MAKE UP FOR EVER / ARTIST ROUGE LIPSTICKS
Up until late last week, when this box of Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks landed on my doorstep, I had almost completely written off lipstick – in its traditional form at least. You see, with the sudden reign of long-lasting liquid lipsticks, it simply seemed silly to opt for one without the lasting power. But boy was I wrong.
The Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks ($27 CAD) come as an upgrade to their former formula, the Rouge Artist Intense Lipstick – confusing, I know. But now saturated with 25 percent more pigment, they are a welcome upgrade indeed. And it was only through testing a few of the shades that I was reminded of what I was missing with liquid lipsticks; comfort. The Artist Rouge formula is ultra-rich and creamy, even when matte, and thereby add moisture to your lips rather than drying them out. The best part? They still last for hours on end; I spent a minimum of 6 hours wearing M-401 before I needed a touch-up – and there was no feathering or bleeding in sight!
The collection consists of 45 of the most flattering shades across all colour families, with either a matte or cream finish. And while the majority of shades are permanent, Make Up For Ever also teamed up with Icona Pop to release 2 limited edition Artist Rouge shades, which are featured below.
PERMANENT
Out of all 45 shades I couldn't have asked for four permanent shades more pertinent to my style. The first up is C211, a stunning rose wood lipstick that is perfect for achieving that girl next door look. It's flirty, fun, but totally appropriate. The next shade is C105, a greige beige, which simply works to even out my lip tone. Think of it as a slight upgrade to the 'my lips but better' trend if you're as pale as I. Third from the left is C506, a dark purple that I can see being the 'IT' colour for fall. And finally there's C502, a taupe violet which looks daunting at first but works wonders to transform/cool other lipsticks. I personally love to pair it on top of C211, for a custom lip colour that is the perfect balance of brown, violet and rose.
LIMITED EDITION
As I mentioned above, Make Up For Ever joined forces with electro-pop duo, Icona Pop, to launch Artist Rouge. Each artist therefore got the opportunity to create a limited edition shade that would coincide with the collection. Caroline chose a velvety matte deep red, M-401, which I would argue makes for the ideal classic red lip, while Aino chose C-603, a creamy, dark blue for all the vamps of the world, myself included. Both shades are super fun, and oddly flattering, so definitely swatch them the next time you're in Sephora.
Swatched L-R: Permanent: C105, C211, C502, C506 + Limited Edition: M401 and C603.
I would definitely recommend checking out the Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks if you, like me, are tired of the slight discomfort that comes with liquid lipsticks. I've even got my eye on a few additional shades I'll need to snag in order to complete my collection, which include C-600 and C-604 – a white and black lipstick ideal for editorial fun.
SHOP THE POST
What's your favourite Artist Rouge Lipstick shade?
Let me know in the comment section below.
[*]THE ITEMS FEATURED IN THIS POST HAVE BEEN SENT TO BRATTY B FOR PURPOSE OF REVIEW. ALL VIEWS EXPRESSED REFLECT MY OWN OPINION ON THE PRODUCT/SERVICE. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE SEE THE DISCLAIMER FOUND IN THE ABOUT ME SECTION.