Rouge Bunny Rouge Raw Silence

I finally found a way to do product photography with the new lighting! Oh, this is such a joy.

Today's post is really just an extension of the previous one, and a chance to profile one of those amazing reds we find from time to time. Rouge Bunny Rouge Color Burst Lipstick in Raw Silence is so unabashedly and delectably red it's almost criminal. The smooth, creamy formula makes it very comfortable to wear, but it's not so creamy that it slips and slides around the mouth. It was a no-brainer to pair this cool red with a crisp white shirt and pointed cat-eye.

On a side note, I always thought I had thin, fine hair because of the way it sticks to my head when it gets oily. Now I think I was just mistaken, or my recent hair routine is working, or my hair stylist is a genius. Either way, I'm now suddenly dealing with all this hair and I have no idea what to do with it. #beautybloggerproblem

Rouge Bunny Rouge products can be found on Zuneta (worldwide) and BeautyHabit (US residents). The color must be in high demand, because it's currently not listed on Zuneta and is backordered on BeautyHabit.

Guerlain Rouge G Garconne

After completing last week's red lip tutorial, I couldn't help but swatch another red I've been meaning to show you since last fall. I think I saw this on Temptalia and quite literally dashed out of the house to purchase it. After all, the girl can pull off red lips like no other!

L-R: Le Métier de Beauté Lip Liner in Rose, Dolce and Gabbana Lipstick in Iconic, Guerlain Rouge G Garconne

How is it possible that I haven't shown a Rouge G on Messy Wands? Guerlain makes some of my favorite lipstick formulas in the world. I recall showing you Rouge Automatique #103, which is still one of those lipsticks I have to have everywhere I go. The Rouge Automatique formula is stellar and possibly the best in the $30~ range, but imagine that it gets even better: creamier, smoother, longer lasting. That, my friends, is the magic sprinkled into the bullets of Rouge Gs.

Guerlain Garconne is a blue-based red, but less so compared to Dolce and Gabbana Lipstick in Iconic (used in last week's tutorial). I think it is quite close to being a neutral red. That said, I don't really put much emphasis in the warm/cool "color rules." I believe everyone can pull off anything if they set their mind to it.

Garconne is definitely a brighter shade of red that will guarantee you the attention of everyone in the room. I think it is worthy of induction into the Great Red hall of fame, and while the price is no walk in the park, I've heard loud rumors that Guerlain will begin to roll out refills for its Rouge G lipsticks soon.  Think of it as a lifelong investment.

Guerlain Rouge G Garconne retails for $47 and is available at Guerlain counters nationwide. I believe I purchased mine from Saks Fifth Avenue.

Rouge d'Armani #400

One of my recent assignments was a critical research paper on Memoirs of a Geisha, and after watching the film I had a huge craving to don red lips and apply my makeup using only yachiyo and itabake brushes. While the latter two are quite impossible (though I did put in an order for a yachiyo), the red lip urge was easy to satiate. Since I've been on an Armani kick lately, I picked Rouge d'Armani #400 as my color of choice. 

Rouge d'Armani #400

Rouge d'Armani #400 misled me. I thought it would be more orange based on how it looked in the tube, yet it turned out to be a vivid blue red. A relief, since I've been accumulating far too many orange-reds recently.  

I wouldn't have known this lipstick feathers if not for this closeup. Granted, in the picture above my lips had vestiges of lip balm on before I slapped on the color. On another testing sans balm, I noticed just the tiniest bit of feathering. Note, however, that I could only see it while straining my neck at an angle and holding the mirror two inches away from my face. It is quite impossible for anyone else to spot it.

The company promises "up to eight hours of intense color" with this lipstick. At this point of writing, I've been wearing it for four hours, all of which was spent rigorously snacking on chocolates and drinking orange juice, and the color has not budged one bit! Even the center of the lip is untouched. 

(Six hours in, I ate an apple and found the center of the bottom lip slightly faded. I'm still inclined to believe the eight hour claim. It's a given that lipstick will wear off when you consume food.)

In my experience, Rouge d'Armani lipsticks wear comfortably on the lips. The formula is creamy, so the lipstick has a lot of "slip" when first applied. It will swim around your lips for a minute or two before settling down to the vibrant finish you see above. After which, the lipstick will not budge from your lips. The subtle feathering I spoke about happens from the get-go. It does not worsen throughout wear. The sheen disappears in an hour or two, which alters the finish to a semi-matte. This makes Rouge d'Armanis a great alternative to traditional matte formulas, as they do not sap moisture from my lips. For an immediate matte effect, just apply and blot lightly with a tissue.

Great Red worthy? I think so.

Rouge d'Armani #400 retails for $30. I purchased mine from giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com.

Dior Ara Red

I'm secretly plotting to start an iconic red lipstick empire. Following your responses to Chanel Dragon and Ellis Red, I was thinking, wouldn't it be great if I managed to obtain the Great Reds of every brand and featured it here? It'll be a work in progress - hopefully never ending with the amount of beauty companies out there - but we'll start with my most recent acquisition: Dior Ara Red.

L-R: Dior Ara Red, Rouge Bunny Rouge Raw Silence

Dior Ara Red 999 is a creamy fiery orange-red that can't help but make you feel sexy when you put it on. It's my Karlie Kloss color, for days I want a twinkle of deviousness in my eyes and a dreamy swing to my gait. Well, at least I can dream that a lip color could rouse in me Kloss' impish grace.

It diminishes my beauty clout to admit that Ara Red is my very first Rouge Dior. I'm astounded and almost ashamed that it took me so long. Rouge Diors possess a stellar formula. Ara Red is not in want of pigmentation, lasts and lasts, and is a lipstick that actually moisturizes the lips. It feels amazing to wear and does not feather or bleed even in the absence of a lipliner. I'm berating myself for always diving into Dior's eye shadow quints and mascaras, never sparing some much deserved attention to Rouge Diors. It's a mistake certainly rectified from here on end. They deserve equal if not more of my time.

Dior Ara Red retails for $32 and should be available at most major department stores. I purchased mine from Sephora.

Ellis Faas L201/Ellis Red

Yesterday I posted a picture of a very red pair of lips and told you it was a worthy Chanel Dragon rival. A handful of you guessed what it was right off the bat, which told me two things: 1) Ellis Faas might not be as obscure a brand I thought it was, and 2) I need to make the guessing game harder. 

The lipstick in question is indeed Ellis Faas L201, otherwise known as the Ellis Faas signature hue, Ellis Red.

A little bit about Ellis Faas for those unfamiliar to the brand. Ellis Faas offers its products for skin, eyes, and lips in the form of silver twist-up pens. Their lip series is divided into three categories: Creamy, Milky, and Glazed. According to their website, Creamy Lips comes with a sponge applicator that provides long-lasting coverage, Milky Lips delivers a wetter, less heavy finish, whereas Glazed Lips proffers the slickest finish of them all. I've only tried the Milky series, which comes with a brush applicator, as seen below. 

Ellis Red

This is how it works: when you twist the bottom of the pen, you'll get a dollop of blood red fluid peeking out from the bristles. Spread the liquid evenly around the lips with the brush, and you're done! Be careful not to get too excited during the twisting or you might get too much product.

I have to say it. Ellis Red makes me think of a vampire post-feast. It goes on super wet and stays wet for as long as it remains on my lips, and that is a significant amount of time. I wore this out to dinner once where after sampling a huge portion of seafood pasta, a girl friend turned to me and asked me how I managed to make my lipstick last through the meal. My reply was, "it's still there?!" and I whipped out a mirror to check. I didn't prep, prime, line, or set it, yet my lips were pretty much the same as before. The only part that faded was the inner section of the bottom lip. Astonishment turned to wonder, and that was when I knew I had to feature Ellis Red on Messy Wands.

Due to its construction, Ellis Red might be the easiest red ever to apply on your lips. Makeup artists always tout the lip brush as the must-have precision tool when applying deeper hued lipstick. Lo and behold, Ellis Red already comes with its very own brush!

I thought I should also address how it compares to Chanel Dragon. They're similar products in that both are very pigmented liquid lipsticks. However, Chanel Dragon looks and feels denser compared to the wet Ellis Red. I am very aware that I'm wearing pigmented lipstick when I have Chanel Dragon on, whereas Ellis Red feels so light that at times I wonder if it's still on my lips (I'll have you know, my periodic mirror checks never disappointed). 

The only con I can think of is that the formula is as "liquid" as it appears on the lips, so it doesn't "settle" onto the lips like normal lipsticks would. This doesn't mean the color will swim unfettered around your lips after application. I would just be very careful if I were wearing a scarf or light-colored clothing, or if I have my hand anywhere near my mouth. Many a dear item have been relegated to the bin due to unremovable lipstick stains, and Ellis Red would be an easy villain if given a chance. Needless to say, having a mirror handy is almost a prerequisite to wearing Ellis Red.

Ellis Red retails for $35 and can be purchased at Space NK, ellisfaas.com, and sephora.com. I'm so happy with this, I think it's high time I try out some of their eyeshadows.

Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs in Les Gris 05 Swatches, Photos, Review

I haven't had a complete look of Guerlain Fall yet, but so far I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by the newly launched 4-color palettes. I've fallen prey to my share of the 6-pan palettes of yesteryear, and while I reveled in its luxury and construction, the textures of the colors itself often left me in disbelief that I was gullible enough to dish out $84 for it. 

When I heard about these new palettes, I was curious but not too excited, thinking it would be more of the same thing, and was secretly relieved I will be saving some money. Of course that wasn't the case. Guerlain tweaked the formula of these shadows, making them texturally superior to the 6-pans. I find them much more pigmented, blendable, and finely milled than before. I haven't played with the rest, but in Les Gris' case, there isn't a problem child in the bunch (something not all the 6-pans could boast).

Note: If this piques your interest, Amy of Cafe Makeup has a fantastic preview of the complete Guerlain Fall collection.

To showcase Guerlain Les Gris' full potential, I decided to emulate the Guerlain Fall promo picture of Natalia Vodianova. Needless to say, with my level of expertise (and features), I couldn't recreate the exact look featured on her, but I hope you enjoy my version. Since I don't have the new Rouge G Garconne, I used the only other red I thought could match up to it.

Guerlain Les Gris on eyes, Chanel Dragon Rouge Allure Laque on lips

These new 4-pans are $59 a pop, though you will be getting two less colors than before. Still wince-worthy, but not as painful to stomach in one go. Also, they're so much more worth it with this new formula.

For great pictures of Les Gris and some other palettes, take a look at The Beauty Look Book's preview - the woman makes me want to buy everything.