Just Minz: Deep Plum Runway Lips For Less

Wine lip trend- Burberry Fall 2012

I've been on a hunt for the perfect fall plum lip color. Now I purposely stay away from dramatic colors and stick to natural mauve and neutrals for a day-to-day look, however I realized I was playing safe with the purples I do have. Colvergirl's Divine Divine is probably as dramatic as my purples get.

So then the hunt began, finding a deep flattering plum that wasn't too glossy. I don't mind if the formula is too matte because that's an easy fix with some chapstick. I don't mind lipsticks that stain either because even if it rubs off during the day, I wont need to touch up since there will be a light wash of color still there.

I heard and read reviews on Alabama by NYX, a deep red berry shade and I fell in love! Too bad the drugstores nearby didn't have NYX products but Urban Outfitters had some shades in NYX matte lipsticks including Summer Breeze and True Red. Neither of them were appealing. Summer Breeze was too bright and made my skin look dull and dirty and True Red is a beautiful shade but was a bit too bold for the look I was going for and too close to NYX's Amsterdam Soft Matte Lip Cream which I have.

I haven't gotten anything from CVS besides stuff I need for the house all semester but one day walking through the aisles in CVS a NYC product caught my eye! A perfect deep plum shade with no shimmer and only $1.99 (NYC- 320 Mahogany). The angles came out and starting singing....yup this ones a winner.

I came home and tried it on and I loved it but it was a bit glossy for my taste. I simply pad it down with a Kleenex and it looked great. The next time I went back to CVS had restocked their lipstains, one of them being a deep plum shade (their darkest lipstain) called 499 Forever Mine Wine for. I tried it on at home and my first impression was wow...this is dark! I also noticed that since this is a dark shade it settled into the cracks of my lips and emphasized the dryness.

A tip to making this work, apply a thin layer of chapstick, not too much or else the stain wont absorb into your lips. Apply the stain on your lower lip and rub lips together to transfer the color. Most makeup artists like to line the lips before filling them in, I feel this stain is too dark for that and would leave you with an ugly dark rim all day, so concentrate the stain in the middle and use the NYC Mahogany lipstick to line the lips, moisturize, and leave a smooth dark runway style finish.