Nude Lips for Cool, Pale Rogues – Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm in Demure

Greetings from my secure lipstick vault once again, fellow rogues!

So, nude lipstick has always been something that has mystified me. As a vampirically pale rogue with almost-no-pigment lips, nude lipstick seems at best a little redundant, and at worst makes you look like someone warmed over Barbie’s corpse (if it’s a pink nude) or just warmed over a corpse (if it’s a beige nude). I suppose I always associated nude lips with the ‘concealer lip’ – you know, the super editorial kind of effect that looks amazing with a smokey eye if you are not me. (I will be chatting a bit more about my views on nude lips for cool-toned, pale rogues at the end of this post, for those that are intrigue, but for now, on with the story!)

Anyway, a nude lip is what you might call the perfect, classic stealth makeup tool, and as part of my seemingly neverending quest to find one that doesn’t look terrible, I spoke to Eleimos the Druid (a conoisseur of the ‘natural’ look), to see what advice was forthcoming. To my surprise, I was wordlessly handed a shimmering pink tube, that turned out to be Revlon’s Colorburst Lacquer Balm in Demure.

 

Apologies for the lighting – I try to take all my photos in natural light, and the weather is a little dank and dingy at the moment…
Eleimos, a druid of few words but excellent taste in nude lipsticks.

 

I will confess, I was sceptical. Much as I adore these lipsticks, a little part of me was worried that I’d get the death lip again To my joy, this fear turned out to be unfounded! What I got instead was a beautiful shell pink/peach nude with very fine silvery microsparkle that enfolds my lips in a luminous, gossamer cloak. Since I am at risk of waxing too lyrical right now (and I’m not professionally a bard, you know), let’s have another photo of the actual product…

 

A closeup of the product tip, in which you can see some of the shimmer and sparkle. Have you ever had a staring contest with a lipstick? Eleimos has (and won).

 

Demure is a very good name for this particular chubby lip pencil – it goes on smoothly, with a sheer-to-buildable coverage, and the sparkle (like a druid) is present but not ‘in your face’ – to quote Jaa’s recent (and excellent) review of a Tom Ford blush, this lipstick has ‘adult shimmer’. 😉

I would quickly note here that if you have a darker skintone/more pigmented lips than I do (not difficult!), there’s a possibility that you might find this lipstick to be a harder nude (appearing to have a more white base to it). When I first saw the swatches over at Temptalia, that was what made me cautious about this particular shade, as (wonderful as everything looks on Christine, damn her!) it appeared to be more ‘pale’ than I ideally wanted. However, you can see from the lipswatches below that this isn’t the case on me. Christine was quite right, as usual, when she said she thought it was a shade that would look different on different people!

The packaging, wear time and delicate, minty scent are all the same as for the previous lacquer balm (Whimsical) I reviewed, so If you’d like more detail, please pop over here. In short, however, the mint scent is non-plumping/irritating, the packaging is totally functional (also pretty) and the wear time is decent for a sheerer, glossy lip product on me. This particular shade was non-drying on me – I wouldn’t say it was overtly hydrating, but I didn’t have any problems either.

Behold! Ye Olde Lip Swatches!

 

Left: no pigment natural lips with poorly defined edges. Right: effortlessly pretty, shimmering ‘nude’ lips, courtesy of Revlon Demure Lacquer Balm.

 

A little Rogue-to-Rogue Chat about Nude Lips for Cool-Toned, Vampires: Generally speaking (and this is my own personal preference, based on experience), true nudes are a bad idea for us. Almost everything ends up looking way too ‘editorial’ (or corpselike), and few nudes have just the right undertone (most are too orange/yellow or too purple). Obviously, if you are actively aiming for an ‘editorial’ look, then don’t let me stand in the way of your shuriken! I’m talking about things you can wear when you’ve got a smokey eye on, don’t want to go the whole hog with a red lip, and ALSO don’t want the cleric and paladin asking you if you’re feeling OK every 5 seconds. Or things you can wear to the tavern without your fellow adventurers starting to string garlic and crosses up around the place, and writing postings with rewards for your head on a stake. So here are my personal tips:

For us, the easiest ‘nude’ is actually ‘MLBB’ – it’s still nude (or maybe ‘natural’) in the sense that you’re not wearing an obvious colour, but you have a bit more flexibility in the finish and the undertone, to help inject some life back into your complexion. I want to be able to toss a nude lipstick or gloss on, and not have to go the full bard with blush etc to try and perk me up again afterwards. Some good examples of my usual favourite way to wear a nude are: sheer corals, soft but not too pale pinks, and our good friend Demure here, which is nearly the same as my non-lip-colour, but still gives me life, sparkle and prettiness.

What are your favourite nude lipsticks?

 

The Verdict: These chubby pencils from Revlon have been really impressing me – they’re smooth to apply, non-drying, come in many fabulous shades and colours, and (with Demure here) have introduced me to a new wearable nudes that I never thought I’d find. A truly rogueworthy product!

The Practicalities: Revlon Colourburst Lacquer Balms cost NZD 20.50 / USD ~9.00 each for 2.7g /0.095 oz, and are available from drugstores and pharmacies the world over, as well as Farmers in NZ and www.revlon.com. ❤ I’d like to take a minute to note that this wonderful lipstick came to me courtesy of my lovely mum and sister, who knew how keen I was on this range, and got me one ❤

 

Until next time, fellow rogues, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

 

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images on this blog are the property of Syl unless otherwise noted. They may not be reproduced without permission – if you do, I’ll send goblin hordes after you. Plague-ridden ones.