Best Lipstick Formulas 2019

Into the Gloss has been one of my daily reads for at least four years, but I'll be honest: I've never loved it wholeheartedly. In fact, it's probably that frisson of irritation that keeps me coming back day after day. Where else can you find an endless string of naturally stunning women claiming that they're "super low-maintenance" and "don't wear much makeup"? Or Shailene Woodley explaining that "clay is great for you because your body doesn’t absorb it, and it apparently provides a negative charge, so it bonds to negative isotopes"? Or the obviously wealthy owner of an LA juice bar attributing its beginning to "God's grace" and not, you know, money? Or a French jewelry designer praising '70s-influenced makeup and adding in the next breath that eyeshadow is "so outdated" and shine on the lips is "not chic"? '70s Maybelline lady says what's up: But for every article on "toxins...

Welcome to my second low-buy progress report for 2016! I used up a few things this month and needed to buy replacements, but I did a much better job of staying under my $40 limit for brand-new items. Oh, and I've added two new categories to this series of posts. In addition to chronicling my new purchases every month, I'm going to record the makeup I destash and the items I'm thinking of buying in the near-ish future. Without further ado: New makeup/polish: ColourPop Super Shock Shadows in Shop (top) and Eye Candy: $5 each ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip in Trap: $6 ColourPop Super Shock Cheek in Rain: $8 Zoya Kristen: $9 Total: $33 I'm pretty happy with everything I bought this month! At the beginning of the month, I made a ColourPop order. CP has come under fire for their deceptively bulky packaging, but I'd rather pay $5 for a deluxe-sample size of a crazy eyeshadow color than $20 for a large size. My surprise favorites from my haul are Shop, an almost-matte coral eyes...

After reviewing Revlon's newish Matte Balm in Fierce, I realized that I hadn't yet seen a comprehensive roundup of the recent changes to the popular Balm Stain, Lacquer Balm, and Matte Balm lines. So I returned to my local CVS today to do some reconnaissance, and here's what I discovered: Revlon is now referring to its Colorburst Balm Stains, Lacquer Balms, and Matte Balms as the "Revlon Crayon Collection." Instead of being separated by finish, the three lipstick ranges are all jumbled together on the shelf and arranged roughly by color instead. There are now ten Matte Balms, eight Balm Stains, and just four Lacquer Balms. That "new shades" boast is hilariously misleading —far more shades have been discontinued than added, and the new additions are all in the Matte Balm line. The current lineup of nudes and pinks (again, these are the Balm Stains, Lacquer Balms, and Matte Balms): L-R: Enchanting, Demure, Elusive, Honey, Cherish, Sweetheart, Showy. The ...

I kept reasonably good tabs on new makeup releases last fall (self-destructively good tabs, even), but there were a few that escaped my notice. One new development was the addition of four shades to Revlon's line of Colorburst Matte Balms. The new colors are Enchanting, a pinkish beige; Fierce, a warm cinnamon brown; Fiery, a reddish berry; and Passionate, a purplish berry. The new additions make sense to me, since the Matte Balm line has always been short on neutral shades, but Revlon also discontinued a few colors to make room for the new ones. Dark purple Shameless and bright orange Audacious are missing from the website , and I've heard that pastel orange Mischievous is gone too, along with a few of the Lacquer Balms (my beloved Coy is safe for now). Though I much prefer brown and berry lipstick to orange, it's always bittersweet to see color trends change. Remember when orange and coral were the trendy lipstick colors? When I first started paying attention to makeup...

By ordering Eugenie, a matte plum lipstick from the six-piece MAC x Giambattista Valli collection, I broke four of my cardinal makeup-buying rules: No limited-edition makeup, and especially no limited-edition products from MAC No makeup that I haven't seen in person first No makeup that isn't certified cruelty-free No near-dupes of anything I already have  Now, you may protest — and rightly so — that I've broken all of these rules since starting my blog. Fair enough, but it's rare that I break all of them at once for a single product. So what was it about Eugenie that compelled me to make my first MAC purchase in two years? Well, I mean, look at it. The Giambattista Valli collection comprises five bold matte lipsticks—peach, white-pink, fuchsia, red, and plum—and one sparkly clear gloss in a pot. Each item is named after a woman dear to Valli; Eugenie's namesake is the Greek shipping heiress Eugenie Niarchos. The name means something very different to me: my underg...