Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Long Wear Matte Lipstick in "Lady Balls"

When I first started falling in love with makeup, Nikkie Tutorials was the person I watched most.  That's probably still true to this day.  I think she's fabulous.  She is so fun to watch and I feel like if I knew her in real life, we'd be great friends.  She is so pretty and so funny, and if you love makeup and aren't watching her, you should be. 

I feel like we have sort of the same coloring, and if I'd discovered makeup when I was 15 years younger, I feel like we'd look a little bit alike.  Not too long ago, I saw a photo of her on Instagram showing a look she did with all highlighters, and I about died when I saw her lipcolor.

 

Yeah.

 

Its like the reddest red that ever was. I fell in love with it immediately, and knowing that Ulta carries Too Faced, I set off to make it my own.  Except I couldnt find it.  Anywhere.  Not even online.  I searched through all the Too Faced colors, and there was no Lady Balls to be found. It has confounded me for days.  Because its supposed to be a melted liquid lipstick.  I checked the name a thousand times.  And finally, yesterday, I figured it out.  It is a Melted Matte Liquid Lipstick.  Matte.  I thought all the liquid lips were matte, but I guess not.  I also found out that if I wanted it, I would have to go to Sephora.  Womp womp.

 

I'm not a Sephora fan, for a number of reasons.  I think their selection is smaller than Ulta's and I don't find their staff to be as friendly.  The Sephora store brand is not cruelty free, (Ulta's is) and usually, unless I am wanting a Kat Von D product, there is nothing at Sephora that I cant get somewhere else. 

 

It was driving me crazy, this color, though, and so off I went, behind enemy lines.  And I did find the product I was looking for, and you can see there are a few differences in the packaging between what Ulta carries and what I was looking for:

 

The product Ulta sells is on the right, and I have tried it before and liked the formula, if not the colors I tried.  The kind they have at Sephora has the doe foot applicator and is more of a traditional application for a liquid lipstick.

 

 

Even though I went in looking specifically for Lady Balls, I got distracted by some of the other colors in the line.  I didnt have time to try them all on, but I did swatch them, just to see if there was anything I'd want more than Lady Balls.  I'm easily distracted that way, and my hunt for  the perfect liquid nude is never ending.

 

 

If you find yourself interested, those colors, left to right, are Miso Pretty, Child Star, Sell Out, and Feelin' Myself.





So.... Lady Balls.  Its bright, like, really bright.  It is definitely the reddest red.  I figured it was close to some other reds I have, but I found that it is actually brighter.

This is Lady Balls, Stila Liquid Lipstick in Beso, and Kat Von D liquid in Outlaw.  I loved the color right away, we were definitely meant for each other.

in direct sunlight

 

 

in indirect sunlight

 

I am sad to say that I did not love the formula.  I found it to be drying, and yet sticky at the same time.  Not sticky in the type of way where your hair would get caught in it, but sticky in the way where I could feel it on my lips all day long.  I was very aware that it was there, and not so much in a good way.  I also found it sort of feathering and migrating throughout the day.  These are problems that can be fixed.  A lip primer and a lipliner would probably be a good solution, but I feel like this lipstick was kind of high maintenance.

 

 I also wasnt really dressed right for the color.  This is RED and I was pretty casual, and this isn't really a casual red.  I always say that red lipstick and sunglasses are all you need, and thats typically true, but this is a dressed up red. Also, indoor lighting is probably not the most flattering of this color on me.  Because it is so bright, and I am so pale, it was a little bit strong indoors.  Someone with more color in their skin could probably do this more justice than I am doing.

 

 

It was an ill-timed blind date for Lady Balls and me.  I am sure under different circumstances, with the right tools, and at the right time, we could have loved each other, but yesterday, it was not to be.  I saw my mom at the end of the day, and she said, "its really hard to get used to your face with all that makeup on."  And by then, I kind of agreed with her.