New Buxom Big & Sexy Bold Gel Lipstick "Graphic Grape", "Coral Confession", "Red Inferno" ::: Review and Swatches!!!

Look for swatches at the very end... :-)

Buxom Cosmetics recently released a new range of permanent lipsticks called “Big & Sexy Bold Gel” Lipsticks. There are a total of 30 shades in matte and satin finishes! I reviewed “Classified Crimson”, “Ultraviolet”,  “Evocative Petal” here. But, I did not realize that I ordered all matte shades! As I wanted to share my view on full range of products I placed another order with 2 satins. In my previous post, I have shared a bit about Buxom Cosmetics. It is exclusively available at Sephora. I have been quite happy with the shades mentioned above but these three were not that impressive!! 

Packaging of these are beautiful. It’s one of the broader tubes with magnetic closure! Fancy and functional! The shade names are at the bottom in coordinated color label so that’s helpful. The tube material itself is satin or matte corresponding to the formula. I love the packaging, except that it needs bigger slots than found in a normal lipstick holder. You can find these at a retail price of $22 for 0.09 oz. of products in Sephora. Let’s just dive into the colors.

Graphic Grape (satin): I don’t have a lot of purple lipshades. So, I may not be 100% correct when I say that this is very unique purple. But it is definitely unique in my vanity. It’s a deep purple+plum vampy shade! One of the reason I don’t like vampy shades on me, but this one has just the right mixture of vampy-ness and brightness so that I can wear it without being uncomfortable. However, the staying power is weak, lasts only for around 4-4.30 hrs. It was smooth to apply and I was able to get an even application in just one swipe. I love this shade and formula was good too; but I recently picked up “After Dark” Matte Revolution lipstick from Urban Decay. It is similar type of color and I think I am going to favor “After Dark” a bit more. So I might be returning this. But overall, other than relatively weak staying power, I really like this particular shade.

Coral Confession (satin): Being a medium olive skin tone, I find it easier to wear corals. But off late, I am not having much luck! Venezia (bright poppy coral) liquid lipstick from Stila was a disappointment and now this one! This is a very pale faint coral, so I can see it to be more flattering on fair and lighter skin tone. But if you have a deeper skin tone, I don’t think it will be suitable. I understand that every shade is not meant to suit everyone. But my main concern is the formula! It’s a satin finish but it was very patchy and uneven on application; it was difficult to apply and get a good opaque look even after 2-3 layers. I tried a few times on exfoliated and moisturized lips but I could not get an even layer of application any one time! I hoped for it to be a “My Lips But Better” color on my skin tone, but formula utterly disappointed me. I have already returned it. 

Inferno Red (matte): Red lipsticks are very hard for me to pass up on. The red shade I reviewed earlier – “Classified Crimson” had a hint of coral warmth and I wanted a neutral deep red. “Red Inferno” looked very interesting. But it actually has a pink undertone which is not my favorite when it comes to red lipsticks. Also, upon application on the lips, it was difficult to distinguish between this and “Classified Crimson”. So I returned it. But it was smooth, even on application and easy to wear. And even if it wears out a after 4-5 hrs, the stain left behind is really beautiful. If this is your kind of red, you might want to pick this up. 

Here is a quick look at all the 6 shades I tried! Check out the other shades here!As you can see, this was not a very pleasant review for me to write. But apart from “Coral Confession” formula wise rest of them were good! My biggest concern is their staying power. For a lipstick worth $22, its wear-time is low. Also after playing with these for a month, I have a confession to make! I am not really a big fan of the lipstick bullet shape. The curve makes it very easy to apply on the upper lip but for lower lips it not really comfortable to work with. I am still happy with the colors I chose the first time! But unfortunately these new three shades most likely will not find a place in my vanity.  … 

This was my first blogpost covering these many shades of a new release... I hope it was helpful :-)

Love,

~Arrru

New Buxom Big & Sexy Bold Gel Lipstick "Evocative Petal", "Ultraviolet", "Classified Crimson" ::: Review and Swatches!!!

Off late, I have been having a lot of fun trying BRAND NEW products and limited edition goodies! There is a certain kind of exhilaration in reviewing a product that is not written about in hundreds of blog just yet :-) I am not sure how long this phase will last but for now this is very exciting!

Today I am reviewing the new “Big & Sexy Bold Gel Lipsticks” from Buxom Cosmetics! This is a “permanent” line of 30 very beautiful shades of lipsticks in matte and satin formulas! Every single shade in this range appears really alluring! These were exclusively available for VIB and VIB Rouge in Sephora but it looks like now it’s accessible to everyone!

Buxom Cosmetics and Bare Minerals are both owned by Bare Escentuals; an SFO based company. The products, packaging and promotion strategies from Buxom (makes me feel)/(give me the feeling) that it’s a modern, bold and edgy “no-nonsense” company. They don’t have hundred different products but the few ones I have tried has installed my belief in the company. Their lip formulas are very famous and recently launched eyeshadows has been very well accepted as well.

I picked up 3 colors; for now! A true red - my favorite lip color to wear, an everyday shade and a purple - to branch out of my comfort zone. :-) The packaging is beautiful. It’s one of the broader tubes; sturdy with magnetic closure! Fancy and functional! The shade names are at the bottom in coordinating colored label so that’s helpful. The tube material itself is satin or matte corresponding to the formula- I think that’s very cool! If you love Kat Von D type edgy packaging you will love this. For me, this is the right amount of edginess in packaging :-) ;-) Also, you might need lipstick holders with bigger slots as they don’t fit in my standard 24-lipstick holder from byAlegory.

For 0.09 Oz. of product this lipstick will cost you $22. That is expensive! They are formulated without parabens and are cruelty free! After trying them for a week or two now, I do believe there are similar if not better lipsticks in the market at less or similar price. But, I am not repenting the purchase as I am liking their performance. I realized that I only got matte shades, so I placed another order so that I can offer you more expansive information on the product a few days later.  

They have very smooth formula for a matte lipstick! Applies on uniformily & opaque in one swipe and are very comfortable! They are very light and feathery on the lips! And unlike some other creamy mattes, these actually appear matte on your lips! I love that! I have been wearing “Evocative Petal” a lot and I only have to apply my lip balm once in my 12-hr work day!! However, I am disappointed in the staying power. For the price I am paying I would have hoped a little more wear time specially when I compare this with Bite Beauty products. They have decent stay for only about 4-5 hours! But they do stain beautifully once the initial pigmentation wears off; it’s such an even and beautiful stain! Especially with “Evocative petal”! Apart from the slightly disappointing staying power, I am a total fan of the matte formula! Here are the shades:

Evocative  Petal: I don’t wear a whole lot of nude shades, but I got this thinking that it will be a beautiful “My Lips But Better” shade for me to wear to work! But it turned out to be a little deeper than I expected. Buxom describes it as matte deep rose and it is exactly that. I generally wear my makeup at around 7 am and it starts to fade around 11 am -12 pm. But like I said, the stain is beautiful, even and comfortably light. I started to feel a tid bit of dryness around 2 pm. The color was completely gone by 4.50 pm but I cannot get over how beautiful the stain looks. I did not think that I would like it but now this shade has become one of the few maintenance free lipsticks I wear to work.

Ultraviolet: This is such a pretty color. So feminine, soft and yet a strong statement lip shade. I never pick violets to try, but I just could not shy away from this color! It is described as a bright violet but it is not as bright as I was expecting which actually worked out better for me. I can see a cooler under tone in it, but not very much. I was afraid to try this but if done properly it is a wearable color. I can see paler beauties rocking this color. This one lasted the least on me.  

            

Classified Crimson: Described as a true red. It may appear a little bit brighter depending on the lighting. I am no expert in dupes, but it is comparable to Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick-Kate Moss Collection in 01. It is a beautiful red.  Sometimes it may transfer to your teeth, so you have to be little careful. If you are looking for a comfortable red, this might be it. It is not drying and there is no bleeding; it wore for 4-5 hrs. and left behind a gorgeous brightening even red stain. I have a few red in my stash; none of them looks this pretty after it wears off.

Overall, all of these have the same creaminess and opacity in the formula! I love a line where the formula is uniform throughout the whole range of shades. I am really looking forward to try the satins when my next order arrives :-) For the price, I was expecting a better staying power but overall I am satisfied!. Look out for my second review on the satins… I will talk about Graphic Grape, Red Inferno and Coral Confession!

Have you tried any of these? What’s your favorite shade?

Love,

~Arrru