Hey everyone! It's been a hot minute since I last blogged but I was bogged down with 3 midterms. Now that that nightmare is over, I've had time to recuperate and catch up on my sleep :D My sleep routine is not regular just yet but I'm just glad to not be a walking zombie everywhere. Anyhoo, I have the Rimmel London Provocalips up for discussion today! These have been out for such a long time but I couldn't find swatches for some of them so I thought I'd speak my two cents as well. Keep on reading for the deets and swatches!
If you're looking for an affordable, comfortable, and long-wearing lip product, then look no further than the Rimmel London Provocalips. Available in 10 shades, the range encompasses the neutral, everyday hues to bold and vampy shades. I picked up four: 120 Pucker Up, 130 I'll Call You, 730 Make Your Move, and 750 Heartbreaker.
These dual ended liquid lipsticks give me pause. The first one I tried was by L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail Lip Color Compact (anyone remember those???) and it was drying as eff. Even the balm side didn't do much to rectify the Saharan dryness that was my lips. It made my lips worse off than when I applied it--not what I expect my lip products to do. Years later, I gave these Rimmel London Provocalips a try after several rave reviews from British bloggers and I'm so glad I did! One end contains the color and the other houses a thick, waxy balm. Upon initial application, the liquid color is quite glossy but give it 2 minutes to dry to a matte finish. Once it dries, there is no transfer or bunching. I like to smile in an awkwardly wide smile to stretch my lips so that color doesn't bunch in my lip lines--seems to work fine for me. The color is so pigmented that it completely covers my natural lip color. My lips get quite dry so I can't wear them as is; the balm side is a must for me. It does add a bit of a sheen to the color but it's not glossy or shiny. Even though it's a bit thick, it doesn't sit on the lips uncomfortably for me. The balm lasts about 5 hours on me without eating or drinking.
The applicator on these is the standard, doe foot wand. My issue is that there is too much product on the doe foot, resulting in me overapplying and the product getting outside of my lip lines. While I don't have the biggest lips out there, they aren't on the small side either so thinner lipped peeps should wipe the applicator down first. Another point of contention for me is that it leaks! So far, only Heartbreaker and Make Your Move have done so but I'd be cautious about letting them roam free in your purse. It's not a dealbreaker for me but if I'm carrying a smaller purse, I'd make sure to put them in a Ziploc bag or something.
When it comes to my makeup philosophy, the longer lasting it is, the better. I'm a "live in the moment" kind of girl so touching up my makeup is the last thing on my mind. When I come home at the end of the day, I'm always surprised at how wrecked I look, vowing to touch up more tomorrow...but I never do, haha. The big claim here is that they last up to 16 hours and while there are some technicalities, these lippies fit right into my "never look back" lifestyle! I'm a big fan of fried chicken and we all know how messy and greasy that can get. I wore I'll Call You, a magenta, on this eating excursion and after several drumsticks, the color remained intact except for a little wear in my very inner lips. I could've gone without a touch up but I did just to see how the product would layer. I'm happy to report that it did not bunch or get gloopy! As the day went on, I didn't have to reapply the color, just the balmy side.
I've heard the removal process is a bit of a pain but my waterproof eye makeup remover on a cotton bud removes everything for me. I've also used my trusty cleansing oil and that is effective as well.
Moving onto describing the colors, Pucker Up is a sheer, shimmery pink tint. As you can see, much of my own lip color shows through. This color reminds me of NARS Orgasm Lip Gloss but a longer wearing one. Removing the glitters left behind is a pain in the butt but if you like shimmery glosses, this one is a great option as the glitters aren't gritty. I found this one the least drying out of the four as I didn't feel compelled to use the balm side. I'll Call You is a muted magenta that I love for everyday brights that don't blind passersby. This one is my favorite as I brought it with me on vacation :D This one is the only one that doesn't contain shimmer. Make Your Move is a subtle terra cotta color with subtle shimmer that I like wearing for natural days. The bottle looks more brown than the actual color on my lips. I found this to be the most sticky. Marsala is the Pantone Color of the Year and this would be a good baby step in that direction if marsala is a bit too deep for you. Lastly, Heartbreaker is a rusty red color that did break my heart. The color doesn't match the outer packaging and while this isn't a bad color, brown toned colors clash with the yellow tones in my skin. The barely noticeable shimmer makes your lips look fuller and I'm all for fuller looking lips! It was also the first one to leak all over my makeup bag and clean up was a pain >_<
Do y'all like this style of swatching or would you rather have larger, single photos of each shade? Are the photos too small?
And now, I provide some "dupes". Surprisingly, I found several for Make Your Move--I must really like this color, haha.
- Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle -- sheer, balmy version
- Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Rose Velvet -- lipstick version
- Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.NG. Lipstick in Stoned Rose -- no swatches but is very similar to Revlon Rose Velvet
- MUFE Rouge Artist Natural in N9 Copper Pink -- shiny, lipstick version
- Laura Geller Color Drenched Lip Gloss in Raspberry Roast -- lip gloss version
- Revlon Just Kissable Balm Stain in Adore -- sheer, balm version
THE BOTTOM LINE
I highly recommend the Rimmel London Provocalips! Depending on where you get them, they retail for $4.99usd to $10.49usd, making these quite affordable. They are comfortable and long-lasting with a great price. I'm thinking about going back to grab two more, in Play with Fire and Little Minx, but I'll wait for summer or something. As far as I know, these aren't limited edition but I haven't been seeing them at my local Walgreens anymore :( I bought mine in store at CVS a while ago--check there if you want to see the colors in person.
So that's all the dupes I found in my collection. I hope you find this helpful and come back in a bit for more lippie posts! Until the next one, see ya soon!
These sound and look so much like MUFE Aqua Rouge! Except the MUFE one doesn't leak, lol! Hey but for the price, and to last through several drumsticks? Sign me up please! They seem to make your lip look so plump and full, too! <3
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, they do sound similar! Sadly, the glossy finish doesn't last as it dries down matte but they do make my lips look plump xD
ReplyDeleteThat's my thing with doe foot applicators, too. Esp for matte liquid lipsticks. Usually I take off the excess at the back of my hand and when I need more, I take more from the 'excess'.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a pet peeve of mine...I wouldn't recommend putting these on the back of your hand though as they leave an unbudgeable stain -_-" Forgivable because I haven't come across something this long wearing at an affordable price so far :D
ReplyDelete