Not Red: The Budget Browns

Today started out kind of rough for a Monday.  There is a lot going on, and I had to be at work early so I didn't have a super lot of time to get ready.  I didn't feel my best, and I definitely didn't look my best,  and there is no cure for a bad mood like a trip to Ulta.

The other day I was on instagram and came across a lovely makeup loving lady who was wearing NYX Liquid Suede Lipcream in a color called "Soft Spoken"  as you can see, it looks amazing on her:

She has darker coloring than I do, but oh, man, what a pretty color.  I asked my bestie if she thought I could pull off brown, and of course, she said "sure!" So I have had this color in the back of my mind since then.

Since, as I mentioned, it was kind of a rough morning, when I got to Ulta, the only shade of that line that they were out of was, of course, Soft Spoken.  So that will have to wait for another day.  Since I was there, I figured I would see what other nude/brown colors I could find. 

As a baseline, I swatched Revlon HD Matte Lipcolor in Seduction, which I already know I love. You should love it too.  It applies like a dream, and smells even better.  The whole line of colors is amazing, and Ulta has them on sale right now, buy one get one 50% off.

Here it is:



This picture was taken awhile back, before I had half an inch of roots showing.  Its such a great color.  They seriously all are.  We're going off on a tangent right now, but I cannot think of another line budget or luxury, where every single color is amazing.  These are good.

But I digress.

I decided to see if I could find something else kind of like Seduction.  I happened to stumble on NYX Intense Butter Gloss in a color called Tres Leches.  I love NYX products and wear them all the time, but I have never tried the Butter Glosses, because I tend to mostly stick with reds and I am not a fan of shiny reds.  But since this definitely wasn't red, it seemed like a great choice.  It was also a little bit pinker, and since I have such pink skin I thought it would look really good.

 

I have high hopes that the curling iron burn on my forehead will eventually go away, but in the mean time, here is the lip color.  It has he word "intense" in the title, which I think is a misnomer.  I had to put on about 10 layers of the color before I even saw anything.  Its basically exactly the color of my real lips.  Its a little bit sticky, which should be a given with the word "gloss" in the title.  Its just. so. sheer.  If you are looking for a sheer color, thats really just a hint of color, then I think this might be for you.  I was personally hoping for something more opaque and we didn't quite make it there.

 

I decided after the super light color to go for something that was really going to have a lot of color in in it, and also let me try out something brown, since I had fallen in love with it on instagram.  Since I was already trying out budget brands, I decided to stick with that theme.

 

The color on the left an Ulta Lip Crayon in the color Sugar and Spice and the color on the right is Essence Longlasting Lipstick in Barely There.  I have a few different Ulta Crayons and I also love love love them.  They are really easy to maneuver, soft but not sticky, and they have great staying power.  They have a little bit of shine to them, but they don't feel greasy at all.  I felt like Sugar and Spice had kind of a berry undertone against my skin so I thought that would be a fun one for me.

 

I was wrong.

Hi, nice to meet you.  This is totally not my color

 

In person, it was even less the right color.  I am not sure who this would be the right color for.  Someone.  Probably someone with dark hair and eyes and olive skin.  But not I, said the fly.  And if you are a pale lady like myself, I would skip this color too.  There are lots of good ones.  Just... this one is too much.

Yowza.







 

 

 

Essence is a brand that I don't have too much experience with when it comes to lipstick itself.  I have several of their gel polishes, redness corrector, and femme fatal lip liner.  The liner, as a side note, can be used with almost any brighter red and it blends seamlessly.  Since some reds, even the pricey ones, tend to feather, this is a great and inexpensive way to reign that in. 

 

Since I have enjoyed the other products so much, it was only a matter of time until I tried one of their lipsticks.  This a very budget, budget brand and most of the products only cost a few dollars.  This particular lipstick is $2.99.

 

 



Its hidden toward the back of the Ulta, but you can also find these products at both Target and Wal-Mart. They have a fun variety of shades, and my experience today definitely makes me want to try more.

Out of all the colors I tried on, this was the one that made me notice my roots the least.  I really liked the feel of it too.  Even though it also had shine it was not sticky, and didn't feel heavy on my lips, like some tube lipsticks do.  I didn't feel like I was wearing anything, and I felt like I got a lot of color with just one application.  I wore it for the rest of the day and it felt like it really stayed in place, even through eating and drinking. There isn't a lot of color selection with the Longlasting Lipsticks, mostly things in the mauves, pinks, and purples.  The nice thing is, even though it isn't broad, there is something for every coloring.  I will definitely be trying more of these colors, and I think they are worth a look for you too! Definitely the winner of the day.