Coral, Pink, Berry

Holiday gift sets, with their elaborate packaging, relative value for money and limited edition nature, are a surefire way to entice beauty lovers to open their wallets. When I saw the Too Faced Melted Kisses & Sweet Cheeks set, it immediately piqued my interest. Three mini blushes and three mini liquid lipsticks, all new to me, from a good brand, for around $50? I rationalised it was just over $8 a piece. Nothing that'd break the bank. I mean, could I even buy a liquid lipstick or blush for $8 from Maybelline or Rimmel? With the added incentive of a Beautylish promotion, the decision to buy was a foregone conclusion.

The whole set is packaged into three separately boxed Love Flush Long-Lasting 16-Hour Blush and Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick duos (admittedly, it felt excessive tearing apart each of them to get to the products — as if I was greedily awarding myself three presents and caring naught for leaving none for anyone else): Love Hangover/Melted Nude, Justify My Love/Melted Peony, Your Love is King/Melted Fig. I guess you could consider them broadly as the coral, pink and berry sets respectively. The blushes are 2g each (full size is 6g) and the liquid lipsticks are 5ml each (full size is 12g). Considering I cannot recall the last time I finished a full size blush or lip product (lip balms don't count), the smaller sizes don't bother me in the slightest. Rather, I view them a plus since I get more variety and bang for my buck.

The liquid lipsticks have identical packaging to their full size equivalent (just an adorable mini version), but the blushes are a bit different, in that they're squares with raised hearts in the middle, rather than the whole thing being heart-shaped. I'm sure there are practical reasons for that, since an exact mini replica of the full size packaging would've been more aesthetically pleasing, but probably harder to manufacture, less sturdy, and even tinier than the current 4cm x 4cm shape.

l-r: Love Hangover, Justify My Love, Your Love is King

l-r: Too Faced Love Hangover, Clinique Peach Pop, NARS Orgasm, NARS Luster, theBalm FratBoy

I was expecting to have multiple nearly identical shades to Love Hangover (the "coral" pick of the three Love Flush blushes in the set), but surprisingly Love Hangover leans a lot pinker than comparable shades. Clinique Peach Pop is probably the most similar, though it is more orangey red and sheeny. theBalm FratBoy looks so flat and powdery in comparison to the other shades ... it's the most matte in finish. Both the NARS blushes have more of a pronounced gold shimmer than Love Hangover which applies largely matte, though Luster is more of a burnt orange tone and Orgasm is more a sheer warm pink.

l-r: Too Faced Justify My Love, NARS Angelika, Tarte Doll Faced, e.l.f. Pink Passion

Justify My Love is brighter and more cool-toned than NARS Angelika (more red, with silver sparkles) and Tarte Doll Faced (matte, bit warmer). It has the addition of fine gold shimmer which adds a nice touch and isn't chunky or too much. e.l.f. Pink Passion is an even more extreme version of Justify My Love, though the effect on the cheeks is similar (mainly a berry red). As a reader commented on my Instagram (I share her pain), cool-toned pinks never retain their shade when applied to yellow skin. I either haven't found one that will (maybe I need one that's pastel/white-based? Illamasqua Katie perhaps?) or must accept the inevitable consequence of my light-to-medium sallow Asian skin tone.

l-r: Too Faced Your Love is King, Rimmel Genuine Plum, Illamasqua Naked Rose, NARS Sin

I don't really have anything like Your Love is King, which is a bit scary in the swatch. It's a lot brighter and more red than Rimmel Genuine Plum or NARS Sin, both of which are more purple/berry-toned. Illamasqua Naked Rose is more matte, clearly a lot paler and dusty pinky mauve in colour. This one felt drier and patchier in texture when swatched than the other two, though I didn't have any issues with a brush. You need a super soft brush like the Wayne Goss Brush 14 or Suqqu Cheek Brush to apply it, otherwise risk major clown cheeks. It imparts an earthy, deep, fall flush.

l-r: Melted Nude, Melted Peony, Melted Fig

Admittedly, the Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipsticks didn't excite me as much as the blushes, maybe because I found the shades to be generic (though let's be real, not like the blushes weren't either). I've heard many positive things about the formula and they seem to enjoy a good reputation, so I was keen to try them out for the first time myself. I had no problems with the application and feel of these on my lips, I didn't find them drying, and they're extremely pigmented such that you need only a very small amount for opaque coverage. They're fairly glossy in finish, non-staining and easily removed with a tissue.

Melted Nude is a warm, peachy brown shade that I'm not convinced looks 100% flattering on me. It reminds me of Revlon Matte Lipstick in Smoked Peach. It's one of those shades where you really need a flawless, perfected, painstakingly concealed base (or just full coverage foundation) to work, otherwise I find it emphasises any areas of redness I have. Melted Peony is a bright, yellow-based Barbie pink. It instantly brings to mind MAC Viva Glam Nicki and makes my teeth look super yellow. It's a garish party shade that I would've been head over heels for maybe 2 years ago, but don't have quite the same enthusiasm for in the present day. Melted Fig is probably the most unique shade of the three. It's a medium-to-dark berry/plummy shade that's not too purple. More rosy-mauve. I probably don't have an exact dupe of this in my collection, but I'm sure I have several options that come close. MAC Plumful, Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Plum or a cross between Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick in Samba/Boogie Woogie/Foxtrot perhaps? It's a slightly different, still elegant option for a night out, though a bit too dark and serious for me to wear during the day.