Boldest Berry

I have no idea when I began obsessing over dark berry lips, but they seem to be all the rage. Once categorised as more appropriate for autumn/fall, they're now embraced year-round. There's something edgy and dramatic about a bold lip bordering on vampy. Paired with flawless, dewy skin and minimal eyes, it's positively fresh-faced and trendy as hell. (I may or may not be thinking of the Tom Ford lipstick Lara Bingle wore to her 25th birthday party.) Come to think of it, it took me a long time to come around, but it probably all started with this Lisa Eldridge video on four ways to wear Tom Ford Black Orchid. As usual, when gripped by a new makeup fixation, the first thing I do is pull out and explore all my existing options.

Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of Revlon. They do lip products like no other. My earliest foray into deeper shades came in the form of two limited edition Revlon palettes: a vivid, dark, blue-based red and an eggplant purple in the Illuminance All-over Palette in Passion Fusion (let's call them #3 and #4 respectively), and a plum lip colour in the Bordeaux in the Snow Lipgloss Palette. In my Revlon Lip Butter collection, I have two of the darkest shades, the brightened, dark pink fuchsia Raspberry Pie and the deep brownish-red Red Velvet. I recently added Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in Black Cherry to the mix, because I wanted a full-on colour to play around with. Before Black Cherry, there was Savvy by DB in Bali that I picked up during Priceline's 40% off cosmetics sale, and much before that, I had the muted brownish-mauve of Australis Foxtrot.

The two lip shades in Revlon Passion Fusion are much more pigmented and creamier than the lip colour in Revlon Bordeaux in the Snow, which is sheer, terribly patchy and extremely dry in texture. It's so hard to pick up any colour and apply it smoothly and evenly to the lips that it's almost unusable. The third shade in Passion Fusion looks like a very dark maroon in the pan, but it's actually much brighter and pinky-red when applied. It could even potentially double up as a cheek tint if sheered out. The fourth shade in Passion Fusion is the most purple of the bunch and reminds me a lot of Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in Va Va Violet.

Savvy by DB Long Lasting Matte Lipstick in Bali, first brought to my attention by Angela, isn't a lipstick that I anticipated buying. After a few underwhelming experiences with products from the brand, I hadn't given much thought to trying out anything else, except for repurchasing their stellar Luxury Liner eyeliners (now known as Soft Glide). But the deep, berry red colour was so on point, and it was so cheap on sale, that I had to. Being matte, it is a little drying, but nothing a lip balm can't fix. Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick in Foxtrot is a less intimidating option — a desaturated plum with a brownish, rosy tone. I'm not a huge fan of the smell of the Colour Inject lipsticks, but my lips have always liked the formula. The two Revlon Lip Butters in Raspberry Pie and Red Velvet are a couple of my absolute favourite darker lip colours. Almost opaque in pigmentation, but hydrating and glossy, you can whack these on without having to worry about following exact lip lines or somehow messing up the application.

Finally, we have Revlon Black Cherry. I was almost going to devote a whole post to it because of my initial excitement in finally having it in my collection. Ever since I saw Estée feature it in her Beauty Products I Couldn't Live Without video, it's been on my to-get list. Black Cherry is the closest thing I'll have to Chanel Rouge Allure Rouge Noir or Tom Ford Black Orchid. It's a blackened maroon that absolutely needs a lip brush for optimal results. The texture isn't what I expected at all as it's nothing like the other Super Lustrous lipsticks I have, probably because of the difficulty in getting the formulation spot on due to the unusual colour. It can get patchy very quick, including if you rub the lips together or go over existing lipstick to deepen the colour, or just fix up any unevenness or imperfections with the first layer. Bizarrely, I can wipe this off my lips with a tissue and everything slides right off without leaving any kind of stain. I think it works best on well moisturised lips, using only one layer applied in a single, uninterrupted motion straight from the bullet. The edges might need to be cleaned up afterwards, and the colour spread with the fingers in a dabbing motion. I find it starts to feather and fade quite quickly, so constant reapplication and touching up is required. It's one high maintenance lipstick. But there's just something about it. It's a touch vampy, bold and chic. It's anything you want it to be, from the lightest berry stain to the heaviest, near black lipstick.

l-r: Revlon Raspberry Pie, Savvy by DB Bali, Revlon Passion Fusion #3, Revlon Red Velvet, Australis Foxtrot, Revlon Passion Fusion #4, Revlon Bordeaux in the Snow, Revlon Black Cherry

l-r: Revlon Raspberry Pie, Savvy by DB Bali, Revlon Passion Fusion #3, Revlon Red Velvet

l-r: Australis Foxtrot, Revlon Passion Fusion #4, Revlon Bordeaux in the Snow, Revlon Black Cherry

Pinks, reds, corals, MLBB shades, nudes, and now deep berry reds/burgundy/plums. Every imaginable lipstick need, covered. The frequency that I'd wear any of these shades doesn't warrant the number I have (I didn't even include my Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains), but clearly that's never stopped me. I think lipsticks are to me what shoes must be to some other girls. You might wear a fancy pair for fun around the house, or to a special occasion, but day to day you'll probably be in a boring pair of flats. Similarly, I usually don't even wear lipstick most of the time, but I'm all about having a multitude of choices for when I do feel like dressing up.