretty good. On my lips, this #2 Baby shade just gives me that right baby pink color which is perfect for everyday wear. I love everything about this lipstick+lip balm-in-one product because it is moisturizing and pigmented and was perfect during my flight to NOLA. However, this definitely requires some reapplication especially after wining and dining. Also, due to its price, it’ll be kinda hard to collect some colors.
Astrology by Bite Limited Edition Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Pisces (0.15 oz: $26) – When I heard that Bite was releasing their limited-edition Astrology Amuse Bouche lipsticks, I was thrilled. I love the texture of their Amuse Bouche lippies a lot and when my own zodiac was out, Pisces, I immediately purchased one for myself. Now, this shade is pretty difficult to pull off. It’s like a mix of muted orange and pumpkin, and I just don’t see the “sea or ocean” vibe in this, but it’s Pisces, so the shade should closely resemble to the fish, but by being a fish shade, does that mean looking like a crawfish+amphibian love child? LOL, because that’s kind of the deal I’m getting with this lipstick. I still took this shade to NOLA, but I didn’t wear this though. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around this color. I feel like I can’t wear this without looking like a character for The Shape Of Water Sequel. LOLz, anyhow, I really like the texture of this lipstick so much, and it smells amazing. I realized that I could still pull this off by dabbing a bit of it on my lips and then try not to overdo it. Anyway, this color is no longer available, and Bite Beauty had already released their Aries shade, which seems to also closely resemble this Pisces lipstick. On top of that, it’s also already sold out. I wonder what will be the color of Taurus? I hope it’s gonna be a pretty one.
Laura Mercier Velour Extreme Matte Lipstick in Vibe (0.035 oz: $28) –ย Medium beige nude. I’ve tried another shade of this Laura Mercier lipstick line before and it’s called Fresh (reviewed HERE). While I like that shade quite a lot, I wanted something that is a little bit fit for an everyday wear, so I bought the Vibe shade and I surprisingly liked it a lot. I kinda hesitated for a while before buying this though, because I thought it would be too light for my skin tone and it might make me look washed-out. Fortunately, I really like the way this color looks on my lips. It gives a nice subtle flush of pale pinkish mid-beige nude and it looks really great if you have a dramatic eye makeup. It still feels kinda drying still, but I usually dab a balm on my lips before putting this on, or I apply a lip gloss immediately after putting this. Overall, this shade is very long lasting and was very reliable during my trip to The Big Easy.
Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dolce Vita (0.086 oz: $27) – Dusty Rose. I find this shade to be so pretty and I think this would work for any skin tone. It’s not only a dusty rose color, but there’s also a subtle red hue to it. Probably, of all the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils I have, this is my most favorite shade and it is long-wearing too. It makes the face look a bit bright and spring-ready, just like the weather in New Orleans, and it’s not an over-the-top kind of brightness since the matte texture makes the shade muted and very wearable. However, the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil is not so practical to have unless you’re always carrying a sharpener. This Lip Pencil does not come with a built-in sharpener and it isn’t a twist-release type. So Nars, please improve the packaging.
Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Matte Lip Colour in #62 Libre (0.12 oz: $37) – I have no idea what took me so long to buy this lipstick in this specific color. This is one of the most perfect lipsticks I’ve ever tried. First, I really love this shade, it’s the perfect warm rosy nude for me. It flatters my skin tone very well, and it’s about 2 shades darker than my natural lip color. The closest dupe I could think of is the MAC Liptensity in Smoked Almond (swatched HERE), and perhaps the YSL #66 Bois De Rose (seen HERE), both of which are my holy grail. Lasting power for this lipstick is awesome, I get about 6 to 8 hours of wear with some eating, snacking, and drinking while I was in NOLA. The second thing I love about this lipstick is the texture. It’s velvety matte but it’s soft and light on the lips, and it’s definitely non-drying. You can swipe it lightly on the lips for a nice flush of color, or it can be very buildable. Lastly, I quite like the packaging of this particular lipstick line, easy to pop open and easy to close. Love it!
