The last time I made one of these posts I was just starting blogging and I was still deep in the late 00's corpsy nude trend, though even then I had some nice pink favourites and a red. I've since jumped more on the modern 90's revival, I rarely wear anything very nude because with my colouring I feel I need something to define the lips, so it makes me look more alive as well as pulled together. I've attempted to do this post several times, versions of pictures have been taken four times in the last two years, but every time I had other things to review, so my choices became outdated because I'm constantly finding new favourites. Last year especially I found so many great new shades, so I narrowed it down to 10 and swatched everything again since I have a proper camera now. Just about every shade here is matte because that's my favourite finish - shine and especially metallics are not my thing at all. This is also my 1000th post on the blog, so enjoy.

I'll do it in a sort of an order from lightest to darkest because I like being organised, but if you're wondering what order of my favourites would be, it would start with Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Nude-ist, theBalm Meet Matt(e) Hughes in Committed, Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cannes and Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink in Pioneer.

JORDANA Matte Lipstick 
47 Nude

As I said in the intro nudes are no longer my thing, but this one is so pretty and wearable, so it's one of my rare exceptions. It's similar to both Mac's Patisserie and Peach Blossom except that it has a satin matte finish that never looks dry. It's a is a beautiful neutral nude with an equal amount of pink and peachy tones, it's just the best of all worlds and a nude that doesn't wash me out. As cheap and useless as the packaging of Jordana's lipsticks looks, these are seriously so good, pigmented, non-drying and all wear nicely - for a few euros you really get a great lipstick.

THEBALM Meet Matt(e) Hughes 
Committed

Those who read my posts regularly might already know that Meet Matt(e)s are my favourite liquid lipsticks and Committed is my favourite shade. It's the one I wear most often along with Nude-ist, Cannes and Cami, so it's a part of my "just grab it and don't think about it selection of shades". Committed is a difficult colour to describe, theBalm says it's a pinky nude, but it's so much more than that on me, as it definitely has a bit of peachiness to it, so it's a bit like throwing pink and peach plus a bit of mauve in a blender, but keeping the shades very muted. The formula is very pigmented, dries in a few minutes to a perfect matte finish, but it's not uncomfortable, it's long-lasting, doesn't transfer or smudge and fades nicely.

BOURJOIS Rouge Edition Velvet 
07 Nude-ist

I've called this my favourite shade ever for the past two years and though Committed is a tough contender, I still think I like this one more. It's obvious from my bottle it gets a lot of wear as it's the only one you can see how empty it's getting. It looks quite different on me than on most, I've seen it look very bright on some, but on me it's a muted warm rosy shade that has enough pinky tones to lift the complexion, but still looks natural enough on the lips. The formula is a mousse that isn't as pigmented as theBalm's, but this is still the best of Velvets and it takes some time for it to set to a matte finish.

NYX Matte Lip Cream 
Cannes 

This became my most worn shade in the last few month, but before, I admit, I neglected it because it's not the best liquid matte lipstick formula when it comes to staying power. But this is my perfect my-lips-but-better shade and great for every day wear. My tube is now over a year old and as these age, the thinner the formula gets, so now with one coat I get something that's more similar to a stain, but because it's a lip cream, it's more even than those actual stain products which tend to stick to the central dry parts of the lips and look terrible. This one has this semi-translucent texture that looks like you natural lips are tinted with this shade. My natural lips are quite pale, so this just gives them some life. It's a comfortable formula to me, I never noticed any dryness, it takes longer than at others for it to set to a matte finish and the staying power isn't the best, but since it's such a natural colour, it's not that obvious, the central part has wiped off. 

COLOURPOP Lippie Stix 
Cami

I knew the moment I tried this one that it's my new all-time favourite classic lipstick formula. It's so light on the lips, but intensely pigmented and the finish is just out of this world gorgeous for a lipstick and closest to a liquid lipstick I found, apart from the newest Bourjois lipstick Rouge Velvet. The colour became an instant favourite of mine as well. It's similar to theBalm's Charming, but lighter because it doesn't oxidise on the lips and it's less warm, so more neutral rosy. 

COLOURPOP Ultra Matte Lip 
Sollow

Sollow became an unexpected favourite of mine. I ordered so many Colourpop shades and I risked it with this one because I thought it might look orange on me, but this one truly stands out because it's the peachy pink that's almost impossible to find for pale skin tones. It looks completely different in the tube, it even applies peachy, but in minutes it starts to oxidise to a light muted peachy pink shade. Formula definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea because it's very matte and can be very drying, but it lasts great on the lips.

REVLON Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour 
600 Devotion

  

This is a complete underdog - in my sea of matte lip colours finally something shiny. Well, sort of. Don't let the name fool you, it's not really matte, actually not even kind of matte at application, instead it behaves more like a lacquer. It's so comfortable and it smells amazing, but you also get fantastic pigmentation and staying power is surprisingly good for something with a creamy-glossy finish. Devotion is a medium warm muted pink, but it's still too pink that'd call it a natural shade for me, but when I'm at home, I always just reach for it because I love applying it. I wish they had something like Nude-ist or Committed in their range

MAYBELLINE Super Stay Matte Ink 

Pioneer

I have a considerable collection of deep burgundy shades and this one is my favourite (Laetitia is a bit lighter, more berry and my first love, but it's not sold anymore). Adoring is a rich burgundy shade that leans more to cool tones, but it's more neutral. Finding a liquid lipstick formula of a vampy shade is a challenge since most leave sheer patches, but this one is perfect - opaque in one coat and it applies evenly. It takes longer for it to turn matte than the other two shades I own, but otherwise the formula is the same and it smells like After Eight which is always a plus.

COLOURPOP Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick 

More Better

This is a shade that just makes me gasp at the sight of its beauty. It's my perfect deep shade, a rich deep berry shade, an excellent mix of burgundy with purple. Mac's D for Danger which is also one of my favourites is more red compared to this. The formula is like at Sollow Ultra Matte, but I feel it's less drying, still if you have dry lips, you won't like it, but for me the colour makes it all worth it.

SLEEK Matte Me Lip Gloss 

Birthday Suit

Not saying that 90's trend is all about matte lip colours, but they are certainly prevailing and Birthday Suit definitely gets you that perfect "instagram matte" finish. It's a shade that changes with time as it oxidises, also you should bear in mind that like most of the shades on this list, it looks different on each individual, so don't rely just on my swatches and google for more, but on me it's a brownish medium nude shade with some rosy and mauve tones, which make it more modern looking. It's one of the earliest matte liquid lipsticks meaning the formula has some room for improvement, though to me it's fine, but it can feel tight and drying. The texture at application is very oily and the clumsy, big applicator doesn't make it easy to apply it nicely, but after about 2-3 minutes, it sets to a matte finish. 

THEBALM Meet Matt(e) Hughes

Committed

This is my favourite formula of matte liquid lipsticks and Committed is one of my all-time favourite shades too. The formula is very pigmented, dries in a few minutes to a perfect matte finish, but it's not uncomfortable, it's incredibly long-lasting, doesn't transfer or smudge and fades nicely. Committed is a difficult colour to describe, theBalm says it's a pinky nude, but it's so much more than that on me, as it definitely has a bit of peachiness to it, so it's a bit like throwing pink and peach plus a bit of mauve in a blender, but keeping the shades very muted.

L.A. GIRL Matte Flat Finish Pigment Gloss

Dreamy

Dreamy is a shade that is between Committed and Birthday Suit with the main difference being that it's the peachiest. Some people love the formula, some hate, I find it's ok, but most matte lip products work for me. If your lips are often dry, this won't be for you, but if you're like me, these are just fine.

BOURJOIS Rouge Edition Velvet 

07 Nude-ist

My favourite shade ever, though technically, it's not a typical 90's shade and it's already more vibrant than the rest and it can look quite bright on some people. It's a muted warm rosy shade that has enough pinky tones to lift the complexion, but still looks natural enough on the lips. The formula of this shade is so far the best I found among Velvet's, the rest are more mousse-y and less pigmented, however, it takes longer to set to a nice matte finish, yet it lasts pretty well one the lips. 

MAKEUP FACTORY Mat Lip Fluid

61 Velvet Rosewood

 Velvet Rosewood is one of the darkest such shades I own and it's muted warm rosy, slightly brownish shade with a proper mate finish, so it's more like the warm equivalent of the mauve shade they have in their selection (that one looks completely purple on me). It's darker than Nude-ist or Golden Rose Velvet 12, but lighter than theBalm's Charming. 

THEBALM Meet Matt(e) Hughes

Charming

The darkest shade on this list and on me it's more of a grunge type of colour. It's similar to Velvet Rosewood, but a bit less warm and a shade darker. As I said at Committed the formula of these is amazing - properly matte, long-lasting and very pigmented. These also smell like After Eight, so like mint and chocolate, plus they tingle slightly at application for that plumping effect. Similar shades include Colorpop Bubble and Milani Beloved.

WET'N WILD Megalast Lipstick 

Bare it All

This is hailed as one of the best dupes for Mac's Velvet Teddy, which was along with Mac's Soar, the quintessential shade of the 90's modern revival. When I'm pale this is quite a nude-brown shade on me, but on more medium skin tone it looks amazing because it gets a tiny bit more pinky-mauvey. People say the formula of these is dry, but it feels fine to me and I apply it without tugging or dragging, but they older they get, the drier they are.

JORDANA Modern Matte Lipstick 

01 Matte Bare 

A rosy-brown nude shade with a semi-matte finish in a nice formula that doesn't feel drying, is opaque and lasts decently on the lips. The older these get, they start drying up, but when they're new the formula is nice.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream 

Cannes

NYX's version of matte lipstick are again one of the earliest and therefore not the best (though still good). The formula is oily with a lot less pigmentation than newer such product, but these also take a lot longer to set to a matte finish and are much more comfortable for those with dry lips. Cannes is hailed the "the" 90's lip colour in their selection and it's a medium peachy-rosy-brown shade that will probably look more rosy on medium skin tones, but it's a nice neutral shade with a twist on me.

GOLDEN ROSE Velvet Matte Lipstick

12

Along with Nude-ist, Birthday Suit and recently Committed, this is one of my most worn shades. It's one of those shades that just goes with everything and is a no-brainer choice. It's a muted warm rose shade with some peachiness that looks so polished and modern, and I actually got this shade because I heard it's similar to Mac's Mehr, which is another popular shade in the 90's revival. The formula of it is a lovely matte one and the price is so affordable.

ESSENCE Velvet Stick 

02 Peony Star

This is a shade that looks so right in the shop, while on the lips, it's a bit of a let-down. It swatches lovely, a nice pinky-mauve shade, but on my lips it's different and it's actually almost the exact shade of my lips, but cooler and greyish. It still fits into the trend, but it depends on your skin tone how it'll look. The texture is waxy, not truly matte and not particularly long-lasting

WET'N WILD Megalast Lipstick 

Ravin' Rasin 

Something completely different in this selection, but on the right skin tone, this looks like the quintessential 90's shade. On me it's a medium cool greyish purple shade, while on warmer, darker skin tones it's warmer and that rosy tone becomes a lot more pronounced. Formula is the same as at Bare it All, so thick, but applies ok.

ESSENCE Lip Liner 

06 Satin Mauve

Everyone and their mother own Satin Mauve by now. It's cheap as chips and a great way to try the 90's trend. On me it looks wrong, as the grey tones in it are just too strong, but on darker skin tones, it looks a lot warmer and a proper mauve shade. They recently changed the formula and I hear the shade too, but the price is still the same.

ESSENCE Longlasting Lipliner 

07 Plum Cake 

A similar shade to Satin Mauve, but more muted. In combination with a warm skin tone, it'll look perfect, actually like Lovely Frappuccino looks on me, while on my skin tone it's a disaster. It's another very cheap way of discovering such shades and if you're new to these shades and you have Essence where you live, I really suggest you start with either this shade, Satin Mauve or Lovely Frappuccino.

ESSENCE Longlasting Lipliner 

05 Lovely Frappuccino 

One of the best shades on my skin tone and if you have a problem shades looking too violet/cool, give this one a try. It looks very warm brown on most people I've seen, but on me it's more cool toned and mauve-y, yet not at all draining like Essence's Satin Mauve lip liner. I just love this on my lips - it makes them look more defined and perfected, plus I like the formula of these as well. By the way, I hear this is similar to Soar by Mac.

JORDANA Easyliner 

Rock n' Rose

An alleged dupe for Mac's Whirl, Rock n Rose was popular way before the trend started and it holds an impressive rating on Makeup Alley. I was a bit taken aback when I saw it in person - it's very brown, though it's more of a taupe brown, but it has some hints of rosy tones.The texture is a bit like Essence's Longlasting lipliners, so a great balance between being soft enough for it to transfer easily, but not too fragile, so it would break constantly.

And that's my collection of these type of shades. Some look awful on my porcelain skin and some look good, but I got these shades because someone raved about them, so they will work on different skin tones. Gejba from Parokeets swatched quite a few more of such shades in her matte liquid lipsticks comparison if you need more reccommendations. I have my eye on Pupa's 12, Stila's Patina, Jordana Rose Macron, Milani's Amore in Precious and Adorable.

Have a great day!

Last September I did a post about red shades and this year it's pink. While red brings glamour to the look, pink hues are a lot more varied and diverse. You can be cutesy girly with pastels, the one who wants to be noticed with bright magentas or do the glamorous look with a twist by painting your lips into a darker pink shade. I again created three looks, which were originally created for the other blog, but they weren't posted (really hoping only yet). Anyway, I planned to post it here simultaneously, since so much of my time was invested in it and I loved the results, but I did re-shot some of the pictures just for this blog, which include even more pink products. This has been sitting in my drafts for a few months now, since June to be exact and I could have waited for the pink October, but lets do September instead and I'll do more autumn inspired posts then.

Romantic pastels

Pink pastels are some of the easiest shades to pull off as long as they don't have too much of a white base, especially when it comes to lip colours. You can easily create a porcelain doll look or something more everyday and office appropriate. For my look I used a pale cool toned pink blush by Physicians Formula called Glowing Nude in shade Rose, since it's actually my only such shade and it really creates those baby doll cheeks that will suit especially those with a very pale skin tone like mine (though I have tried in on darker skin than mine and it looked great). A similar shade I own is again by Physicians Formula called Super BB Cheek & Lip Balm the shade Berry Pink. 

I combined the blush with Jordana's Matte lipstick in Pink Passion, which is actually a dupe for Mac's Please me as well as Essence's lipliner in Wish Me a Rose, so it's actually quite a common shade, but a truly beautiful light pink with a warm undertone. My other recommendations for a pastel pink pout are NYX Soft Matte lip Cream in Istanbul, Mac's Creme Cup lipstick,  L'Oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick 101 Rose Melody and Bourjois Contour Edition lipliner 02 Cotton Candy. 

For the nails I picked a pastel cool-toned pink Deborah's Gel Effect in 49 Peonia pink, but a good choice are also Essence's Gel Nail polish in 13 Forgive me and Models Own Hypergel in Cashmere Rose.

More cutesy pink products: Afrodita's Secret Garden Shower Gel in Romantic Rose, which has a lovely floral-fruity (pear) scent, Hugo Boss Ma Vie fragrance with an elegant tropical-floral scent, Dior's BB cream and Sweet Pink felt tip eyeliner with a panda design (all in the first picture).

Bright pinks

Usually loud medium pink shades, in particular those with a cool undertone, are popular mostly in summer months when we dare to wear more colour. To avoid looking like an 80's aerobic model with too much blush, combine a gentle pale blush with a bright pink on the lips and vice versa, but never wear both bright versions at once. I chose to wear again Physicians Formula blush, this time a medium warm pink Happy Booster in Rose and on the lips it's a bright warm pink Revlon's Moisture Stain in Rio Rush. 

For the cheeks I have a few cheaper options - both Catrice Defining Blush in Think Pink (medium warm pink) and Essence's Matte Touch blush in Berry me Up! will fit me bill quite nicely, while for the lips great options are also Revlon's Colorbust Lip Butter in Sweet Tart and the űber bright Bourjois' Rouge Edition Velvet in Pink Pong (if you can't get Bourjois, Jordana's Sweet Cream in Cherry Cobbler is very similar).

For the nails I picked Revlon's Colorstay Nail Envy in Royal Flush, which is a fuchsia shade with tiny blue shimmer that gives it a cool undertone. A lighter shade that would fit into this category is Models Own in Gumballs.

More products that at least have a pink packaging: Wet n Wild Max Volume Plus mascara, which is a very defining one and Soap & Glory Mist You Madly body spray that has a fab vintage scent (plus basically anything for the body by Soap & Glory).

Rich Berries

Admittedly a dark pink is always somewhat purple or burgundy, so this category will a bit more problematic, but I think I grabbed the right colours. It's my favourite type of shades for my Snow White colouring, but it requires some bravery for those who aren't that used to wearing a lot of makeup. Autumn and winter usually bring out in us a vampier side and we reach for that experimental darker shade that lies forgotten in the drawer for most of the year, but it's a lot easier to wear a deep colour with heavier fabrics. 

The star of the show in this look is Milani's Matte lipstick in Flirty, a deep berry, though I could have swapped it for an even better choice also by Milani, Amore matte lip cream in Gorgeous. For those with a warm and a darker skin tone than mine shades like Wet n Wild Sugar Plum Fairy and Mac's Rebel will be an excellent choice because they tend to look more pink the darker the skin is, while on me it's more of a proper purple, so I prefer shades with more red like Mac's D for Danger (still don't have a full size of my favourite shade).

On the cheeks I very lightly applied Jordana's Powder Blush in Apple Cheeks, though I would swap it for something more muted in any other situation where I'm not showing you the blush. I can't say I have many dark pink blushes, but Freedom Makeup blush palette contains some marvellous, very pigmented shades. Shades like Milani's Red Vino would be perfect here, but I don't have it.

I hate to cheat here with a LE product, but the best choice in my eyes is Chanel's nail polish in Fantastic. I believe Chanel released several such shades so far (April comes to mind), but I'm not sure what shades are available now. It's deep pink-purple with some frost and I have yet to find a dupe, so if you have a recommendation, share it in the comments. But from the shades that are still available my absolute first choice is Bahama Mama by Essie, though technically a purple, but it definitely has a lot of pink tones to fit in this post. A more perfect shade would be the already discontinued Essence's Be Berry Now, though I believe 10 True Love from the current The Gel Nail selection is similar (might look more red on some people).

And for the last little bit, the pinkest of pink fragrances, I can't neglect Aqualina's Pink Sugar, which smells like cotton candy with tons of vanilla.

There you go, I just showered you with everything pink. I hope you enjoyed this post and have a great day!