The Beauty Capsule 04 - Read My Lips

I'm going to be honest, I've always been a bit of a lipstick hoarder. I used to have about 5 of  nearly the same berry shade lipsticks in my makeup bag. And if I liked a lipstick at all, I would hang onto it just in case the perfect occasion arose. However, I usually found myself reaching for three or four specific lipsticks, and that was how I was able to cut down. I also curbed my habit of buying a new lipstick every time I went to Target...that helped a lot. ;) I also discarded all of the ineffective chapsticks I'd been hanging on to until all I had left were my two trusty Burt's Bees chapsticks (seriously, so good. I will never buy another brand of chapstick again.).

So, without further ado, here are the five lipsticks in my beauty capsule:


Berry Tones: 1 & 2


I love a good berry lip! I think they're so flattering on just about everyone, and darker shades are gorgeous for the fall and winter months. The two lipsticks I reach for most often are NYX's Violet Ray, a beautiful, dark purple-red, and Kat Von D's Prayer, which is a brighter, more  red, berry tone (and it has the best packaging!). Incidentally, Prayer is the shade I wore on my wedding day, after hunting and hunting for the perfect berry shade! I love both of these, though I must say, I think I prefer the NYX formula--it glides on so creamy, and it's not drying at all. It wears really well and it's easy to touch up as needed throughout the day. On the other hand, the Kat Von D one is an amazing color and I love it, but it does not wear as well, and I find it more difficult to touch up.


Reds: 2 & 3


I have always had such difficulty finding the perfect red lipstick. Every one I picked up prior to these two had two much pink or orange, or simply didn't flatter my skin tone. These two, however, are my favorites of all the ones I have tried. The first one is Julep's Lady in Red, which I picked up because it claimed to flatter all skin tones. And I'm pretty sure that's true! I love the shade (and the formula is great too!) and so does my friend, whose skin tone is much darker than mine. The other one is actually from Forever 21, their Love and Beauty line. I didn't expect much from a $2 lipstick, but it is so good! It's matte, and takes a few swipes to build up the color, but it is such a lovely deep red, and it wears really well. It's one of the few lipsticks I can kiss my husband with without worrying about it all coming off! (This lipstick doesn't seem to be available anymore, but my sister just gifted me Nars' Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella, and it's really similar to this one as far as shade goes. If you're looking for something similar, I would definitely recommend it!)


Nude: 5


You guys, NYX's Thalia is my favorite nude lipstick ever. And I guess it's because it's more of a dusty rose shade, but it is just so pretty and universally flattering. I never liked wearing nude shades because I felt they washed me out, but this one just gives a subtle something to your lips. I gifted this one to my bridesmaids, and they all loved it too! Seriously, NYX has some of the best lipsticks, and they're really affordable.

So there you have it, my favorite lipsticks. What are some of your favorite lip products?



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