L'Oreal pro matte gloss #316 statement nude - review & lip swatches

Let's start out with what I thought I was buying - a longwear gloss formula with no shimmer. It turns out that "matte gloss" doesn't mean what I thought it meant! The L'Oreal pro matte gloss is a demi matte liquid lipstick formula and is not at all glossy and not really long wearing. I bought mine from Ulta in shade #316, statement nude.


Lip swatches and my thoughts on the formula below:

Liquid lipstick mega price per ounce cost comparison

With all the new liquid lipsticks coming out on the market, I thought it would be helpful to put together a mega price per ounce comparison. It can be hard to figure out which product is a good deal or more expensive than other formulas, so I made a cheat sheet to help you shop.

In this post, I have 27 liquid lipsticks available on the market today with data from Sephora, Ulta, and brands' websites. For each lipstick, I have the full name, retail price in USD, ounces of product in the tube, and the price per ounce, sorted alphabetically by brand. Using price per ounce (PPO) lets us compare apples to apples and find out which liquid lipsticks are a good deal and which ones are more expensive.

Sephora vs. Ulta 2015 birthday gift comparison

I have had the Sephora and Ulta free 2015 makeup gifts for a little while now, so I thought I would do a comparison smackdown post. The 2015 Sephora gift is two NARS lip pencils - Cruella (velvet) and Rikugien (satin).  The 2015 January, February, & March Ulta gift is an Ulta store brand complete eye palette in Indie.

So which one is better? 

 Left: Sephora 2015 birthday gift, Right: Ulta 2015 birthday gift

Sephora birthday gift 2015: NARS Rikugien & Cruella

Sephora's 2015 free birthday gift for Beauty Insiders is a NARS lip pencil pairing - Rikugien and Cruella. NARS satin lip pencil in Rikugien is described as a "rose pink"and contains pearl. Cruella, a velvet matte lip pencil, is described as a "scarlet red." I was really excited to receive my birthday gift - NARS lip pencils are cult products and I have never tried the formula before.

Sephora Beauty Insider 2015 birthday gift


Happy birthday to me!

5 Disappointing Products - Recent Makeup Fails

I love reading about other people's disappointing makeup products, especially when the item in question is on my wishlist. The 5 makeup items below were total fails for me, but they might work for you just fine. I bought this all myself and I wish I hadn't.

Let's get started, shall we?

Is it a dupe? NYX Butter Lipstick in Pops vs. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rush

My most worn lipsticks are my lips but better (MLBB) shades because they even out my lips while adding natural color. I love mid tone rosy pinks with a hint of mauve- anyone else buy the same color again and again? When I added NYX's Butter Lipstick in Pops to my collection, I realized it was similar to my beloved Urban Decay Revolution lipstick in Rush.