Ramblings
Diary of a Mad Drugstore Cosmetics Junkie

Last modified:

04/20/01

One thing I enjoy reading, beauty board wise, is what has come to be called (on LP anyway) "ramblings"...I don't remember who came up with the term, it just seemed to evolve. Ramblings are a type of stream-of-consciousness writing about beauty. Makeup junkies, after all, think a great deal about it.

This odd rambling has to do with makeup minimalism vs. simply idiot-proofing your stash.

Makeup minimalism, to me, can be defined through Dain Minimalism...you analyze your "stash" and conclude that all you'll need are, say, one red lipstick, one pink-brown lipstick, and one plum lipstick, and then you obsess about finding *the* red, pink-brown, and plum lipsticks. Idiot-proofing your stash can be defined as Josephine Idiot-Proofing: it doesn't bother you to own 6 red lipsticks, 3 pink-browns, and 2 plums, as long as you like and wear them all.

It is possible to adhere to both beliefs. I am a Josephine Idiot-Proofer as far as lipsticks are concerned. However, I am a Dain Minimalist when it comes to eye makeup.

Currently I own 21 lipsticks. There are a few on my wish list, and I expect to not repurchase some when they go bad, so that number will likely be constant. Before I go into stash specifics, here is a quick rundown of my drugstore lipstick findings:

Amazing Lasting lipsticks--a short shelf life--one year or less. Overall, mediocre colors. They are dry, though not as arid as L'Oreal Colour Endures.
Fave shade: the pink-brown shimmer "Sandy."
Shades I remember: "Minx" (intense red-brown, rather eh), "Nude" (not bad, a sort of mauvey nude).
Shades I always intended to try: n/a.
Scent/taste: none.
Would I buy any more of these?: no.

Antichap lipsticks--like the Amazing Lastings, these are cursed with a short shelf life and the colors overall tend to the mediocre. The antichap formula is, as advertised, wonderfully anti-flaky though. It's a shame they don't keep better.
Fave shade: the dramatic dark matte red-brown, "Toasty."
Shades I remember: "Blushing"--a neutral pink-brown, nothing spectacular imo. "Glow"--a tad light, pink shimmer with a touch of peach. "Bliss"--matte berry shade.
Shades I always intended to try: "Tan"--someone rec'd this on LP as a sort of neutral brown with shimmer. "Sugar," I forget the color description, I think it was a pink-brown.
Scent/taste: none, but they are mentholated.
Would I buy any more of these?: maybe, but I'd prefer sample sizes!

One Coat lipsticks--some good colors, but next to no staying power. I "frankened" my "Sequin" with beeswax lip balm in order to make it last longer on.
Fave shade: "Sequin," a natural rose-brown shimmer.
Shades I remember: "Flutter," rather nice brown-pink shimmer, "Rosewood," pink-brown creme--too brown on me, "Fig," just a tad too brown on me, but I think it would be great for a brunette--it's red-brown..."Romance," one of my first real lipsticks that I liked, but hard to describe, it's one of those your-lips-but-better, but the staying power is barely an hour! "Mauve," as you would expect...imo, L'Oreal "Tendre Mauve" is a much better color, the AOC "Mauve" is too purple. "Plum"--deep plum, but too purple on me (my plums have to have more brown).
Shades I always intended to try: hmmm..."Brandy," maybe, or "Pinkcopper."
Scent/taste: none.
Would I buy any more of these?: maybe.

Continuous Color Sheer lipsticks: Dang, a disappointment...they have the loveliest formula--sheer, long-lasting, moisturizing, no scent/taste. But the colors I tried lacked complexity.
Fave shade: n/a.
Shades I remember: "Sheer Rubies," sheer red. "Sheer Wine"(?)--it was one of three in a tiny tries pack. Totally fuchsia. "Wineberry Sheer" was better, but still lacked complexity, it could use a dash of brown. "Sheer Spice" was OK but nothing to scream about. I also tried an orange one but I can't recall the name. I think it was "Orange Glow."
Shades I always intended to try: n/a.
Scent/taste: none.
Would I buy any more of these?: no.

LipSlicks lipsticks: Actually I like these: they last long, they're truly gloss-in-a-stick, they're reasonably priced and you get a lot of product in the tube. What galls me though is that they put this weird flavor in there.
Fave shade: "A Lot of Shine"--clear gloss without the hassle of putting on gloss.
Shades I remember: "A Hint of Pink"...ehhh..."A Hint of Shimmering Sandstone"--I recall this as being horribly shimmery, but I was young when I bought it.
Shades I always intended to try: n/a.
Scent/taste: a really crappy scent/taste.
Would I buy any more of these?: sure, if they remove that scent/taste.

Hempstiks lipsticks--my sole venture into ze expensive lipsticks ($12 a pop). These are available at health food stores. Their texture is somewhat dry, despite claims of the moisturizing qualities of hempseed oil, but the reds really rock.
Fave shade: "Red Zin"--my Holy Grail red. "Paprika"--nice orange-red-brown creme. "Black Cherry"--dark red.
Shades I remember: n/a...too $$ to try too many.
Shades I always intended to try: not sure, hoping to find a berry shade in there.
Scent/taste: none.
Would I buy any more of these?: I might.

Barely Lips lipsticks--some superb colors, but wildly differing staying powers.
Fave shade: "Rosy Outlook"--only the queen of elegant pink-red-brown cremes. Good staying power. "Bareberry," a wearable plum-brown. "Bye Bye Brown," a dark red. "Hardly Honey"--perfect for summer, pinky-nude shimmer.
Shades I remember:"Partly Peach"--terrible staying power, interesting color--deep rose with peachy notes. "Out of Apricot"--out of question--lasts less than an hour on, nice pinky nude color though.
Shades I always intended to try: "Berry Pretty"? "Decaf Espresso"? "Rosebarely"?
Scent/taste: none.
Would I buy any more of these?: yup.

Liphuggers lipsticks--embarrassingly, I've tried many of these. Like the Barely Lips, some of the best colors, but extreme differences in formulae.
Fave shade: "Loco Cocoa"--rose pink shimmer with peach and plum notes, some red, muted with brown...it's really dry though, be forewarned. Wear over lip balm or else melt it down with lip balm. "Kind of Carob"--intense pink-brown matte. "Penny Lane"--I think it's been discontinued--deep plum with bronze shimmer. "Cinnamon Stick"--lovely pink-red shimmer, zippo staying power.
Shades I remember:"Kiss of Caramel"--this never worked for me, somehow it was always too much...very shimmery pink-red-golden. I plan on doing some mad science with mine. "Nuts About You"--intense orange-brown matte. Might work for a redhead. "Fired Up"--discontinued? It's an almost pure orange shimmer. "Haywire"--almost pure medium brown creme. "Really Russet" = really fuchsia.
Shades I always intended to try: waiting for new Liphuggers.
Scent/taste: none.
Would I buy any more of these?: yup.

Colour Riche lipsticks, old formula: I haven't tried the "new" (gold tube) formula yet, here's why...what bugs me about L'Oreal lipsticks is that they don't have much of a shelf life. I am a lipstick junkie, so it does take me more than a year to use up a lippy. The colors are overall excellent, but for mere excellent colors I can buy Jane and get longer-keeping lippies.
Fave shade: "Cafe Ole," lovely pink-brown (not much staying power, but worth frankening).
Shades I remember: "Sandstone"...not bad, shimmery red-brown. "Mica," a tad too cool on me, shimmery plum. "Nature's Blush," a neutral plum-brown creme. "Tawny," pink-brown creme (this seemed to fade very rapidly on me though).
Shades I always intended to try: n/a.
Scent/taste: the trademark L'Oreal fruity fragrance.
Would I buy any more of these?: I might...but, unless they've made these longer-keeping, I'd prefer sample sizes.

Hydrasoft lipsticks: What's good: lovely colors, great antichap formula. What's bad: overpriced, plus they go bad...dramatically...suddenly that great color turns into a hideous shade, while the lipstick still smells and otherwise appears normal.
Fave shade: "Hampton Rose"...nice slightly shimmery rose-pink.
Shades I remember: "Wine Escapade"...this was the perfect wine until it morphed into a dreadful purple. "Rosewater"...again, a decent muted pink-red until...gak! "Ruby Repose"...a tad fuchsia on me, disappointingly.
Shades I always intended to try: dunno, they all look good.
Scent/taste: the trademark L'Oreal fruity fragrance.
Would I buy any more of these?: maybe a sample size?

Rouge Pulp lipglosses: I had one of these, "Exposed," and though the color was a sexy pinky-nude shimmer, I somehow never wore it. I just didn't care for the formula...but I should say that I don't wear lipgloss generally. (BTW I found a look-alike in Jane Barely Lips "Hardly Honey.")
Fave shade: "Exposed."
Shades I remember: n/a.
Shades I always intended to try: n/a.
Scent/taste: yup, that trademark L'Oreal fruity fragrance.
Would I buy any more of these?: no.

Rouge Virtuale lipsticks: same gripes as the Colour Riches...short shelf life, somewhat overpriced. But some kickin' colors.
Fave shade: "Tendre Mauve."
Shades I remember: "Matte Terra Cotta"--just as it sounds. Made one of my first wearable reds with this and Max Factor "Reel Red." "Fresco"--light brown creme. "Real Raisin"--nice wine-red-brown creme, a tad too brown for me.
Shades I always intended to try: "Sangria."
Scent/taste: the trademark L'Oreal fruity fragrance.
Would I buy any more of these?: see comments for Colour Riches, above.

Moisture Whips --as advertised, extremely moisturizing--my favorite summer lipstick formula. Some excellent colors.
Fave shade: "Nude Beach" (discontinued).
Shades I remember: "Spice"--this was just a tad too dark on me, again I think it's a brunette's shade. It's a sort of pink-mauve-brown neutral creme. "Pink Topaz"--not bad, but too dramatic on me, it's very shimmery pink-brown. "Sugared Bronze"--again too shimmery and brown on me (replaced with Clinique "Glow Bronze"). "Mocha Ice"--a light brown shimmer too brown on me, but excellent for mad science. "Killer Crush"--melted a slice of this with the "Mocha Ice" to make a really cool frankenlippy. On its own, this was almost fuchsia on me. "Rum Raisin," pink-brown tending toward the fuchsia. "Tasseled Taupe," really very taupe, too much on me. "Love Spells," screamin' fuchsia on me.
Shades I always intended to try: n/a.
Scent/taste: slight.
Would I buy any more of these?: oh absolutely.

Wear and Go lipsticks--hmmm...I have one of these, "Go Cinnamon," which is a cool dark red. It does, as advertised, last all day with zero bleeding and next to no fading. But it is a tad dry and the color was too much on me, even over lip balm. I melted it down with some lip balm...which made it sheerer and moister. It still lasts quite long though not as long as before.
Fave shade: "Go Cinnamon."
Shades I remember: n/a.
Shades I always intended to try: one of the pinks.
Scent/taste: none.
Would I buy any more of these?: yes.

MoistureStay lipsticks. The regular MoistureStays have a lot of pigment in them. The sheers are indeed sheer. The bugaboo: they go bad fairly quickly, one year or less.
Fave shade: Sheer: "Sheer Fig"...pinky-plummy-brown. Regular: "Caramel," this is great actually but it was a tad too brown for me (perfect for a brunette).
Shades I remember: "Winey"--fuchsia. Dang, I know I had a pink one...it was too much color, almost fuchsia. "Crimson"--fuchsia.
Shades I always intended to try: there were a few... "Fawn" ... "Cinnamon" ...more of the sheers.
Scent/taste: none, but they are mentholated.
Would I buy any more of these?: I might.

Super Lustrous/Moon Drops lipsticks. I'm putting these together because they're similar...the Super Lustrous have been de-fragranced, I don't know about the Moon Drops. The Moon Drops are super moisturizing.
Fave shade: Super Lustrous "Dune Rose," shimmery rose-red with a touch of brown.
Shades I remember: Moon Drops "Nude Shimmer"...hmmm...more of a shimmery red-brown-nude. "Gold Dipped Rose"--a bit in-your-face shimmery pink. Super Lustrous "Deeply Chili"--this fuchsia'd on me. Ditto another SL Chili...I'm trying to remember the name...not the swirly one. Yes! "Hot Chili."
Shades I always intended to try: "Rum Raisin" or "Raisin Rage."
Scent/taste: the Super Lustrous have none, I'm not sure about the Moon Drops.
Would I buy any more of these?: quite possibly.

Naaaowww, hopefully that narrows down some of the harrowing lipstick-buying experience. :)

Here is my current stash:

1. Almay One Coat "Sequin"
2. Clinique "Glow Bronze"
3. Black Opal "Barely Mocha"
4. Hemp Colors "Black Cherry"
5. Hemp Colors "Paprika"
6. Hemp Colors "Red Zin"
7. Jane "Bareberry"
8. Jane "Bye Bye Brown"
9. Jane "Cinnamon Stick"
10. Jane "Hardly Honey"
11. Jane "Kind of Carob"
12. Jane "Loco Cocoa"
13. Jane "Penny Lane"
14. Jane "Rosy Outlook"
15. Josephine "Christina"
16. Laura Mercier "Discretion"
17. Maybelline "Go Cinnamon"
18. Maybelline "Nude Beach" (discontinued)
19. Maybelline "Sheer Rose" (limited edition)
20. Presciptives "Berrybrown Suede"
21. Revlon "Dune Rose"
22. Terra Tints "Blaze"

Eye Zings eyeshadows. Interesting shades, some very good. Wildly differing staying powers.
Fave shade: "Smart Cookie"--a good bronze. "Rising Sun" (discontinued).
Shades I remember: Wow...I went through a lot of Jane shadows. I put the color descriptions in the Makeup Science/Jane color descriptions section so I won't bore you repeating them here.
Shades I always intended to try: geez, I think I got them all.
Would I buy any more of these?: possibly.

Soft Effects eyeshadows.
Fave shade: "Earthen"--dark bronze.
Shades I remember: I tried some of the quads in the giddy early days of eyeshadow exploration...the "Terre Peach" quad (too shimmery), the "Wood Rose" quad (not bad). "Rose Petals" duo is nice. Replaced "Sable" and "Sand" with Sonia Kashuk "Barley" and "Whisper." "Azure"...green shadows don't look good on me.
Shades I always intended to try: the duo with a lavender and a rosy shade. "Effervescent" single.
Would I buy any more of these?: possibly.

Wet/dry eyeshadows. Mmm. Overall, I would have to say I found these disappointing. Used dry, the shadows tended to be too sheer to make much of an impact, and I'm too lazy to use them wet.
Fave shade: the "Sandstorm" quad.
Shades I remember: "Pink Shell"--not bad, sheer shimmery pink. "In the Buff" quad--not bad either, but I prefer the Sonia Kashuk versions of these neutrals. "Jungle Fever" duo? a matte dark green with a gold shimmer. Somehow it didn't work out for me. I had a rosy brown matte whose name slips my mind, and one of the brown duos.
Shades I always intended to try: the "Violet Haze" quad.
Would I buy any more of these?: possibly.

The rectangular silver pan eyeshadows.
Fave shade: "Whisper"--just the best vanilla matte, drugstore-wise. "Bronze"--light golden bronze. "Barley"--medium brown matte. I'm still fiddling around with these, so I'll add more to this later. Meantime, see Makeup Science/Sonia Kashuk eyeshadow color descriptions.
Shades I remember: n/a.
Shades I always intended to try: oh everything.
Would I buy any more of these?: absolutely, they're my favorite shadows. The only bummer: $5 a pop.

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