Freedom Noir Mattes collection review

My mom and I have been on the hunt for nude lipsticks that suit her. We have been trying different brands and shades. I often get something from the drugstore while my mom likes to browse the Internet looking for brands or shades she likes.

A couple of weeks ago we were scrolling through websites together when she found a bunch of nude lipsticks that she wanted to try from the brand "Freedom". We also found the Noir Mattes collection at thesame time, which was a set I really, really liked. 

We decided to both order one of the sets. A couple of days ago mine arrived and I can't wait to show them to you! 

The Noir Mattes collection exists out of five different lipsticks. All of the lipsticks are darker shades. 

I wish it was autumn again for a week so I could wear these lipsticks on a daily basis. Right now, I like to use them in the evening or when I have an event.

In this picture you can see the swatches of the five different colours. They range from 'light' to dark. The pigmentation is flawless.

"Twilight" is a gorgeous, deep wine red lipstick that's perfect for a dinner party or a date night.

I feel like "Watching" is the softest, most 'natural' colour in this collection. Okay, it's not your typical nude and it does draw attention, but it's still very wearable. This shade is a darker pink.

"Midnight" is the darkest of the three red shades. It's a couple shades darker than "Twilight". This lipstick has a hint of purple in it but it's very subtle.

"Darkness" really is a challenging lipstick, you do need some guts to wear this one out in the streets. The colour of this lipstick is purple. 

 

If you hear the name "Noir", you would expect this lipstick to be black. It isn't. "Noir" is a deep purple shade. It's a few shades darker than "Darkness". It might look like it's black from a distance, but once you get closer, you'll see the difference.

Might not be for everybody, but I think it's a very nice colour. Maybe a bit more fall and winter appropriate, but not less beautiful.

This collection is one of my favourites so far. The colours are very beautiful and very pigmented. The lipsticks are a bit dry though, so make sure you use a good lipbalm after you remove the lipstick. You could also scrub your lips before applying make-up so you don't see any bumps through the lipstick.

Maybelline "Nude Embrace" lipstick review

Nude has been trending for some time now. I'm 100% for a nude look when it comes to eye make-up, but nude lipstick has never really been my thing.
I walk into a beauty store, get a nude lipstick and I will absolutely love it. But the minute I come home, I fall back out of love with it.
Nude not being your shade is absolutely okay, but stubborn as I am, I decided to give it one last chance before finally giving up.

I spent a good hour (or maybe two) at the drugstore and came home with a Maybelline lippy called "Nude Embrace". The colour doesn't look too exciting but it is a nude so it's not supposed to stand out that much.

 

 

Here's what the lipstick looks like. Below you can also find a swatch.

I like the swatch of this lipstick a lot. You can really see how pigmented it is. 

After all these years I finally found a nude that I like! Below you can find a before and after picture. The lipstick applies very well and is very pigmented, however it does feel a little dry after a while. I do really like this one though, it's just a matter of moisturizing your lips before and after applying this lipstick.

I also don't like to apply too much, because that will make you look a little sick. This lipstick is also gorgeous with some lipgloss on top of it!

Thanks for reading! 

Essence Matt Matt Matt lipstick in "It's a statement!"

Good morning gorgeous Fashionista In The Dark readers! Today we're going to make a statement! Oh yes, oh yes! 

I'm pretty hyped up at the moment and it's all because of the new lipstick I got today! You know me, I go in the store to get some much needed liquid eyeliner and I walk out with a bunch of lip products, highlighters and more.

Today I walked out with nearly all the make-up products in the store. One of those products was this Essence Limited Edition lipstick, called "It's a statement". Want to see the statement I'm making? Keep reading!

 

This baby is what I'm talking about. My god, isn't it gorgeous?

Like I said, I was looking for liquid eyeliner and this was on the Limited Edition display as one of "Essence's favourites". Even though the packaging didn't look very spectacular to me, the lipstick itself sure did!

I think it's a matt lipstick.... ;)

Look at this swatch!

Such a pretty colour! The pigmentation of this lipstick is OFF THE HOOK - and yes I just sounded like a nineties kid, but I don't even care. It's what this lipstick does to me.

Speaking of nineties, isn't this a very nineties colour?

This is what the lipstick looks like on me. I was a bit scared that it'd be too dark but I think I can get away with this.

This lipstick is - like I said - very pigmented, it's easy to apply and it applies evenly, which is very important (especially with lipsticks this dark). It does dry out my lips a bit though, which is a bit annoying but obviously, it's something you can expect when putting on a matt lipstick.

Because the lipstick is so dark you will see when it starts to fade (for example when you've had a snack or you've had a lot to drink), so you need to touch up every once in a while. I kept it on for three hours before I had to touch up for the first time. I'll also add that because this colour is so dark, it'll leave a stain on your lips when you first try to get it off.

Make-up remover patches are your friend in this case!

I hope you enjoyed my review, I for one am very impressed with the lipstick. The receipt doesn't tell me the difference between all the Essence products I got (it just says "Make-up Essence" and ten different numbers for the ten different things I got) so I don't remember how much it was exactly, but the most expensive item I got today was €3.50. 

Safe to say it was very affordable!

Thanks for reading! I wish all of you tons of kiss stains from the people you love!
 Bye!

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Comparing: MAC's Dark Side vs. Essence's Très Chic

Goodmorning everyone.

How are you doing? I'm so excited about this post day! As you might have seen a couple of days ago I got a new lipstick by Essence called "Très Chic". 

When I saw it in the store, I immediately fell in love. I was very surprised that Essence had a shade like this and didn't quite understand how I'd never seen it before. I mean, I love "Diva" by MAC as much as the next person, but cheaper dupes are always welcome.

Currently, I don't have my Diva lipstick anymore (I used it all up), but I do have the MAC dupe which is called "Dark Side".  I decided put these lipsticks side by side and was once again pleasantly surprised!

 

It's a shame the lighting is a bit off in the picture above, but you can tell the shades are very, VERY similar.

Let's start with the Essence lipstick. This one retails for €2.39, which isn't a lot.

 

If you want to, you can read my full in depth review on this Essence lipstick by clicking the link here. Basically I thought the colour pay off was good. The lipstick stays on for about four/five hours (without eating). I like the texture, it's quite smooth to apply. It does dry out my lips a little bit though, I can feel it getting dry throughout the day.

On to the MAC lipstick. This one is called "Dark Side" and it retails for €19.50. Quite a bit more than the previous one, but MAC is famous worldwide for good quality and so it's normal that you have a to pay a bit more. The question of today, however, is if it really is better than the one Essence can also provide us with. If you want to, you can read my in depth review on this lipstick here.

This lipstick is typically what we're used to: good pigmentation, nice texture (gets a little dry during the day), stays on for a good few hours, I mean, I really can't complain!

Just to show you how much these lipsticks look alike, both in colour and in quality, I decided to use both of them on my lips.

I used MAC "Dark side" for the bottom lip and my Essence "Très Chic" lipstick for the upper. Can you tell the difference? I can't.

Essence really blew me away with this one. I think we can say that this lipstick is (almost) an exact MAC dupe.

If you're looking for a dupe, "Très Chic" by Essence is the lipstick you need.

Have a nice day! 

Essence "Très Chic" lipstick review!

Dark lipsticks have been everyone's ride or die this fall and winter. The favourite one I picked up is my "Diva" lipstick by MAC, but a few days ago, I also picked up this lovely Essence lipstick. I don't know how I missed this everytime because damn, it is gorgeous!

The packaging is just the same regular Essence packaging that we're used to. Matte black material with details of the actual lipstick colour. Nothing very exciting. The colour, however, is really exciting! 

Here's what it looks like on my lips.

Absolutely stunning, that's what I think this lipstick is! 

This made me feel so posh rightaway! The texture is quite nice, it's very creamy and a big glossy but not too sparkly. I've worn it for about four hours and it was still on and in place. My lips were a bit dried out, but I'm not sure if that's because of the lipstick. I often have dry lips. 

I think this lipstick is absolutely amazing. For just a couple of Euros you can get yourself such a nice lipstick. If you're still looking for one (or if you want to try to see how it looks on you, without spending a fortune), I would for sure recommend this lipstick!

Have a lovely day!

MAC "Dark Side" lipstick review ♥

Happy Valentine's Day! 

I hope you have a nice day ahead of you! It had been a long time since I treated myself, after the exams I went right to my internship and I also started working in the service industry again. Soon I will be teaching and school is back on track, so I don't think I will have a relaxed vacation any time soon.

Instead of having a break, I let myself pick out something that I've had my eye on for quite a while now (because sometimes you have to treat yourself).

I got a new lipstick by MAC! This one is called "Dark Side". I actually wanted "Diva" but they didn't have it in stock anymore.

This lipstick is the exact same colour, exept it's not matt and "Diva" is.

This is what the lipstick looks like, it's a gorgeous burgundy colour. Especially for this time of year, when the weather is still quite cold and the days are short, this lipstick is perfect. 

I've said it before, I like wearing darker make-up in winter, but the eyes don't always have to be the focus!

If you are into make-up, you might have heard about MAC already - I can't say anything bad about the brand or this lipstick. It's creamy, the pigmentation is really good and it lasts long. I'm also madly in love with the colour, it's so beautiful!

I paid €19 for this lipstick, which is totally worth it! This lipstick is sold in every MAC store.

Thanks for reading!

Have a lovely Saturday!

Catrice "Metallure" lipstick review

Everyone knows I like good drugstore make-up products.

Of course I like having some more expensive items, but there's nothing wrong with drugstore.

I'm always very excited about limited editions by drugstore brands, however, the last few limited editions Essence and Catrice had, were not my cup of tea.

 

 I wasn't expecting to find something more exciting this time (frankly, I wasn't even looking for limited edition items), but there was this one lipstick in Catrice's new limited edition called "Metallure", that caught my eye.

It was love at first sight!

Look at the packaging.

Just look. I think it's so, SO beautiful! Honestly, I don't think I have another lipstick in my collection with such gorgeous packaging.

 

This is a swatch of the lipstick. I hadn't swatched it in the store and I was a little surprised that it was so shiny, but it's okay though, because I didn't own anything like this yet!

This is what my lips look like without any lipstick on...

And this is what my lips look like "Alluring Red" on my lips.

The lipstick comes out a little bit more berry coloured, which is absolutely fine by me.

Don't be fooled by the pictures, the lipstick looks really bright, but in real life it's a few shades darker.

The lipstick is really creamy and easy to use.

I like this lipstick. I think the packaging is beautiful, but I can't complain about the product itself either. More of this!!

Have a good day!