Red Lips Week: Mac Hang-Up and YSL Rouge Volupte in Forbidden Burgundy

Mac Hang-Up and YSL Forbidden Burgundy

For the final post in this week of red lips, I have decided to focus on two darker options - Mac Hang-Up and YSL Forbidden Burgundy.  These are almost plummy shades, which give a more vampy look than the classic red for the festive season.

L to R: Mac Hang-Up and YSL Forbidden Burgundy

Mac Hang-Up looks almost black in the tube but goes on a darkened, deep red.  It is a cremesheen, which I find lasts around 2-3 hours on me and can be a slightly drying formula..  It is slightly glossy, which is not apparent in the swatch above,  but it gives a polished look on the lips.

YSL Rouge Volupte in Forbidden Burgundy is a vibrant plummy colour which goes on to the lips opaque in one swipe.  Rouge Voluptes are very soft and creamy (I reviewed another of the range, Pink Caress, here), and as this shade is particularly dark, I would recommend the use of a lipliner to avoid any issues with bleeding over the lip line.  As with Hang-Up, it looks much darker in the tube than it does on the lips.

Verdict

Both of these lipsticks offer an opaque plum colour in one easy swipe.  Especially suitable for vampy evening looks, these are the perfect choice if you are looking for something a bit different from your usual red lippy.  As the Mac lipstick is substantially cheaper, this would probably be my recommended choice for someone looking to dip their toe into a darker lip, however the formula of the YSL lipstick wins for me every time.

4/5

Price

Mac - £13.50

YSL - £22

Where to buy

Mac - Mac, House of Fraser, Debenhams, Selfridges

YSL - Department Stores,Boots, Debenhams

Red Lips Week: Becca Glossy Lip Tint in Grenadine

As we are now in the week before Christmas and I am starting to feel ever so slightly more festive, I thought I would do a short series on red lips.  Until a year or so ago, I would never have worn anything remotely red on my lips, but these days I have branched out of my comfort zone, explored some of the other options available and I'm now perfectly comfortable to rock a red lip.

Today, I am showing you Becca's Glossy Lip Tint in Grenadine.  I bought this lipgloss on a whim from Beauty Bay quite some time ago when they were on offer.  Although it looks quite scary in the tube, it is actually pretty wearable and is an easy way to ease yourself into a red lip.

Becca say that this is 'A long lasting translucent gloss that delivers radiant shine with a splash of colour and is completely non-sticky'.

The applicator is a brush which is not my favourite type of applicator but it does the job well, distributing the product evenly across the lips.  It is a gorgeous shimmery deep berry red, almost like a ripened strawberry colour, with no discernible shimmer.  It is not super sticky which is very good on windy days!  I also find I get around 2-2.5 hours wear with this which is very unusual for me with a gloss.  

Verdict

This gloss glides on very easily and is just as pigmented on the lips as the swatch above.  For those of you who are unsure about wearing red lips, this is a good way to ease yourself into them as you can build up the intensity according to your comfort level and it also good for wearing on more casual, less formal occasions. I will certainly be purchasing more of Becca's Lip Tints in the future, based on the quality and pigmentation of Grenadine.

5/5

Price - £18

Where to Buy - Becca