I thought I would share the lipstick lessons I learnt during my quest for the perfect purple.
1. YOUR HAND IS NOT YOUR MOUTH
Who knew this would turn out to be a biology lesson? I discovered that how something looks on your hand tells you nothing about how it will look on your face. Despite the fact that I live in one of the most polluted cities in Europe and practically swap body fluids with strangers on a daily basis, I can not bring myself to test lipsticks in store on my lips. I put the lipstick on my hand then hold up against my face to try and tell. I recall my mum getting mini tester lipsticks from Avon – do these still exist? why can’t all brands do these?
2. THANK THE BEAUTY GODS FOR BLOGGERS
Cosmetic companies don’t seem to be able to do a proper online swatch or accurately photograph colours to save their lives. Thank god for blogger’s swatches. Zero resemblance between many of the shades I saw online and when I saw the actual product in store. The premium brands often seemed to be the worst for swatches. How on earth can you accurately choose a lipstick colour based on these silly boxes?
3. IT’S NOT ABOUT THE PRICE TAG
Price is no indication of quality. I tested a gazillion lipsticks and as far as matte lipsticks go Sleek True Colour lipsticks were exceptionally pigmented and long lasting with a non-drying texture. At £4.99 they performed better than some lipsticks more than five times the price. The Sleek packaging is not offensive, it reminds me a little of Nars. Now if you want something fancy packaging-wise, which can be a big part of a lippie’s appeal, you will have to spend the big bucks but for product performance, Sleek was hard to beat.
4. YOU SAY TOMATO I SAY CHERRY
People see colours differently. If I had a pound for the number of times I asked at a makeup counter if they had purple and was directed to a pink or berry, I would have enough money to buy my perfect purple lipstick!
5. THERE’S ALWAYS AN ANSWER!
If all else fails head to Cosmetics A La Carte who offer a bespoke service that can tailor make any colour or recreate discontinued favourites.
Any other lipstick lessons you care to share?
Wonderlusting 
I agree..my favourite lipstick is a Kate Moss Rimmel one that was very cheap..I am upgrading it to a vintage lipstick case though! xxx
Now that is a good idea…xxx
Spot on! when I try lip I strike it against my jaw close to my lip at least that’s closer in skin tone my hand are paler than my face. And here here to bloggers especially brown beauty bloggers, how else would I new if the colour suits me when I’m buying online?! These damn boxes mean nothing and having a white model even worse. It will look different on me to her. To my knowledge only Lush online does a swatch with ladies of different complexions.
Oh that’s a good tip! It’s so annoying – Illamasqua used to show swatches on different tones but doesn’t anymore. Absolutely thank you to brown beauty bloggers!