Purple Pull

My latest lipstick fixation is Dose of Colors Love Potion, after seeing it featured in MakeupByAlli's January Favourites and a separate video by Marlena of Makeup Geek. It's $16 on the Dose of Colors website and while international shipping is available, the cheapest option is $12.75. Unwilling to pay a further 80% of the cost of the lipstick to ship it over to Australia (at least for now), I do what I always do when I'm hit with a sudden wishlist addition: examine my closest alternatives and try to make do. I picked out the existing purple-leaning lipsticks in my collection, steering clear of more vampy berry and wine shades that I was very much into last winter.

l-r: Revlon Gumdrop, Australis Lick the Icing, Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn, Revlon Berry Haute, Maybelline Hot Plum, Australis Limited Edition 1

From swatches I've seen online, Dose of Colors Love Potion seems to be a neon pastel violet. It's like a bright Barbie pink with a good dose of purple. MakeupByAlli said it resembled the colour of a "berry smoothie", which I thought was a neat description. I'm a fan of purple lipsticks in general and I can't stop buying pink lipsticks, but surprisingly, it doesn't look like I have anything exactly like Love Potion. Or even close to it.

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Gumdrop is a sheer muted lavender, almost greyish compared with the others, with silver sparkles. Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick in Lick the Icing is a bright lilac pink. Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn is an opaque medium purple that's relatively blue-leaning and cool, not much pink/red to it. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Berry Haute is a muted grape crossed with berry pink, slightly brownish. Maybelline ColorSensational Vivids Lipstick in Hot Plum is the odd one out here, being a bold hot pink with strong fuchsia tones. Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick in Limited Edition 1 is a dramatic, somewhat vampy grape that leaves a reddish berry stain.

While I might not have a dupe of Love Potion among my purple lipsticks, one of the advantages of having a lipstick problem is the ability to come up with something close through mixing colours. To my eyes, Love Potion is like a combination of Australis Lick the Icing and Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn. I've tried layering the darker shade on top of the lighter one (dabbing on a touch of Face of Australia Sheer Gloss Lip Crayon in Cupcake for slightly more pink as Airborne Unicorn can be a bit overpowering) and the result has me satisfied I can live without Love Potion. More than anything, my pull towards purple lipsticks has been well and truly reignited. They're a bit unconventional and can be harder to wear than your usual pinks, reds or corals, but I find them bold, unique and a lot of fun, plus strikingly pretty when you find the right one.