Hi folks~ I hope 2021 has been going great for you so far. Today I have a lipstick swatch and wear test post for you~
A couple few months ago, I was approached by Jolse, a Korean shopping site. They have been one of my favourite sites to buy from since I started in Kbeauty years ago. They always offered excellent service, free shipping and a LARGE selection of products. So I was ECSTATIC that I was approached to review products for them~!! Of course I said yes.
Let me explain why I was so excited. They have a large selection of products, which gives me a lot of variety of options. But what makes me so excited is that Jolse has no requirement in terms of the reviews. They simply ask for my honest opinion on the products they carry. If you have been on here before, you know that I always provide my honest opinion on products. SO I don't do well with sites or brands that ask for favourable reviews only. Sometimes a constructive criticism/opinion is just a suggestion on how the product can be better, and not an attack on the brand or their products. Especially with skincare, people's skin are so different that the same product will work differently on everyone.
Anyways, I digress. I was excited that Jolse asked me and they told me I can choose whatever I want to review. So I chose a few things that's been on my wishlist! Of course, one of the top wishlist items is the AGATHA Premiere lipstick. It reminds me of Sailor Moon so I been eyeing it for a while. I also picked up one of the new Tonymoly lipsticks because I been wanting some new red lippies ๐
I have gone a little rambly, so let's move on with the review~!
AGATHA
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| Source: http://www.agathacosmetique.com/product/0300?lang=en |
AGATHA Cosmetics is a sub brand from AGATHA Paris, a French jewelry brand that started in 1974. The AGATHA Cosmetics brand is to promote French Chic styling around the world. They believe that there are a variety of Parisian styles, and that an emphasis should be placed on the naturalness of everyday life. That everyone will find their own unique style by mix and match. This philosophy carries over to the Premier Lipstick line. Where you can mix and match the cases with the lipsticks.
I am not gonna lie, I been eyeing this line for YEARS. It just always drawn my attention since it reminds me of the crystal that Black Lady from Sailor Moon would carry (I am a big sailor moon fan, primarily the original manga series. I always love the different crystals in the series). So this was THE item I threw in my cart when the opportunity came!
The Premier Lipstick lipstick series comes in two parts, the case and the lipstick inserts. The lipstick case (link) comes in six colours and the lipstick inserts comes in a variety of colours and finishes. Jolse currently offers two finishes, the regular (link) and matte (link) finish. I swear they had more but that's the current offering. You would have to buy both the case and lipstick insert separately.
I hemmed and hawed at the options for a really long time because SO many options! There wasn't much swatches of the lipsticks which is quite unfortunate. It made the lipstick choice quite difficult because I just wasn't sure if the colour options will be good for me.
Eventually, I settled on the dark blue/navy case and lipstick in matte finish and shade #117 Queen Red.
I was drawn to the pastel shades of the lipstick cases, but honestly, the dark navy one just draws me in each time. It's dark navy blue, almost black looking, with rose gold trimming & lettering. It really reminds me of the Black Lady's earrings from Sailor Moon. The case is made out of plastic and held together by strong magnets. It feels very sturdy and I would say it wouldn't accidentally open in your bag due to the amount of force required to pull it open. You need two hands to open it, no way you can open it with one hand. Trust me.... I tried.. Multiple times. ๐ You really have to hold on tight to the bottom of the case and pull on the top in order to pop it open.
I decided on the shade Queen Red because I love red lipsticks. ๐ I find that it goes well with my skin tone and it just makes me so happy to wear it. Though I been told that wearing red lipstick is too "loud" for interviews and it's weird without makeup on the rest of my face. *shrug* I still just wear a blended red lipstick/lip tint whenever I feel like it, even without doing makeup on the rest of my face. ๐ But I digress. I definitely lingered a while on the shade because nothing was shouting at me. Nothing was going "pick me! pick me!!!!". The swatches are just ok and looks quite muted. I eventually whittled down to Queen Red and Bloody Rose, but chose the former based on the description. I am always up for a classic red!
I seem to skipped ahead a little, so let's circle back a little.
As I previously said, the lipstick and case comes separately. You have to insert the lipstick with the lid on and make sure you hear the click. But honestly, I think you can click the lipstick in and out without the lid. This provides the ability to mix and match your lipstick with the same case. The lipstick inserts are pretty cute by itself, so you can totally just switch out the lipstick while using the same case.
The lipstick has a silhouette of Scottie, the dog symbol of the brand, printed on the side of the tube and imprinted on the tip of the lipstick. Obviously, the one on the lipstick comes off as soon as you use the lipstick. It was cute while it lasted.
The lipstick has a strong rose scent, which I love. It's a really nice mix of English rose + rose water. Which is a really nice combination. Knowing how much of a rose lover I am, you know I was ecstatic to find that surprise. Unfortunately, my excitement went to annoyance rather quickly. The scent is strong and LINGERS. Like it linger to the point where I can taste it when I am eating and drinking. I may love the smell of roses, I don't love tasting it with my food, especially savoury food. The scent eventually goes away after about an hour, so if you were to wear these lipstick, don't plan on eating or drinking for a while unless you are interested in ingesting rose + whatever you are ingesting.
Now, wear test. The finish on the lipstick is matte, and perhaps that's why it doesn't go on quite smoothly. I found that the spread of the product is very smooth, it creates bigger deposits of pigment in some areas than other. I found that it was better to dab it on for an even application. But even though it's a matte finish, it feels very comfortable on the lips. It doesn't feel drying at all.
The longevity of the application is not as great as my beloved Peripera lip tints. A lot of colours comes off by the way of blotting, and eating will cause most of the colours come off. My wear test lasted only about 2 hours before it was almost all gone, which included some drinking and eating. It left my lips looking super patchy, It was basically all gone from the upper lip, and only remnants left on the bottom lip.
Honest opinion of the AGATHA Premier Lipstick is that it's ok. I LOVE the packaging and the idea of mix and matching. But I do think the packaging is really nice. Just really well done for plastic casing. It is definitely a statement accessory. The lipstick quality didn't really excite me. It's not terrible but I don't appreciate tasting rose with my food and wish the colour last a bit longer. I do think the price tag is a bit high in comparison to its performance. It may be great for a present for someone, or if you really like the design of the lipstick case, or if you can find it on a great sale. I definitely appreciate mine and it brings me great joy, but I don't think I would buy a new lipstick insert any time soon.
TONYMOLY
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| Source: https://tonymoly.ca/ |
I honestly didn't give much thoughts into picking this lipstick because I really just wanted a new lipstick to try and the shades in this range caught my eyes. Tonymoly is also a pretty widely known cosmetics and skincare brand. So I am really sorry if this section seems much less enthusiastic than the AGATHA lipstick. (You can even see how I forgot to even take a picture of the lipstick by itself๐ )
Shade #5 Lip Flex is a brownish brick red. The official swatch is a brownish red that looks like that of a natural lip colour. When swatched on my skin, it is definitely more of a brownish red. But when on my lips, I found it to be red? Definitely what I would call a brick red, a brownish red.
The lipstick is velvet but goes on smoooothly!! It applies very evenly and goes on smoothly. The name sort of gives the impression that the finish is going to be matte, but it's not! It's definitely velvety and moisturizing! I had these dry patches on my lips during one of the testing sessions, and a few minutes and lip smacking later, I couldn't tell where those patches are anymore! It was pretty surprising to me! I actually tested the TONYMOLY and AGATHA on the two sides of my lips and it made me aware how the AGATHA side felt drying in comparison. Not that it was uncomfortable, but the TONYMOLY side definitely felt more moisturizing.
I am actually surprised and not surprised at the colour. It's pretty bright, though not as eye catching as a bright red lipstick, it's still very apparent that I have a red lipstick on. Not that I am complaining about it. It's still a pretty good shade on me to be honest. I quite like it.
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| Left: AGATHA; Right: TONYMOLY |
I definitely prefer it over the AGATHA lipstick. ๐ I didn't meant to pit the two lipsticks together, but I have to say the TONYMOLY colour is a lot more better on me. The AGATHA lipstick leans toward pink while the TONYMOLY leans toward brown. So they are suitable for two different seasons, summer for the former and fall for the latter. I tend to lean toward cool toned items, so it comes as no surprise that the cool toned colour is perceived to be better on me (Slightly off topic but I think I am actually warm toned but I always gravitate toward cool toned colours).
Performance wise, the lipstick doesn't have a distinct scent. It doesn't have a great longevity either, which makes me love my Peripera even more. It comes off rather easily due to how moisturizing it is, as it doesn't cling onto the skin very well. But as it wears off, it looks a bit more natural. It isn't as obvious, which I am pretty appreciative of.
Honest opinion of the TONYMOLY The Shocking Lipstick Velvet is that it's pretty great moisturizing lipstick. It doesn't have a great longevity, but I guess that's kind of expected for creme lipsticks, which also goes to the AGATHA lipstick. It doesn't have a strong scent and leaves my lips looking quite smooth. The colour payoff is great and it doesn't leave a ring of colour as it wears off.
Downside is that the shade range is quite limited. There is only 8 shades and they are just shades of red and pink. Seems like the Korean lipsticks has gone from shades of pink or with pink undertones, to shades of red or red undertones. There's not much in the darker brown, nude or berry shades. So if you don't like the 8 shades, this lipstick range isn't a great choice.
Overall Thoughts
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