Kiss Me, I'm Plushy

Fafi's got a new friend when I got home yesterday and she definitely looks pleased.

I've never owned lip plumpers or carried them in my train case since some of my clients find it uncomfortable to wear plumpers because of the sting. Plumpers actually slightly irritate the surface of the lips causing it to swell, so that's what the sting is. However, for me I kinda like the sting and I like the instant full lips and the automatic pout I have.

MAC states that Plushglass is a

"sheer lip colour with a pearlized high-shine gloss finish. Comfortable to wear: lush, multi-dimensional. Gives a cool-warm, vanilla buzz to the lips. Moisturizes, soothes and visibly plumps the lips to make them look luxuriously healthy and well-conditioned. Contains vitamin E for added environmental protection."

So this is one of MAC's lipglasses but with an extra oomph of lip plumper. The shade I got was Nice Buzz, which is a "shimmery light gold with gold pearl." The gold part could warm a cool lipstick I have with the plumping effect giving my lips like a tad more cush to make them more Scarlet Johannsen-like. The shade is quite similar to the famous Paris Hilton favorite - Prrr, and the color is quite safe for me to wear on over a variety of colors I would like to warm up.

I'm more of a lipstick girl than a lipgloss because I like the staying power of lipsticks and the color delivery. I'm quite picky with my lipglosses since some tend to be tacky. MAC is one brand I recommend for lipglosses because they're less sticky and slide-y. Just don't wear too much. I love how the product smells like. It smells like cupcake and tastes like it too, except there's a slight tingle from the plumping effect.

Sting factor is practically bearable. My lips didn't hurt much and there wasn't much on the sting, but more a slight tingle.

For how it looks like check lips before Plushglass:

and with Plushglass alone and two other lipstick shades that are suitable to wear with this shade:

The gold reflects help give my lips a warm hue when worn alone. I like the effect it had with the nude lipstick. For me, I only use a tad on the center and then move outwards. If you're using this for client use, I recommend swatching a bit of product using the doe foot applicator on an empty (and clean) part of the mixing pallette and then using a brush to apply to the lips. For personal use and if you're using this over lipstick, I use the doe foot applicator directly and wipe it with a tissue with alcohol to clean any lipstick residue and to prevent color mixing so color stays true to its word (and it keeps it longer too).

The cost of the Plushglass is Php 900 as of now, but since makeup prices would be increasing, maybe let's give an approximation of Php 1000 for the cost. When I checked the MAC website, Nice Buzz is still available.

Makeupbybambi Reviews: Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited BR 750 S

If you've seen me in most of my pictures (although not in shoot pictures as my looks are dictated by pegs), I'm seen most of the time with matte or satin lipstick in my signature color - red. I do divert to nudes sometimes, especially if I want that Angelina Jolie-esque look but it's usually in a matte finish. I prefer lipsticks to gloss because of color delivery since I like punches of color, staying power, and no tacky feel. Gloss for me tends to slide and stick and I find it uncomfortable especially if I eat or talk so I stick to lipstick in a long-lasting formula. For everyday, I've been sticking to tinted lip conditioner. I need tint on my lips since my lips have uneven color, so I need to hide that.

Last Friday, I visited the Shu Uemura boutique and after hanging out long enough, I went to make a purchase. I was debating whether to get RD 165, a rich creamy matte red but since I already made a matte red lipstick purchase, I wanted something new and different. As my eyeshadow colors are complete and so are my blush colors, I went for lip color instead in the nude spectrum. A friend of mine has told me I also look good with nude lip color so I searched and ended up purchasing this baby:

Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited in BR 750 S. (Retail price: Php 1,000 at Shu Uemura counters and at the Shu Uemura Boutique)

When I handed it over to EJ along with my credit card, I said not to put it in a shopping bag and it went directly in my makeup box, since I brought it with me already and gave it a test run.

Shu Uemura states:

"easy-to-wear vivid shades in vibrant color. Each shade delivers intense color fidelity and brightness, 3 dimensional shine effect in a non-sticky formula that keeps lips hydrated and soft. Sheer Coverage."

Swatching the color, I saw tiny flecks of gold instead of big chunks of glitter. The brown is more on the nude golden side, instead of the deep, muddy brown that just doesn't look that good on my skin. The finish is sheer and not metallic, so it gives my lips just a hint of color instead of coloring it entirely. Kind of like the effect I see in MAC lipglass, another one of my fave lipglosses. I like that it was quite easy to wipe off my hand and it wasn't that viscous and uncomfortable on my lips. Texture-wise, this was rather syrupy instead of glue-like.

The brown wasn't muddy brown. Color-tint is quite universal. I could use this over lipstick in a matching color (say a nude-brown or slight brown-red or pink-brown shade) if I want a bit of oomph. My natural lip color still shows through. I might need still lipstick or lipliner to even-up my lips.

The reflective particles did plump up my lips a bit, yes (minus the sting, that is)? Who needs collagen now?

Flavor-wise, sorry to those who love flavor but this has no flavor at all. Odor isn't as strongly perfumed, but I like the scent nontheless. It also comes with a sponge-tip applicator that's shaped straight up yet this still works well with a brush too.

Looks like I found another non-tacky gloss that I could definitely wear, and maybe this could be a refreshing take when I want to look just natural and give my rich reds and pinks and plums a rest. Also, this could mean deeper eye colors too. :)