New Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipcolor SPF 18 Review

Sunset Beach

Ulta.com color swatches here

about $6

I got a coup in All You Mag for $3 off this lippy which made me giddy as a schoolgirl cuz I wanted to try it anyway. I love Rimmel glosses, so I could only assume, by my powers of makeup deduction, that I would love their lipsticks also.

I got to Ulta to find a nice display of about 24 colors...sweeeet. I love having options. After covertly opening tubes of color I fancied and then swiping them on the top of my hand (you know you do it too), I settled on the color Sunset Beach, partly because I want to actually be on a beach and partly because this color would go so great with my Rimmel bronzer. I think an Ulta lady saw me messing with her products and huffed, "Can I help you find something??!!??" I wanted to say, "No Ho. I'm good thanks. My hands are clean. Get over it." but I just turned bright red and said "I'm good, Thanks!" I'm pretty badass in my head. Moving forward, Rimmel bronzer is the shizz. Get some, it's cheap and the colors are tantastic.

So I like the lipstick okay, it is moisturizing, the color is semi-sheer and it stays put longer than gloss. I really like the SPF 18. SPF is good. It comes in a great range of shades and they have several neutrals to choose from. It's just not any better than any other drugstore lipstick. The only thing I don't like about this lipstick is the cheap lipstick smell. Why do all cheap lipsticks smell the same? Put some fruit oil in your lipsticks or something for Christmas sake!

 If I rated this lippy on a scale of Wet n Wild to Chanel it would be a L'oreal. So it ranks slightly above it's cheapness. Will I buy more? Probably not. I can't deal with the smell for long periods of time.

Best Lip Plumping Glosses

What? These are my friends. You are so mean!

There are two different types of lip plumpers, ones that irritate your pout enough to cause swelling like DuWop Lip Venom  $16 (the first lip plumper, Lip Venom, is a blend of essential oils, including cinnamon, wintergreen, and ginger, that cause the blood to rush to the surface of the lips) and those that include "collagen microspheres" and hyaluronic acid like in LipFusion that attract moisture to the lips and therefore fattening them. Some glosses have a mixture of the two which is less irritating than the full-on Lip Venom. I hate Lip Venom because it is so intensely irritating to me. It feels like my lips are badly sunburned. Cheaper glosses (drugstore) typically contain the irritating ingredients since they are cheaper to manufacture.

Plumpers are for everyone. I have been blessed with naturally big lips but I still love the lip plumpers because they seem to fill in the fine lines around around the lipline and give a more youthful plump to the lips that isn't outrageous. I have been a huge fan of LipFusion lipglosses, the first ever lip gloss that actually did plump lips without irritating them to all hell. The only complaint I have about these glosses is, of course, the price tag. $38 is completely ridiculous. ARRRRRGGGGHHH. Robbery of the vain!

I've tried many many many lip plumpers and here are the best I've found so far...

LipFusion Micro-Injected Color Shine $38
Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips $18
MAC Plushglass $18


Each of these glosses plumps effectively without irritation and lasts a decent amount of time before you must reapply for the plumping effects.

LipFusion Micro-Injected Color Shine: The first non-irritating plumping gloss. Classic. Expensive. Comes in a wide range of colors. I like Bare and Bloom. These are both extremely natural and real colors that give you that healthy, natural look. Bare for pale-medium skin. Bloom for medium-dark skin. This gloss seems to be the gloss that doesn't last the longest but it has the best texture (non-sticky). It has a faint sweet citrus-y smell.

Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips: If I had to pick a favorite this one would be it. LipFusion would win hands-down if it had the same price tag as this one ($18) but it doesn't, so it is not my favorite. It has a slightly sticky texture and smells good. This one lasts a long time as far as gloss goes. The plumping effects last the longest with this one. I like the color Amber. It is a sheer peachy gold that looks good on everyone. Smells like caramel.

MAC Plushglass:  This is the gloss that lasts the longest. The plumping effects last a good while too but not as long as Buxom Lips. It is the most "irritating" of the glosses, but it is very tolerable. Smells like caramel and cinnamon. My favorite colors are Ample Pink (bare pink without shimmer) and Power Supply (healthy pink with gold shimmer). I wore this color for the first time and my BF said..."Whoa, You look pretty!" Score.



What are your favorite lip plumpers??

2 Smashbox O-Gloss Knockoffs!

the original smashbox o-gloss $22, black radiance perfect tone lip gloss $4.99, and mark glossblossom $6.50

i love smashbox o-gloss. the texture is divine, it smells delish and the extra goji berry c complex makes me happy. the price, however, does not. i just can't be spending $22 on a lip gloss. especially when there are some great cheap alternatives out there!

i was at walgreens the other day because they were having a great sale on revlon colorstay foundations (LOVE) and i noticed this black radiance perfect tone lipgloss. for $4.99 i decided what the heck?! i had previously purchased the mark glossblossom online and loved it but left the tube in the pocket of my jeans and yes, washed them. idiot. not only was my glossblossom peril to this tragedy but many of my clothes were victims also. i hate buying just one product online and paying for the shipping. i am a cheapster coupon queen and fanagled a way to get free shipping but jeez-it's just a pain in the rear...then you have to wait for it to arrive. i have no patience!

anyhoo, i am thrilled to find this black radiance lip gloss at the local walgreens. easy AND cheap. does it get any better? the black radiance lip gloss does not smell as nice or have the great texture that o-gloss and glossblossom have, but it has the exact same effect- a perfectly pinky peach just bitten lip color custom made for you. i love the color it produces. i like it for that no makeup 'i am naturally gorg' (wink wink) look.

according to the black radiance web site you can purchase their products at k-mart, walgreens, rite-aid and wal mart. 

mark glossblossom can be purchased online here or through your local avon/mark rep.

if you like to waste your cash for the brand name status and cute packaging (no judgement- i do it all the time!) go to sephora or ULTA to get smashbox o-gloss.

none of these products are tested on animals. mark glossblossom and smashbox o-gloss are paraben free.
black radiance lip gloss has propylparaben in it and they all have artificial coloring

MAC Viva Glam GaGa Knockoff!

I just discovered an NYX shade similar to MAC's new Viva Glam GaGa

it is called Narcissus (perfect!) Narcissus on my top lip, MAC Gaga on bottom lip. NYX is slightly pinker while gaga is milkier but you can barely notice.
UPDATE (2.27.10): NYX.com is sold out of Narcissus
go here or to your local ULTA store

do with this information what you will...

YES! Revlon Colorstay Lipliner

For about 7 bucks at wal-mart you can have a great lipliner that really stays on and doesn't bleed or feather. there are good neutrals and a variety of colors. i like "blush" and "natural" (similar to subculture by MAC). i put it to the test. all day. it passed. it's cheap. just do it.