Sparkled Beauty

Question of the day: Can a bright/ pretty lipstick cheer up your mood? I know lots of you will say yes, and I partly agree. I am mourning my mom's pet chihuahua who just left us last night and could really use some help cheering up. This month has sucked so bad!

So, I reach for comfort. I didn't dare to tell Squirt yet and the bf is so far far away, so human comfort is out of the question. How about pretties comfort?

These are Marcelle Rouge Xpression lipsticks, from L-R: Jezebel, Paris Rose and Amour. They were generously sent to me for review, but I would have picked out these colours myself if I were going to buy some. Quite a good representation of colour groups, don't you think?

The website features 21 different shades of this lipstick line, impressive. I love it when I could have a swatch fest at the display among tons and tons of shades to find exactly what shades I like.

Here are the swatches in natural light. If you have natural pink lips, any of these shades will look gorgeous on you. Lucky ducks! For me, I always have to prep the lips with a nude/ or berry pink lip liner if I want the colour show up as it is in the tube. Otherwise, it'd look quite different on me. Hence, hand swatches work best.

If you haven't heard enough raves about these lipsticks, let me tell you one more time. They are so creamy and pigmented, and not drying at all on your lips. Such a pleasure to just pull out one of these and give your lips great treatment and colour that they deserve.

Swatches again, this time with flash.

If you are shy away from reds, try Paris Rose. It is pretty, subtle but has a voice. And it says "I'm Paris Rose, and I'm fabulous!" - brownie points for those who can relate Hanna Marin's favorite saying (from Pretty Little Liars, I read the books, haven't seen the show).

Anyway, back to the point. If you are a neutral, work safe kinda girl, go for Jezebel. It's a more toned down mauvy pink, but not too dark to age you a few years.

Rouge Xpression lipsticks retail for CAD11.95, a little more than regular drugstore lipsticks would cost. Watch out for sale, and coupons that are attached to the display for some savings. I always do.

Lip swatches :) This is Jezebel. As forewarned, the colours will look a bit different on my lips than yours. I did not use any lip liner underneath in swatching these.

Jezebel would be for a casual going-out kinda occasion, or for days at work that I don't feel like standing out, or when I already go with a bright or smoky eye look. Yes, I do wear smoky eyes to work :)

Paris Rose would be a perfect girly cheer-me-up colour, makes you feel better about yourself when nothing else does.

I hope you don't think that it's shallow when I look for comfort from something like a lipstick. I just think it is one of the very things I can do for myself with no help from others. And I will wear my lipstick proudly.

Now, Amour would not be a colour for the faint of heart. I consider it one for special occasions, or when I feel totally confident about how I look. But if you love reds, this shade is for you.

Hope the review and swatches are helpful. Hope life treats you all well. Hug your loved ones and tell them you love them everyday if you can. And for those with aching hearts for whatever reason, I hope we'll heal quickly and can love again.