The Ultimate Arsenal: Bloom Lipsticks in Ragtime, Charleston, Tint, Petal and Tangerine – Reviews and Swatch Hoard

Greetings from the depths of an overstuffed kitbag, fellow rogues!

Once upon a time, there was a Rogue called Sylirael. She decided that the world needed to hear about beauty from the refreshingly fantastical perspective of a dungeon-raiding adventurer, and so one day, she started a blog. Her very first post showcased one of her kitbag’s most essential components – Bloom Sheer Lipstick in Tangerine. The rest, as they say, is history.

*nostalgic sniff*

Today, fellow rogues, I’m opening the kitbag again to reveal that Bloom isn’t just good for sheer coral lipsticks! Oh no, there’s a whole arsenal of great shades and finishes in their line, and I have a much-loved collection that I’m bringing you today, complete with rogueish reviews and hilarious lip swatches. I found (when buying my first Bloom lipsticks), that the swatches and reviews available online were kind of few and far between. Although this has undoubtedly changed, I’m hoping my little swatchfest here will help some adventurers out!

 

The Rogue’s Bloomin’ Arsenal (from left): Ragtime, Charleston, Tangerine, Tint and Petal.

 

Alrighty then, let’s start with some practicalities (I’m going to divide this mega-review up into sections so that it doesn’t get too unwieldy and rambly):

Packaging: What I said in my very first post still holds true: ‘The packaging is simple and clean, and also robust – I dropped this down eight flights of stairs in a library and it emerged unscathed – it must be the perfect rogue lipstick! It closes with a satisfying click and the lipstick bullet isn’t ever loose or mis-set in the tube (and I’ve gone through a few tubes of this stuff in my time)’. Every single lipstick I’ve had from Bloom has fit this profile, so I’m very pleased with their packaging indeed (although I promise I don’t make a habit of tossing them off balconies – rooftop chases can be very hazardous for lipsticks).

Scent/Flavour: These lipsticks are all supposed to be scented with mandarin and vanilla essential oils, and although I don’t find them to smell notably like either vanilla or mandarin, they do have a very soft, pleasant scent in the vanilla line. There’s no taste, and the smell doesn’t hang around on your lips after application. Unless, you know, you make the funny kissy/orc face and sniff your own lips. Don’t look at me like that, you kow you’ve done it.

Colours/Finishes/Types: Bloom has a standard range of lipsticks (which included some shades specifically labelled as ‘Sheer’), a small line of Mineral Plus lipsticks, and a range of Matte finish lipsticks. As you can see from this review, I’ve extensively sampled the ‘sheer’ shades, and two of the three Mineral Plus ones. As of the moment, I haven’t tried their Matte line. The colour selection is pretty conventional, with a decent selection of shades, but it’s actually rather hard to tell as the swatches on their website are ABYSMAL. Seriously, I don’t know which goblin got into their system, but the swatch pictures bear (in many cases) NO resembalnce to the actual product – hence my desire to find reviews and swatches online when I started looking at these (NZ used to have Bloom stockists, but not any more, sadly).

 

Sample ingredient lists: top is the Sheer Lipstick in Tangerine bottom is the Mineral Plus Lipstick in Charleston.

Some example product boxes from Tangerine and Charleston, complete with the amusingly coiffed Bloom Lady and some sparkles.

 

Now for some reviews! Let’s start with the Mineral Plus Lipsticks, which I have in Ragtime and Charleston (there’s also Foxtrot, and there was another, musically named one, but that appears to have disappeared off their website).

Ragtime: This is one of their lipsticks for which I was able to find the most reviews – it’s a very popular, vibrant berry red shade. The pigmentation is good, the lipstick is opaque, and it has a smooth satin finish. It’s hydrating on me, and lasts for a good four hours  – more than enough time for clearing out a moderate harpy den. It’s the kind of shade that is bright without being IN YOUR FACE, and makes a good alternative to a bolder red lipstick if you’re not in the mood for the latter.

Charleston: This one I bought sight unseen, and was somewhat nonplussed upon opening it to discover that it was, well, brown. Generally, when you have my colouring, brown is not a good look. However, let no-one say this rogue isn’t daring and bold! I tried it, and although it’s actually quite ‘dark’ on my complexion, it has enough rosiness to keep it from looking out of place. This was a shade outside my usual comfort zone (I know, I’m happy with Shameless, but I’m afraid of a brownish nude :-P), but I’m pleased with the effect.  The finish is quite a muted satin – it’s not matte, but it doesn’t have much sheen to it. The wear is quite excellent, coming in at about 5 hours if I’m not feasting/quaffing much.

 

Sigryn has an unfortunate habit of being surrounded by lipsticks. Fortunately, she can take care of herself, as Tangerine is about to find out. Clockwise from top: Charleston, Tint, Petal, Tangerine, Ragtime.

 

Swatches, both on the arm and the lips, are below!

Onto the Sheer Lipsticks!

Tangerine: I have a whole post about this, so I won’t harp on too much here, but it’s a sheer-buildable glossy coral lipstick with pink undertones, and is one of my ultimate, everyday, MLBB lipsticks. Get it, you won’t be disappointed! (Well, unless you hate sheer, glossy lipsticks, but you know what I mean) 😀

Petal: This is one of the more interesting shades, I think. It’s a muted pinkish violet colour, with a not-inconsiderable grey tone to it. It’s a purple lipstick, so of course I’m happy, but I think it would probably have wildly varying effects on different skintones and lip-pigmentations. Sometimes, even I find that it’s a little sickly for me, but you can’t keep a good lipstick down – there are still ways I like to use Petal. It’s sheer and hydrating, to it makes an excellent ‘topcoat’ lipstick for a more vibrant stain. You can get interesting effects, but a good standby is to use a red stain, like Benetint or a thin layer of Revlon Fire and Ice rubbed into the lips, then put Petal over the top for moisture and a purple overtone. The wear is similar to Tangerine, really, a little longer if you’re using it as a topcoat, so you’ll probably make it through a decently sized frozen catacomb before needing to touch up (3-4 hours).

Tint: This is pretty much exactly what its name implies – it’s a sheer, cool-tined red lipstick that tints the lips a deeper, almost berry colour, but isn’t an actual *stain*. Like its friends above, you can use it as a hydrating top layer for something else, or by itself as a simple, effortless tint. The wear time is perhaps a little shorter than its fellows, not longer than three hours on me, but it’s hydrating and easy to apply, so I’m usually not too fussed if I have to pull it out mid-dungeon for touch ups.

 

Arm swatches! From left: Ragtime, Charleston, Tint, Petal, Tangerine. You’ll see below how differnt some of them can look when they’re actually on the lips (Tint looks redder, less purple, for example).

 

Aaaand…the lip swatches!

 

Creepy lip swatches! 😀 I can’t get over how weird it is to see your own disembodied lips…but the lipsticks look just as great as they are 🙂

 

Right! So that is an overview of my Bloom Lipstick Arsenal – a range of shades I think pretty much every rogue would be able to find something agreeable in. Are these colours dupeable? Probably. Are they so lovely and hydrating and well-packaged that I haven’t bothered to try? Most definitely! If you get the chance, I highly recommend you give some of Bloom’s lipstick offerings a go – I’m still in the process of collecting new colours to try, knowing how reliable the formula is for me.

I hope this swatchfest has been helpful!

 

Allow me to paraphrase my Tangerine verdict: ‘I expect it’s probably clear by now, but in short: they’re versatile, comfortable, beautiful and affordable (by NZ standards). A must for any rogue on the lookout for rouge.’

The practicalities: Bloom Lipsticks cost AUD 28.00 for 4g/0.14 oz, are (apparently) permanent, and may be acquired from  http://www.bloomcosmetics.com/ , the stockists listed therein (mostly in Australia), and occasionally on NZsale (at a varying discount).

 

Until next time, fellow adventurers, 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. All content on this website, including images, is the property of the owner/author (Sylirael The Painted Rogue, unless otherwise stated), and may not be reproduced without permission. If you do, I’ll send harpies after you. Smelly ones.