making faces :: lips locked

mac :: mystic [the lipstick, not me]

well, the cycle is complete. if you've been checking in at on my 30 days of lips page, you'll note that yesterday was day 30 and i did indeed complete my objective to go a full month without a repeat- even including a couple of days where i changed makeup to go out at night. [i have to admit, one of those times i did it so that i'd be able to squeeze an extra look into the month.]

i could keep going, but i have a few new things that i'm really eager to try out, whereas i was trying to concentrate on the unsung heroes of my collection rather than the flavour of the week, which would be getting attention anyway. and i think that that's pretty much what i did.

a lot of the colours i selected have been with me a long time. i chose to end the experiment with my very favourite mac lipstick ever, mystic. it's a satin finish colour, meaning it's richly pigmented with just a hint of a sheen. the colour is a deep plum-red, not dark enough to be a really "vampy" shade, but quite intense. one of the things that i find makes it unique is the fact that, despite being a deep plum, it's not warm or brick-toned. rather than brown, it seems to have a little deep grey mixed in so that the colour stays comparatively cool. it does make a very nice nighttime shade, but i also find that it's conservative and classical enough for wear during the day or at the office. unfortunately, i guess i'm the only one who thinks of it that way, because mac has chosen to discontinue it, along with many of the satin finish lipsticks that have been part of their lineup for years. i guess that in comparison with newer, creamier, more lustrous formulas, those dusty old satin finishes just don't measure up. i wish someone had pointed out that most people are more concerned with the colour of lipsticks even more than the finish, and that it might be a good idea to make sure that you weren't removing a bunch of unique shades because the finish wasn't as popular. whoops.



if you're one of the few and proud who are mystic fans, you can feel free to chime in with any dupes you've found. so far, in my esarch, the closest i've come up with is yves st. laurent's rouge pur couture #4- rouge vermilion. it's a smidgen warmer, but it'll do in a pinch. i didn't have it to compare side by side, but i swatched revlon's colorburst lipstick in plum and that also seemed like a reasonably close approximate.

speaking of yves st. laurent, i feel like i owe them a wee apology for excluding them entirely from the lip sweepstakes this month. while i was trying to balance my choices, i did end up giving preference to mac, because they still represent the lion's share of my lip colours. but somehow ysl got ignored entirely and chanel got grossly underrepresented. ah well, no system is perfect. i've heard tell of people who use random number generators to determine choices when it comes to using items from a large collection equitably, but i really don't see that working for me. i'll spend twenty minutes flipping through songs on my iphone before finding one that suits my mood. applying tactics of randomness to clothing, shoes, makeup or anything would be dooming me to a sort of paralysis. some day, though, i am going to put together a database that can make suggestions based on me entering a few key factors- my mood, the weather, what i have to do that day... and i'll still probably reject them.

i know that over the last month, i've ended up using a lot of colours [not just mystic] that have been limited edition or that are discontinued. i didn't want to bog things down by offering alternates for all of them, but if there are any that interested you in particular, i'm happy to give it my best shot. on the other hand, if you notice that there are some i used that are now unavailable, for which you've already found a good duplicate, please feel free to share.

big, multi-coloured kisses to all. i'll have to think of a new challenge for myself.

for the moment, i'm testing out samples of mac's new "big bounce" mousse-cream eye shadows. i have a few colours to try and i'll let you know my detailed findings within the next few days.

making faces :: choose your lips

i think we've established that i'm a lipstick hound. it's not bragging, it's kind of like standing up and admitting i'm an addict. sure, at one point, i was solely interested in dark colours and ones that looked plain weird (i still am), but then my tastes expanded. once that happened... ooh baby...

there are no colours that i automatically write off [although browns are generally very difficult for me], which means that i end up with a lot of colours in every range. i will say that one of my natural "advantages" (if you consider being able to spend money on lipsticks an advantage) is that my complexion runs a bit cool, but is pretty close to completely neutral. so there aren't a lot of colours that look "wrong" with my skin tone. one of the results of this is that i've been able to spend quality time figuring out who does what best. so here's a post with my opinions on where you can turn for whatever colour wants you have. and, of course, if there's anything i don't cover, you can feel free to ask. i have deliberately skipped the area of bronze/ brown/ earth tones, because i just haven't sampled enough of them to make a choice. mac probably has the broadest range in that category, but nars seems to have some really rich shades.

WHO DOES WHICH SHADES BEST?


a quick word about the photos :: i took these in a real hurry and you can even see in some of them that i scratched my upper lip while doing so. because i was working quickly, there are some annoying shadows, for which i apologise. i wanted to get this post on line more than i wanted to wait until i had perfect daylight in which to shoot the lip photos.

so here's where to turn if you want...

dior :: chic pink

pinks :: [note :: i have a separate category for hot pinks, since they're a different animal.]
best choice :: dior. i don't know what it is about dior in particular, but pink is their bitch. whether it's their full coverage "rouge dior" line or their newly launched semi-sheer "dior addict" line, no one does pinks like them. in fact, virtually all of their colour line is pink of varying shades. choose your pink poison. whatever shade you need to bring out nature's beauty, they have it for you.
runner up :: chanel. while their range might be narrower, it's hard to beat the subtle elegance of chanel.

reds :: 

chanel :: rouge allure lacque dragon

best choice :: chanel. think of it as the classic of classics. no one does profound, statement reds like chanel. they have brilliant scarlet hues to stop traffic [cambon], deep and elegant plum-reds [rivoli], autumnal and rusty shades [vendome], lightweight and fun reds [flamboyante]... basically, anything you want and more than you dreamed. plus, they have the shade "dragon", in my opinion the most perfect red lipstick ever devised.
runner up :: yves st. laurent. the intensity of their reds is remarkable and they have a nice range of warm and cool shades- they have really paid attention to the different hues you can get within the red spectrum.
honourable mention :: mac. i personally find their range of permanent reds a bit lacking, but when one takes into consideration some of the excellent limited edition reds they've included, they're an absolute winner.

purples ::

mac :: violetta

best choice :: mac. this isn't even a contest. despite my frustration that mac's purples so often run pink on my lips, there is no company that comes close to mac's offering. not only do they have a strong collection of regular purple shades, but they are consistently coming out with new and limited ones.
runner up :: none. this is the only category where i did this, but mac's dominance in the field is so complete, it's like comparing pet ponies to secretariat. makeup forever would probably be my second choice, but their offering is limited in range and in finish. inglot have more purples than anyone except mac, but their shades seem somehow bland. everyone else is limited to an occasional "special" colour.

vampy shades  ::

mac :: hang up

best choice :: mac. unlike most companies, who have one or maybe two deep, dark alluring shades, mac has options in virtually every range. pinks? check. purples? check. browns? check. reds? you better believe that's a check. oranges? well, we'll get there soon, but they come closer than anyone else, that's for damn sure ["so chaud" is a fairly deep russet-orange colour]. even better, you can get intense mattes, as per usual, but you can also get richer, creamier formulas and even sheer colours like "desire" that can be built up. quite simply put: if you're looking for a dark, sexy lipstick and it's not a week before halloween [or you want one that isn't made from melted-down crayons], mac is where you should be heading. my one quibble: they don't have a black shade in their permanent line-up.
runner up :: bobbi brown. what??? the queen of quiet conservatism? no foolin. mixed in among the subtle nudes, rosy browns and lady-like pinks are some incredible, unsung deep reds and browns. check for shades that start with the word "black"- black raspberry, black cherry, black mahogany, black maple... these are gorgeous, rich shades that would seem at home on the lips of those classical heroines of gothic fiction that are so admired.
honourable mention :: makeup forever. aside from the usual bloody reds and purples, they have a permanent satin black in their range.

neutrals ::

mac :: blankety

best choice :: mac. don't kid yourself. a good neutral is hard to do. a bad one can look like concealer or poop, neither of which is a look anyone should aim for. mac came to prominence in part by offering gorgeous neutral tones for everyone and their permanent range still reflects that. i'm always saddened that they've culled their edgier colours, but i understand that the sales numbers on a wide range of their neutral shades- light, dark and everything in between- speak volumes.
runner up :: cle de peau. i would have selected them as the winner, but for two things: 1. their range is limited;  and 2. their lipsticks are $65cad each. wtf??? still, their neutrals are really, really hard to beat. the quality is there [at that price, it had better be] and their shades are wonderfully nuanced. find one that's perfect for you, spoil yourself that single time and then try to forget that you ever heard about them.

oranges, peaches & corals ::

ysl :: blood orange

best choice :: yves st. laurent. if orange and coral are this year's "it" shades, then ysl is the only company that has a leg up. i frankly think that there's tons of space to explore new shades within the range of america's most detested colour and i salute ysl for having established a beachhead on the orange shore. i choose them because their offerings can be bright, soft and much in between. everyone else has some serious catch-up to do.
runner up :: dior. it makes a sort of sense that the rulers of popular pinks would also have an offering of easy-to-wear shades in this range. they lack the intense shades of ysl, but chances are there's still a little something for almost everybody.
hornourable mention :: mac. while the "peaches" and "corals" offering in their permanent collection might be a little lacking, there is no denying that mac was one of the first companies to offer a real variety of orange tones to the discerning consumer.
[addendum :: it has been pointed out to me that, in fact, this post ignores the fact that givenchy's "candide tangerine" is the most beautiful orange shade ever created. it's true. i haven't seen givenchy's other orange offerings, but this is one case where one shade makes an entire company worth watching.]


hot pinks, fuchsias & magentas ::

mac :: fusion pink

best choice :: mac. this is another category where mac is well ahead of the competition. they have eye-searing hot pinks, luscious, deep fuchsias and daring magentas in various intensity- fully opaque to sheer and summery. plus, they keep launch new and limited ones that become cult favourites. this is possibly the only company where i think you can buy a whole selection of colours in this range and not risk repeating.
runner up :: makeup forever. i honestly think they may best mac in terms of the permanent offering of shades, but they don't compete in terms of the variety of formulas.
honourable mention :: yves st. laurent. it's surprising to see some daring bright pinks and fuchsias popping up with increasing frequency in their range. even more surprising is that their colours may be the most daring shades of all.

ideally, i wanted to include an "oddball" category in this piece, a category defined by shades like blue and green, or by strong metallic shades, or just takes on usual colours that defy description. unfortunately, there just isn't enough competition. shu uemura has both a pure white [the most difficult shade to find!] and an intense blue as part of their regular line, but nothing more. mac, in this case, almost deserves a "hall of shame" mention, for having discontinued the shades that added an exclamation point to their entry into the competitive cosmetics market, as does urban decay. makeup forever has shown some inclination towards eccentricity, but has thus far held back. illamasqua, the cult favourite british company, shows some promise, but since i can't get their products without paying usurious british prices, i can't comment. the fact is that there are a lot of women who want to push the boundaries of colour,  and who have the innate confidence to carry it off [which is really all it takes] but who can't simply because there aren't options available. *wags finger* bad cosmetic industry! bad!

that said, this is my perspective on which company is the best option for which shades. i would, as an addendum, like to note that these aren't necessarily my choices for highest quality. i think that you'd be hard pressed to beat guerlain's rouge g line for that, but their colour offering [perhaps because they've priced themselves out of reach for many consumers] is frustratingly tame. also stellar in terms of quality is armani and they seem capable of almost unbelievably rich and intricate shades of deep red and purple, but the bulk of their range seems stuck in the usual hues of pink and plum we all grew tired of in the eighties and nineties.

feel free to disagree. in fact, feel free to leave comments telling me how strongly you disagree. that's your prerogative and the nice thing about colours is that they truly do rest in the eye of the beholder.

making faces

i remember someone i used to work with commented on my eye makeup one time saying with a certain surprise that i always did it differently. i guess i understand the perspective, because some people- a majority, most likely- choose a particular look that they feel emphasises their best features, they've found a mask that represents them. personally, i change the mask i wear every day for the same reason i wear different clothes every day- because i generally feel differently every day. perhaps some day i'll discover a singular look that sums me up, but i generally find that there are just too many mes waiting to get out and play.

trust me- i'm understated

there are times when i'm forced to tweak my appearance. when i'm looking for work, or starting work, i cultivate a sort of muted, restrained look, the kind of thing that most people seem to associate with maturity and responsibility. and i generally keep that up until such time as i feel comfortable pushing the boundaries. (i don't think i'd last long in any place where i felt that the boundaries truly could not be pushed.) i think that everyone has that sort of persona that they drag out like an outfit reserved for special occasions. this is the face that makes me seem like a rational, trustworthy sort. i just usually have to wait a while for it to sink in that i am those things, no matter what i look like. it's a quiet version of me, but it has its purposes.

as i mentioned last week, there are certain associations with strong, red lips. so that's something that i crack out when i need or want to command attention. as a result, when wearing my bossy lips, i tend to leave everything else played down. no need to set up competing teams on your face. this is a very straightforward mask, no complexity to it. and no, it's not like i wear this only when i have to do a presentation, or yell at someone, or have an important meeting. but it helps.

is it hot in here?

of course, sometimes, it's more about the eyes. it's never been a mystery to me why dark-rimmed, smoky eyes came into fashion. it's actually an incredibly easy look to do (you can make it as complicated and layered as you like, but you can accomplish the effect with literally one dark colour smudged all around your eye) and because the contrast it creates with the whites of the eyes is wonderfully striking. personally, i have a variation on this that i keep as a mask for summer nights when i'm going out. it involves combining a lot of smudgy, dark, sparkly eye makeup with warm, shimmery colours over the rest of my face and lips. the idea is that, if it's hot and i'm going to be somewhere packed with people, i'm going to be glistening with sweat and my makeup is going to get messy anyway. i might as well look like i did that on purpose.

this is my happy face

conventional logic holds that you should choose to emphasise either eyes or lips but never both. i have the same respect for that little nugget as i do for other bits of lore that are accepted just because lots of people say them. yes, the fact is that it will look a little extreme, if for no other reason than it's not what people are used to seeing. but sometimes, extremity is what you want. sometimes, exaggeration sums up your mood. and aren't all masks on one level or another an exaggeration of some part of you?

really, i just rolled out of bed

even what looks natural can sometimes be carefully constructed. the entire advertising industry is built on this. we know, each of us, what we look like when we are completely unkempt, unadorned and there are people (how many people varies from one to another) who we allow to see us that way. really, this is another face we put on- the one that expresses ease and comfort. in my case, i don't think it's any more or less genuine than any of the other faces i have. it has its audience, like all the others. but of course, i always keep a natural-looking mask around as well, because you never know when it might come in handy.

many believe that masks imply a certain cowardice, that they are something behind which one hides. i'm sure that there are instances where that is the case. but i tend to takea more expressionist view. my various masks aren't things that are constructed, that i use as cover, but things that i draw (double entendre!) from inside that are small expressions of whatever part of me is at the forefront at that particular moment. so yes, what i look like can change, sometimes dramatically, from one moment to another. i just happen to think that all the mes i have deserve their time in the spotlight.

feel free to share descriptions and images of the yous you love to share as well.

i won't go through all the details, but i had help in creating the masks i'm modeling (plus many others) from mac cosmetics, nars, dior, guerlain, chanel, bobbi brown, lancome, armani and others...

how do you like me now?

perfect kiss

important note: all boys are to leave now. this is a girly post. you have nothing to gain from reading this.

ok ladies... we're going to talk lipstick. why? because i happen to be a huge cosmetics fan. does that make me less of a feminist, less of a contemporary woman? well, during a time when i was working at a community radio station, i was called a bad feminist. i was called a bad feminist by someone who subsequently moved to another place, with no job and no immediate job prospects, because her boyfriend had gotten a job in that required him to move. she called me a bad feminist because i wore dresses and make-up. i've supported myself independently since i was 19 years old, through two university degrees, a number of jobs and three inter-city moves. i'll just let you decide who the stronger feminist is.

for those who've stuck with me, there is a certain magic in finding the perfect lipstick. that particular formula and shade is a really great feeling. myself, there are a lot of different looks that i like and, hence, a lot of different colours, but i have a particular weakness for deep, dark, rich colours, reds and purples mostly, and yes, i can tell the difference between all of them. much like the proverbial amateur home decorator, i can tell the difference between various shades of white. i'm told that this is actually a genetic holdover from a time when women were the gatherers in early, semi-nomadic societies. in those times, knowing the difference between the dark warm red berry that would nourish you and the dark blue-red berry that would kill you was a really important thing. but whether you feel you need a few colours from different parts of the spectrum, or a selection from each area that you like (or an entire spectrum to yourself), there are a lot of lipstick choices for you.

i've decided to post this to de-mystify a few of those choices.

i'll state first of all that i tend to have fairly high end tastes in my choices of lip colour. part of that is because i prefer to buy products that are not tested on animals and most higher-end brands are based in europe, where there has been a ban on animal testing since 1998. i still recommend checking out various lists of companies that do and don't test (and who ultimately owns them) to determine where you are comfortable drawing the line, but what's included here are products that meet my criteria.

i don't cover mass market brands here, but if you do want them, i suggest revelon (animal-testing free for many years) and wet 'n' wild (also free of animal testing). both have decent shade ranges, the former has a variety of formulas and the latter is responsible for a colour i bought in university that remains one of my all-time favourites (called "blackest red"). the following would qualify as a "treat". however, since i'm writing this in canada, i'd like to call attention to a potential escape hatch: most of these brands are carried by shoppers drug mart/ pharmaprix/ murale, who have an excellent customer loyalty program called optimum. under this program, you build up points (fairly quickly, if you keep an eye on specials like 20x the points), which allow you a certain number of dollars worth of free purchases. so if you like, you can use your bonus money for a little extra you wouldn't normally be able to afford. (aside from that, i seriously recommend that all shoppers get one of these cards. the program pays off in spades.)

so here are some of my thoughts on mid- to high-end lipsticks that are available on the market:

brand :: bobbi brown
product :: lip colour
price :: $25- $30 CAD
evaluation :: beautiful colours, but tends to be pretty conservative. if you want something a little richer and racier, look for colours with the word "black" before them (black raspberry, black maple). they won't be as dramatic as they look in the tube, but they are very nice nonetheless. the formula is incredibly moisturising, which is nice if you live in a climate where it's cold and dry a lot of the year, or if you're reaching an age where your lips tend to dry out naturally. on the other hand, these feather like a son of a bitch, so be conscious that you might have to use a lip liner. they also require reapplication throughout the day and the more you have to reapply, the worse the feathering is.

brand :: bobbi brown
product :: creamy lip colour
price :: $25- $30 CAD
evaluation :: other than the fact that they come in different packaging and the available shades are different, i'll be buggered if i can figure out the difference between these ones and the regular bb lip colour (see above).

brand :: chanel
product :: rouge coco
price :: $30- $35 CAD
evaluation :: very nice shade range, but i find the formula a little drying. it glides on nicely, but starts to feel a little dry on lips after about an hour. the nice part is that, if you aren't bothered by the slightly dry feeling, the colour lasts a long time, even when you eat and drink. the shade range is pretty good. colour payoff is excellent- you don't have to do lots of back and forth to get it to match the colour in the tube.

brand :: chanel
product :: rouge lacque
price :: $35 - $40 CAD
evaluation :: i love these to death, seriously. "dragon" is the best red lip ever, but the real magic isn't in the colour, it's on how these actually work. they're a liquid lipstick. they apply like a gloss, with an in credible sheen, but they settle into a lovely, satin-finish lipstick that lasts for hours. the colour is incredible and they feel wonderful against the lips. of course, they're expensive, and the range of shades available is incredibly limited, but if you want to treat yourself to something, i couldn't recommend anything nicer.

brand :: dior
product :: rouge dior
price :: $34- $36 CAD
evaluation :: stunning. creamy and luscious and high-impact and long-lasting. in fact, even after smudging or eating, they leave a really beautiful stain-type finish. if you're going to spoil yourself with something, i really couldn't suggest another formula. on the other hand, the shade range is limited to pinks and reds, mostly, so people looking for a really beautiful, vampy colour might be, as they say, SOL. still, if you can find something that catches your fancy... grab it.

brand :: guerlain
product :: rouge g
price :: $50 CAD
evaluation :: wait, it costs how much??? therein lies the downfall of this product, yes, it comes in a nice space-age package with a built-in mirror, but personally, i don't need a mirror to apply lipstick, because i know where my lips are. yes, the colours are incredibly nuanced and nearly impossible to truly duplicate, but for christ's sake, for the amount that it costs, i'll take a slightly lesser product. yes, this is probably one of the nicest formulas on the market, but i recommend it only if you can find a way to circumvent the pricing.


brand :: lancome
product :: colour design matte lipstick
price :: $26 CAD
evaluation :: some people just do not want a juicy, shiny look to their lips, but the fact is that a lot of matte lipsticks feel like applying chalk and look super-creased and cracked an hour after you put them on. these are different. they feel absolutely amazing. they're creamy, rich, intensely coloured and they're not drying at all. hallelujah. there's not a tremendous number of shades available, but they do cover a lot of the "classic" shades- reds, corals and plums that hearken back to the film-noir era of enticing lips that drew men in like a spider's web.

brand :: yves st. laurent
product :: rouge volupte
price :: $35- $40 CAD
evaluation :: lovely and creamy with a lot of shine, but there's a very limited range of shades available. for the price, i would expect more dimension or originality to the colours, but there are really only a few that can't be duplicated by cheaper alternatives. they do feel wonderful on the lips, particularly during dry weather and their colour is really rich, but for the price, there are better options available and, for the colours, there are cheaper options available.

people who know me will have noticed that i've not addressed my absolute favourite, canadian-born mac costmetics. that' sbecause i think that they require their own post, since navigating through their finishes and colour spectrum can be challenging. i'll get around to that, hopefully tomorrow.

this isn't by any means an exhaustive list of brands or formulas available on the market. it's just a list of opinions based on my personal experience. those who enjoy having a pop of colour on their lips can take it as the advice of a long-time lip colour lover. those who don't enjoy colour can take it as information that will be of little use to them. personally, despite the fact that both men and women (according to a recent poll by in style magazine) prefer the emphasis to be on the eyes, i still enjoy finding that perfect look that just draws the eye to my lips. at the very least, it helps people focus on what i'm talking about.

ok, it's now safe to let the men back into the room. next week i'll do a post about hockey or soccer (yeah, i know it's really football) or something. just to be fair.