Lipstick Loopy

I'm going through a lipstick phase right now. Can't get enough of the stuff. A week ago I did a significant purge of ancient, unwanted or otherwise neglected lippies, mentally freeing myself to buy some more. I was also struck with the tremendous urge to reorganise my entire lipstick collection. Not the greatest thing to embark on when it's past midnight and one has work in less than 7 hours.

Last Friday, I popped into Sportsgirl and automatically wandered to the beauty section. I was casually trying on nail polishes and lipsticks without any intention to buy, but once I put Pretty Please on my lips, I knew I couldn't leave without it. I was also reminded of Pink Ladies, the last Sportsgirl lipstick I bought (previously alluded to but never featured in detail). Largely inspired by Amanda, I thought I'd make an updated Sportsgirl lipstick collection post.

l-r: Sportsgirl Pink Ladies, Sportsgirl Pretty Please (faint dark line in the middle from unwashed eyeliner)

l-r: Sportsgirl Pretty Please, Sportsgirl Pink Ladies

Sportsgirl Pretty Please appears fairly unspectacular in the bullet and swatched on the hand, but somehow transforms into a true "my lips but better" shade on the lips. I've worn it over lip balm in the lip swatch, so the colour is a bit lighter and less intense than if I'd applied it to bare lips. It gives a soft, polished pout, bringing the rest of the makeup together and adding that finishing touch to the face. It's such a natural-looking, relatively subdued and versatile shade that I've chucked it into my everyday bag, rather than keeping it with the rest of my lipsticks which are displayed far more than they're used. Pretty Please is a medium, brownish pink that doesn't lean mauve or overly nude, the kind of neutral that I imagine could belong to the same family as MAC Patisserie, NARS Dolce Vita or Chanel Rouge Coco Mademoiselle. While it is dusty and muted on the lips, there is a pleasing touch of brightness and colour to it (perhaps a hint of peach?) that prevents it from being too mature-looking or dull. It's smooth and creamy, but not dense or slippery, with a glossy finish and nice pigmentation, but slightly drying on the lips.

Sportsgirl Pink Ladies was purchased in August last year when I was deeply rooted in my pink lipstick phase (I'm not sure whether I'm safely out of it, even now). It looks spectacularly bright in the tube, but what convinced me to buy it was that it actually applies quite sheer. Because of the glossy formula, it requires a couple of layers to be built up in intensity and can be worn very lightly or layered with other colours. It's a bright, cool pink that to my eyes, is still very much a party/going out colour. Admittedly, it's probably not the most flattering pink for my skin tone, but it's a fun, fashionable shade that at least it isn't too pale (unlike Sportsgirl Beauty Queen).

My Sportsgirl lipstick collection now includes 5 lipsticks, and I could easily acquire more, but I try to be as selective as possible with my lipstick purchases (at least in theory). I was tempted by Berrylicious, and previously the now discontinued Night Owl, but managed to resist. At an affordable $9.95 a pop, Sportsgirl reliably put out a range of trendy, youthful colours with good formulations and cute, functional packaging (though I wish they would bring back the colour-coded sticker labels at the bottom of the lipstick).

A picture of my revamped lipstick storage. The clear box is from Daiso and the lipstick stand behind it is the same one I bought from Target a year ago. I do have more lipsticks that I keep with the rest of my makeup storage, but I figured at least this way, it'll be easier to see the majority of the shades that I reach for the most. The only thing I'm cognisant of is that non-makeup obsessed parents/friends will probably be freaked out by my sheer excess if they saw it, but they should know me by now.