Reverse Lipstick Chronology #4: ColourPop Lippie Stix in Let's Play
Needless to say, I wasn't feeling entirely celebratory this Independence Day, but I also wasn't going to miss the chance to wear blue highlighter and metallic red lipstick at the same time. I thought I'd use this FOTD post to write a quick review of a product I bought back in November: ColourPop Lippie Stix in Let's Play, part of last year's ColourPop x Hello Kitty collaboration.
Growing up, I owned dozens of Sanrio items: sticker albums, mechanical pencils, stuffed animals, keychains—and, most '90s of all, a red Hello Kitty fanny pack that I still have at my mom's house. I remember chewing Keroppi gum and receiving a set of Pochacco nail polishes for a birthday present. I remember going to FAO Schwarz, the legendary (and now sadly closed) New York toy store, and putting a coin in a giant light-up Hello Kitty that spat out a paper fortune. In other words, there was no way I could let ColourPop's Hello Kitty collection pass me by. To my credit, I limited myself to one item: the Lippie Stix (Stick? Stik?) in Let's Play, a deep pinkish red semi-matte lipstick with red and fuchsia sparkle. Honestly, even if the product had been total shit, I would probably have paid $5 for the packaging alone (omfg the little bows all over the box and tube, I can't even). But the swatches I saw online looked great, and I figured that a metallic red would be perfect for the winter holidays. That's right, I said "holidays." #waronchristmas
Let's Play features a "satin luxe" formula that, so far as I know, has yet to show up in any other ColourPop lipstick shades. "Satin luxe" seems to mean "semi-matte with lots of shimmer," and given how popular metallic lipsticks are these days, I'm surprised ColourPop hasn't produced more colors in this formula. But they're basically churning out a new collection every week (I've long since stopped keeping track), so I'm not surprised that one or two lipstick formulas have gotten lost in the shuffle. According to my lipstick taxonomy, Let's Play sits on the cusp of shimmer, metallic, and duochrome. Up close, the individual red and fuchsia sparkles are apparent, but from a distance, there's more of a pinkish red sheen. The base color is a true blue-based red, but the shimmer pulls it closer to raspberry.
With some other coolish reds:
Lip swatches in shade, direct sunlight, and artificial light, respectively:
Prior to Let's Play, I'd tried one other Lippie Stix: Frenchie, a bright coral red in a matte formula. I found that shade heavy, waxy, and drying, and I destashed it in short order. I'm happy to say that Let's Play has a superior formula, though the heaviness and waxiness are still present. As you can see from the lip swatches above, the formula is stiff enough that I have a hard time getting it to stick to my inner lower lip, while the tip of the bullet makes outlining my lips somewhat difficult. (Yes, I should probably use a liner. No, I don't own a red lip liner.) There's a fair bit of transfer when I drink from a cup, though Let's Play looks decent for several hours if I don't eat; as the base shade fades, the glitter becomes more prominent. Let's Play isn't drying, but I wouldn't call it comfortable, either: I can definitely feel it on my mouth. It's also very prone to staining. I can't say my experience with Let's Play has encouraged me to try more Lippie Stix, but the shade is special enough that I can live with a waxier formula for a few hours, you know?
For yesterday's FOTD, I used two liners on my upper lashline: Urban Decay Demolition, a dark cool brown, followed by NYX Golden Bronze, an orange-toned bronze. My blush was Illamasqua Zygomatic, and my highlighter was Topshop Glow Stick in Otherworldly, a sheer white cream, topped with NYX Duo Chromatic Illuminating Powder in Twilight Tint, a white/blue duochrome. Though I've owned Twilight Tint for a few months now, I haven't quite worked out how to wear it. I use a Sonia Kashuk fan brush to apply what feels like a normal amount of product, but because my skin is so pale, the white base blends right in. So I add more. And more. And then I turn to the side and have an "I just blue myself" moment:
The highlight looked subtler from the front, at least:
I wore this FOTD for a long, humid walk around the lake near campus. It's lonely here now that my boyfriend is visiting his parents and everyone is out of town for the summer, but I retain my commitment to inappropriate glam.
Honestly, my biggest issue with Let's Play is its extreme festiveness. I've worn it exactly three times so far: on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Independence Day. I know metallic red lipstick is everywhere these days, but it's hard for me not to associate it with holidays. Do you have any advice for overcoming this brain problem? Because this lipstick is too pretty not to wear more often.
Growing up, I owned dozens of Sanrio items: sticker albums, mechanical pencils, stuffed animals, keychains—and, most '90s of all, a red Hello Kitty fanny pack that I still have at my mom's house. I remember chewing Keroppi gum and receiving a set of Pochacco nail polishes for a birthday present. I remember going to FAO Schwarz, the legendary (and now sadly closed) New York toy store, and putting a coin in a giant light-up Hello Kitty that spat out a paper fortune. In other words, there was no way I could let ColourPop's Hello Kitty collection pass me by. To my credit, I limited myself to one item: the Lippie Stix (Stick? Stik?) in Let's Play, a deep pinkish red semi-matte lipstick with red and fuchsia sparkle. Honestly, even if the product had been total shit, I would probably have paid $5 for the packaging alone (omfg the little bows all over the box and tube, I can't even). But the swatches I saw online looked great, and I figured that a metallic red would be perfect for the winter holidays. That's right, I said "holidays." #waronchristmas
Let's Play features a "satin luxe" formula that, so far as I know, has yet to show up in any other ColourPop lipstick shades. "Satin luxe" seems to mean "semi-matte with lots of shimmer," and given how popular metallic lipsticks are these days, I'm surprised ColourPop hasn't produced more colors in this formula. But they're basically churning out a new collection every week (I've long since stopped keeping track), so I'm not surprised that one or two lipstick formulas have gotten lost in the shuffle. According to my lipstick taxonomy, Let's Play sits on the cusp of shimmer, metallic, and duochrome. Up close, the individual red and fuchsia sparkles are apparent, but from a distance, there's more of a pinkish red sheen. The base color is a true blue-based red, but the shimmer pulls it closer to raspberry.
With some other coolish reds:
 |
| L-R: NARS Mysterious Red, NARS Cruella, Let's Play, Wet n Wild Missy and Fierce, ColourPop Bee's Knees (two swipes). |
Lip swatches in shade, direct sunlight, and artificial light, respectively:
Prior to Let's Play, I'd tried one other Lippie Stix: Frenchie, a bright coral red in a matte formula. I found that shade heavy, waxy, and drying, and I destashed it in short order. I'm happy to say that Let's Play has a superior formula, though the heaviness and waxiness are still present. As you can see from the lip swatches above, the formula is stiff enough that I have a hard time getting it to stick to my inner lower lip, while the tip of the bullet makes outlining my lips somewhat difficult. (Yes, I should probably use a liner. No, I don't own a red lip liner.) There's a fair bit of transfer when I drink from a cup, though Let's Play looks decent for several hours if I don't eat; as the base shade fades, the glitter becomes more prominent. Let's Play isn't drying, but I wouldn't call it comfortable, either: I can definitely feel it on my mouth. It's also very prone to staining. I can't say my experience with Let's Play has encouraged me to try more Lippie Stix, but the shade is special enough that I can live with a waxier formula for a few hours, you know?
For yesterday's FOTD, I used two liners on my upper lashline: Urban Decay Demolition, a dark cool brown, followed by NYX Golden Bronze, an orange-toned bronze. My blush was Illamasqua Zygomatic, and my highlighter was Topshop Glow Stick in Otherworldly, a sheer white cream, topped with NYX Duo Chromatic Illuminating Powder in Twilight Tint, a white/blue duochrome. Though I've owned Twilight Tint for a few months now, I haven't quite worked out how to wear it. I use a Sonia Kashuk fan brush to apply what feels like a normal amount of product, but because my skin is so pale, the white base blends right in. So I add more. And more. And then I turn to the side and have an "I just blue myself" moment:
 |
| Believe me, it looked bolder in person. My earrings are from Color Theory Shop on Etsy. |
The highlight looked subtler from the front, at least:
I wore this FOTD for a long, humid walk around the lake near campus. It's lonely here now that my boyfriend is visiting his parents and everyone is out of town for the summer, but I retain my commitment to inappropriate glam.
 |
| I was listening to Lana Del Rey, and sweating heavily. |
Honestly, my biggest issue with Let's Play is its extreme festiveness. I've worn it exactly three times so far: on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Independence Day. I know metallic red lipstick is everywhere these days, but it's hard for me not to associate it with holidays. Do you have any advice for overcoming this brain problem? Because this lipstick is too pretty not to wear more often.
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