lipstick

Nude Lipstick – Maybelline Stormy Sahara

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I tend to play up my eyes more often than my lips, so tend to stick to relatively neutral or muted lipcolors (despite my love for Kat Von D – Adora and Stila Stay All Day – Beso). Most often, I wear an, “MLBB,” or My Lips But Better shade, but sometimes I want something a little more neutral than that. Problem is, I feel like a lot of, “nude,” lipcolors match the skin too much (or, in my case, are too light!) and therefore lend themselves to a corpse-y appearance when applied.

Noooope (I hope you read that as Lana Kane from Archer. If you didn’t go back and re-read it that way.)

Maybelline has been pretty awesome with their lipstick formulations recently (if not their color names), and added some nude shades to their Color Sensational line – this new family is called The Buffs. Living on the edge again, I picked a color (sale + coupon, ha!) simply by looking at the chart under the display (where it gives you an approximation of the shade).

Maybelline Stormy SaharaI chose Maybelline Stormy Sahara

I twisted the bullet up and observed the tan hue and recall feeling skeptical. I slapped it on my face and was immediately pleased – it is nude! It is a tan-ish nude with just the faintest hint of pink – not light enough to make you look corpsey. Dark enough to make your lips still look like LIPS but not steal the show. The consistency feels creamy, and the lipstick glides on effortlessly (no stupid, annoying skips or tugging) and is a creamy-ish finish that is not super shiny – very natural. Maybelline Stormy Sahara does not have a strong smell or taste.

Lasting power is typical for this line, but I’m forgiving of lipsticks I have to reapply more often (2-4 hours) when they are neutral hues. This shade is universally appropriate – day, work (even in conservative professions/offices), night (just go crazy with the eyes!), etc. I cannot see myself going any paler with a so-called nude-lip, but I would go a bit more pink.

The Maybelline Color Sensational – The Buffs line can be found in drugstores, mass merchants, and online for $4-7ish, but frequently goes on sale and has coupons available. If you would like to see swatches of this shade, leave a comment!

Maybelline Shocking Coral

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Is, simply put, a lie. I wanted a coral because I did not own one. Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids came out with one, the I-wish-it-was-aptly-named-Shocking Coral.

Really quick – according to Wikipedia, the following are various coral colors. The latter two are what most of us think of:

corals

If we define it ourselves, most of us will say it is a light, orange-toned pink. Woo, sounds pretty! So I bought it a while ago to try because I am guilty of owning mostly MLBBs and reds.

Here’s the bottom. I’ve seen Shocking Coral as both 910 and 870; I got 870 – I’m not sure if there’s a difference, or if it is regional, or what have you:

870

Hmm. That doesn’t look too coral, but maybe it is just the sticker. Stickers have been known to mislead, after all, and that’s why we like swatches.

I’ll swatch it!

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids Shocking Coral swatch

Granted, please note that this was taken indoors with flash – but this is absolutely, positively not a coral lipstick. It is more fuschia-y both in the tube, swatched, and on my lips than anything. It isn’t that the color itself is bad; it isn’t. But it is not coral. Maybe that is what is so shocking about it – it isn’t coral! This is what caused my to learn my lesson and to find swatches first unless I was in the fortuitous position of being an early adopter (and therefore provider of said swatches).

Otherwise, the formula is nice and I would recommend the Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids line (Electric Orange is fun) – but don’t get this one if you actually want a bright, vibrant coral because this is not it. You can find them anywhere that has Maybelline, including Amazon, for between $5-7.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I’ll only tell you that something is awesome if I have verified it myself!