Thursday, April 28, 2011

Review: NYC Ultralast Lipwear - Rose Gold & Red Flame


Price:
Online, I find it for $1.99 but I'm pretty sure when I got this from Walmart, it was $1.79.

What they say: Super-charged color. Glide-on, stay-on lipstick! N.Y.C. New York Color Ultra Last LipWear gives you incredible color with real staying power. Beautiful high-fashion shades with a hint of berry fragrance give you the most luscious, kissable lips ever. Available in twenty long-wearing lipstick shades... build a wardrobe of lipcolor!

Benefits: Moisturizing formula conditions lips with color and shine.

Application tips: Apply N.Y.C. New York Color Ultra Last LipWear directly to the lips or apply with a lipstick brush.

Key ingredients: Vitamin E for conditioning.

Full ingredients list: Ricinus Communis Seed Oil Castor, Octyldodecanol, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Euphorbia Cerifera Wax Candelilla, Tridecyl Stearate, Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, PEG-4 Diheptanoate, Polyethylene, PEG-8 Beeswax, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil Jojoba, Beeswax, Tocopherol Acetate, Propylparaben, Tin Oxide May Also Contain, Silica May Also Contain, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Red 6, Red 7 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Red 27 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Carmine. (from Ulta.com)
The good stuff:

  • Inexpensive!
  • Applies easily
  • Sheer but buildable color
  • Great for layering
  • Semi-moisturizing
  • Many shades to choose from
The low-down:
  • Color doesn't show up well on me unless I use concealer first
  • Average staying power
Left-Right: Rose Gold, Red Flame

ROSE GOLD
Shows up as a rosy (slightly coral-y on lips) pink with gold shimmer.

RED FLAME
Shows up as a blue-toned red with gold shimmer.

SWATCHESLeft-Right: Red Flame, Rose Gold

My take: I am so glad I picked up this lipstick after reading Angelique's review!!! They are such a steal too! I'll start off by saying that I bought Red Flame for my mom, so I don't use it. So sorry there are no lip swatches of that! I specifically wanted to try Rose Gold after seeing how it looked on Angelique, and I am happy to say that I LOVE IT : )

But -- yes, there is a but! -- On its own, it does not show up very nice on my lips. It makes my lips look slightly darker and a bit frosty (reminiscent of my last disappointing NYX lipstick haul). Sooo... for me, it takes prepping to make this lipstick work, but boy, does it work!What I have been doing lately to make lip color show up better is layering over DHC Rose Beauty Eye Zone Treatment Retouch Q10 (I have not reviewed this yet). Sounds weird, because it is meant for the undereye area, but it wasn't working too well for me and my dark circles. So on a whim, I decided to try it on my lips and lo and behold, it yields truly awesome results!

Once I prep my lips with lip balm and the concealer, Rose Gold layers on nicely and the color shows up a lot better. It starts off sheer but is buildable. It glides on lips easily and doesn't feel waxy. It feels somewhat moisturizing... prob. because I prep with lip balm first anyway, but still, it feels a tad moisturizing on it's own. Nothing super creamy or hydrating, but not drying, either. Also, you can feel a slight grit from the glitter; nothing bothersome though. Very similar to my Tsumori Chisato for Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in Jupiter Brown. It is also similar in color, except more pinky. Another thing that I'd like to note though, is that despite the "Ultralast" name, the staying power for me is only average. A few hours at best, even less if eating/drinking.

Although layering over concealer makes the color show up better, the finish is still a little too frosty for my liking. Btw, I realize in the past couple paragraphs I sound like a total contradiction of my claims that I love this lipstick. But here's the kicker.... I layer over it again with a sheer gloss. And for me, that completely perfects this lipstick. Now, if you like frosty lipsticks, of course this is completely unnecessary and I'm sure you'll love these lipsticks. But for me, doing these extra steps makes the color more vibrant... just the right pop of color, but still natural and wearable, AND tones down the frosty-ness to a shimmery, glossy sheen... I love it ♥

Would I repurchase/recommend? Yes, I would definitely repurchase these lipsticks; I would like to try more shades. I hope they make new shades too! I would definitely recommend this lipstick to anyone wanting to add some drugstore gems to their lippie collection!

Below, I used: EOS Lip balm, then DHC Rose Beauty Eye Zone Treatment Retouch Q10, then NYC Ultralast Lipwear in Rose Gold, and then YSL Golden Gloss #10 - Golden Peony (sorry for the bad lighting).


12 comments :

  1. Love the color on you! Sadly I can't wear pinks cuz it just looks too weird with my darker skin. lol. Oh well. I don't wear much lipsticks/glosses anyways. :S

    Whaaaat?? You STILL haven't gotten your Mario Badescu samples?! OMG. Did you email them? I'd be so upset, especially cuz it was that huge promo and all that. :S Oh that reminds me that I've only used my samples a couple times. haha. Haven't really given them much of a chance. Darn it. Gotta try them out more.

    E-commerce huh? That's cool :) Make sure you give yourself plenty of time for QBA your final semester though. Those QBA classes are a bitch and a half. :(

    Haha I'm soooo tempted to get into the DMA program but *sigh* I dunno. No idea what I'm gonna do with my life after I grad...lol. Yeah, video editing is sooo much fun! I love it. I just wish I had more time to do it. :( I don't know where I stashed my HDD with all my portfolio works (O.o) I'd better go find it. Maybe I'll end up adding to it one day. :)

    What do you think you'll end up doing after you grad?

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  2. Oh I just realized CS 200 is the first semester course of the E-commerce cert. I have that class next semester (replacement for the non-existent Filipino course ToT). Are you gonna take that one? Hey, maybe we'll have a class together. :)

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  3. Thanks for the review..Sadly they didn't sell in Malaysia =(..

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  4. a $2 lipstick eh? truth be told, I am slightly wary about dollar lipsticks, it's on my lips after all and will definitely be ingested! but on the other hand, they'd have to have passed safety tests before being sold on the market right?
    Does it have any kind of funky smell? I once sniffed a NYX lipgloss n nearly passed out T.T

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  5. Love the colors and the prices are too good to be true! Very pretty lips, btw~<3<3<3

    XOXO
    Miss. P

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  6. The color looks pretty on you! Red Flame was on my list but I think I'll pass since I think it would be too bright (seeing your swatch).. hehe. :]

    I should try that though.. conceal & then place the lippie on.

    <33

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  7. I just noticed you left me a comment on my blog about my camera. I got my d3000 on amazong, camera body ONLY for about $300something. Because I wanted to get a 18-200mm lense rather then getting a kit and then another lense. SO all together I spent $600something. Not that bad. video recording wan't a priority especially since they can't even record video in HD for that long or else you're going to stress the camera too much and maybe ruin it. I did a lot of reading on that before I made my decision. just get a camcorder if that's important to you.

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  8. your lip colors look gorgeous! i love it and it doesn't look drying, just what i need :D

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  9. LOL we contradict ourselves all the time! But the Rose Gold does look like a great color on you after all the work! :) And whoo! a semi cleavage shot! Yeah.. I'm a perv.. sorry! ;p

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  10. WHOA I'm on your reading list! How cool! Hahah I clicked to comment, and then my eyes strayed to the right, and I'm like I KNOW that girl! lol.

    Cool review! I've actually been wanting a red l/s.. all I own are pink and nude, but I finally realized that red lips looks HOT! I bought an NYC l/s years ago, and yea they are totally frosty! I actually like the swatch of the red flame on your hand! It looks like a nice wearable red.

    Since I only buy cheap cosmetics, I always use concealer too before applying l/s. It's become like 2nd nature now ~ chapstick, concealer, l/s!

    Your nails look cute too btw! That white heart is adorable!

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  11. Oh it looks so pretty!! it makes me wanna pick some up especailly its so cheap too!!

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  12. Thanks so much for posting the ingredients. I have been trying to hunt them down! haha

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If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to drop me a line and I'll get back to you asap :)