Most Loved & Most Worn : Lip Edition!

     Alright, I realize that my development of blogging habits has been a long-ass time coming! That's why I'm taking my long awaited short break from studying, and some time to curate a post of no less (and, no more!) than all of my favorite and most worn everyday schmexy lip colors! (Schmexy? Ok, I'll go home now 😁). So yep, no specific color spectrum here - these are just the lipsticks and lip glosses of different formulas that I reach for the most - although most of them are in the family of more muted to slightly brightened pinks and corals, those are just the types of colors I love and use the most! You'll be able to see how much I adore a couple of these, too, as some of the lipsticks are pretty worn down, and one of the glosses is almost completely gone. So, despite the variation of lip formulas in this post (liquid lipsticks, traditional lipsticks, sheer glosses, etc), I decided to exclude any mention of lip balms or any kind of lip treatments from this roundup, as I will soon be making an updated post, subject matter being, ahem, all my favorite lip balms and lip treatments! However, that's for the future! This post will contain swatches towards the end, as well as descriptions of all the lip colors and glosses I use most often, most of which I wouldn't be caught dead without! 

Bite Beauty Butter Cream Lipstick in 'Heather'

While I don't own many Bite products, I do know that their Butter Cream lipstick line was discontinued and sitting on the brand's throne now, are their Amuse Bouche lipsticks. I also would've never paid the full $28 price for this lipstick, only when considering the flat hand-cut of the lipstick bullet, and how the awkward shape not only contributes to a very imprecise deposit and application of color, but it also appears that half my lipstick is gone, right when I purchase it. Who knew....

That aside, I only paid $7 for this lipstick, and it was a fateful day at TJ Maxx, when I discovered what would soon be one of my most worn, most well-loved lipsticks in my collection. I've actually only had this lipstick in my possession for a couple of months now, so this tube isn't quite as noticeably worn down as others you'll see in this post. It's a very glossy formula, and opacity is more on the natural, semi-sheer spectrum. Heather is a lovely muted coral, the color and overall effect being a bit more neutral and muted than, say, MAC See Sheer, but they're definitely in the same veining and are quite similar once on the lips. I will say that the formula of Bite is far superior to that of the MAC - it's overall richer, creamier, and longer lasting.

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in 'Almond Rose'

Although I'm slowly trying to go cruelty-free with my makeup selections, admittedly, Maybelline's Creamy Matte lipstick formula undoubtedly rivals many higher end formulas, and is one of the only truly comfortable matte formulas I have found from the drugstore, while retaining a beautiful component of longevity. Something I have not found with any lip formula, even from my favorite cruelty-free brands such as Essence, Wet 'n' Wild, or NYX. While I wouldn't call this Maybelline Creamy Matte formula transfer proof, by any means, it still holds and is long lasting even through a meal, albeit with slight fading. However, it never clumps up or flakes off as it fades - it wears off very smoothly and evenly. Overall very smooth, buttery, and never patchy. Almond Rose is a shade that was released in their Inti-Matte collection, and much like the previously mentioned one from Bite, this one from Maybelline is also a muted coral-pink, with the obvious differences between the two being formula and finish. This gives me full opacity in one swipe, and the color just gives me an instant awakened, fresh-faced, effortlessly beautiful look, when paired with a matching blush.

This is such a face-brightening color, that I theoretically don't even need highlight on my eyes or even glowy skin when I wear this lipstick, or lipsticks this color or brighter (although glow obviously helps, and I do it anyway!), but I just need a BB Cream and a coordinated blush with this, and boom. Before even applying any glowy face product, after applying this lipstick, I instantly look lively, awakened, and appear as though I spent more time on myself that morning than I actually did. For this reason, I already have a backup of this color. 😃

Milani Color Statement Lip Color in 'Plumrose'

Much of what I say about this lipstick is going to just be a reiteration of what I said in my review of this lipstick on another site. The shade Plumrose is a perfect name: it really bridges the gap perfectly between a brightened berry pink and a neutral cool plum with a bit of rosy nuance. It's an atypical plum shade, in that it's not deep or vampy, nor is it too purple. I tend to avoid plum shades in the spring and summer months, but I see this one from Milani as an all-seasons shade, and I wear this color year-round - I've owned this tube for 1.5 years. I only found one other lipstick in my entire collection that is similar to this shade, and that is Wet 'n' Wild Megalast Lipstick in 'Wine Room.' I much prefer the formula of the Milani, though, and the watermelon Jolly Rancher scent is cheery, makes it fun to reapply, and the scent fades completely after a couple of minutes. Milani's Color Statement formula reminds me quite a bit of the BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie formula, in that it's extremely creamy and gives full coverage from the first swipe.

I find reapplication to be necessary after about 4 hours of wear.

Revlon Lip Butter in 'Pink Truffle'

I know that Revlon recently discontinued these Lip Butters, but I've been finding these in discount retailers for no more than $2 a pop, so I have accumulated a couple of backups of my beloved Pink Truffle. This yields another glossy formula, and this is actually my second tube of this particular shade. I find that I tend to go through these fairly quickly, as they're incredibly creamy and the texture is quite soft. When forming a comparison, Clinique Buttershines do come to mind, as I find the Revlon quite comparable in wear and in formula to those. These aren't the longest lasting lip products, by any means. They actually fade rather quickly, but this is the most moisturizing shade, and it's weird: some shades I've tried in this lineup are pretty hydrating and my lips feel hydrated once they've worn off, and some of the other shades make my lips feel quite a bit dry once they've worn off.  I keep buying this shade because I still find that these are the perfect summer lip products. Forget that nobody talks about them anymore. I still love mine.

Something to note is that Revlon did incorporate some of these shades from this discontinued lip butter range into sheer lipsticks in their Super Lustrous lipstick formula. In my opinion, they're not even comparable, as the Lip Butters are far superior. I purchased the Pink Truffle Super Lustrous lipstick to see if I would like it as much as I like this, and it had no pigmentation whatsoever. It was also incredibly drying, so I returned it.

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in 'Fresh Cut'

Gahhhh, this shade from Colourpop is sorcery. I recently had to purchase a backup of the Ultra Matte Lip Fresh Cut, for sake of dissolving that nagging thought in the back of my mind that hey...Colourpop may discontinue it (as they did with another of my newfound beloveds: the Littlestitious Ultra Satin Lip). So, Fresh Cut is definitely my most reached for liquid lipstick in my entire collection. I don't own a pink that's quite like this. I've already done a mini-review of this shade in my most recent Colourpop Haul. It's a brightened mid-toned rosy pink with just a dash of mauve, and something else that warms it up just a bit. This is one of very few pinks I actually receive compliments on almost every single time I wear it. I have an overly filtered pic of me wearing it. I had just gotten my phone and the blur setting was already toggled to full capacity when I took this picture, so no, my skin does not look this good lol. 

This is Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in 'Fresh Cut' applied over a light layer of lip balm.

Can we say this is the lipstick that dreams are made of?! 😇

Maybelline Color Elixir Gloss in 'Caramel Infused'

I have an entire blog post dedicated to my collection of these Maybelline Color Elixir Glosses, right before they were discontinued, so you can check out my overall thoughts on them here. So, right, let's get to it. Caramel Infused is my most worn shade next to Blush Essence, although I wear the former slightly more often. Caramel Infused is the most perfect warm cream finish pink-brown shade, and it's pretty much a lip polish, and has this mirror shine that gives lips the look of health, and doesn't look like too much. I had mentioned in my post of these that the formula of these really feels like fluffy pillows on the lips, and this one is no exception. I've gone through one tube of this shade already, and I'm just now beginning to run low on this second tube. I'm in love with the scent, and how incredibly soft they make my lips feel, even after they've worn off.

Currently scouring for a budget-friendly dupe, which shouldn't be too difficult, shade-wise, but as far as formula, I'm thinking I may have to shell out a couple extra dollars to get the feeling that these give.

Revlon Color Burst Gloss in 'Bellini'

I will be honest: I think I was more fond of these Revlon Colorburst Glosses when I first bought them. So with this lovely non-milky, more translucent pale peach with a beautiful low pearl effect that I adore when paired with my nude lipsticks, I am really just trying to use this up for the sole purpose of getting my money's worth - and because it's beginning to get old. While I love the shade, this is the only lip product in this entire post where I just have kind of an 'over it' mentality. It's not that I don't really like it, as I love it when paired with a matte lipstick, and the low pearl of this gloss gives beautiful dimension, but the formula on these glosses is just so thin and gel-like, that it doesn't last on my lips for all but 20 minutes if I don't specifically wear a matte nude lipstick underneath it. This is the only product in this post I just can't call a favorite. When I pair it with any lipstick that has a creamier texture? Forget it. It just zaps right off my lips when I wear this gloss on top of it, as this gloss just slips and slides everywhere and really compromises otherwise great wear-time of other lipsticks with more emollient, hydrating creamy formulas when paired together. All in all, I'm pretty happy to finish up this gloss, and I find myself even wearing it with my cheaper lip liners, just to use it up even quicker...eh, as long as the liners aren't too creamy, that is.

Are we at the end, already? Following, are some lip product swatches for your viewing pleasure! 

Have a lovely weekend, ladies and gents! 😁

- Cailee