Saturday, December 3, 2016

My Cheap Favorites: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks in Cherries in the Snow, Berry Haute, and Fire and Ice

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Review of Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks in Cherries in the Snow, Berry Haute, and Fire and Ice

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks are hardly new--in fact, they are probably one of the oldest products still going strong at the drugstore--but I only got my first one (Cherries in the Snow) less than a year ago. It hasn't taken long for them to reach favorite status, unlike most of my other favorites, which I've been using for several years. Honestly, if these had been the first lipsticks I'd tried, I might have been one of those people who was really into lipstick from the beginning of their makeup-using lives, rather than being frustrated with it most of the time. They're really comfortable and easy to use--at least the three shades I have now: Cherries in the Snow, Berry Haute, and Fire and Ice. Most lipstick formulas either dry out my lips or, at best, don't help my already dry lips any. These actually seem to moisturize them a bit! That's very rare in my experience.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks come in four finishes: crème, matte, pearl, and sheer. These three shades are all crèmes, so I can't say how the other finishes perform. They're all very pigmented in a single coat and not prone to smearing. To me, the formulas they're most similar to are the Urban Decay Vice cream lipsticks and the Bite Amuse Bouches (reviewed here). The latter are more pigmented (at least the shades I've tried), so you can get full opacity in a thin layer, but they feel about the same. They're as good or better than most higher end lipsticks I've used. I even like that old-fashioned gold and black tube, and the window on the top of the lid is useful.

And they are very cheap! The lowest price I've found for them is $4.99 at Target and Meijer. At CVS in my area they are $8.99, so the range is pretty fucking wide (and that motivated me to write about sales and price discrepancies). (If you have the right combination of coupons you might get it for the same price at CVS.) On Amazon, the prices vary depending on the shade from $4.99 to $16.12 (random!). (Remember when people used to call everything random? It was the "literally" of the early 2000s.)

Anyway, I really, really recommend at least these three shades from Revlon, even though none of them turned out to look exactly the way I expected on my face, as I'll explain.

First, Cherries in the Snow, which in a lot of online photos looks like a pink-red (i.e. a red lipstick with some pink in it). On me, it's definitely pink. Very little red. But flattering, I think!

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Cherries in the Snow

Here's a photo of me wearing it last December. I'd actually been thinking that Cherries in the Snow was one of my newer lipsticks, and here it's almost a year old. My memory is shit!


Here's a comparison with some other lipsticks I have in the magenta-fuschia range to give you a sense of where Cherries in the Snow fits in.

Swatches of Revlon Cherries in the Snow, e.l.f. Essential Lipstick in Gypsy, Urban Decay Matte Revolution in After Dark, Revlon Balm Stain in Smitten, Wet N Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in Nouveau Pink, and Bite Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Sour Cherry

Left to right: Revlon Cherries in the Snow, e.l.f. Essential Lipstick in Gypsy, Urban Decay Matte Revolution in After Dark, Revlon Balm Stain in Smitten, Wet N Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in Nouveau Pink, and Bite Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Sour Cherry.

Bite Sour Cherry (reviewed here), which looks straight-up red in this lineup, is more of the pink-red on me that I envisioned Cherries in the Snow being. Something about my skin tone tends to enhance the pink in lipsticks--you'll see that the same thing happens with the other two lipsticks I'm showing you here.

Next (in the order I bought them), Berry Haute. I picked this up back in March when I'd decided that I wanted to experiment with purple lipstick. It was a whim, chosen in the Target aisle based on how it looked in the tube. In the tube, it really does look purple, but on my face it becomes more of a mauvey-pink.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Berry Haute

I mean, there's a little purple in there, but it's totally something I can wear to work and no one really notices it. If I had truly purple lips, someone would comment. Berry Haute has the least sheen of these three shades. In fact, it's almost semi-matte.

It's hard to take photos in my apartment these days, because of the reflection of the windows in my glasses,
but it's too windy to go outside.
I really didn't have anything similar to this in my hoard, which is good news for me, but here are some purpley things for comparison:

Swatches of Revlon Berry Haute, Urban Decay Revolution Rapture, and Estée Lauder Matte Shameless Violet

Left to right: Revlon Berry Haute, Urban Decay Revolution Rapture, and Estée Lauder Matte Shameless Violet.

Finally, Fire and Ice, which, like Cherries in the Snow, has been around for a very long time. Let's admire this dramatic vintage ad from the 50s:


"Like flaming diamonds dancing on the moon!"

Again, this lipstick is not what I expected. I was imagining vibrant orange-red, like many (but not all) of the image search results show. Just like the others, my skin draws out what pink there is in it, and I get more of a coral. Not so much fire.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Fire and Ice

Like lots of lipsticks in the orange or coral family, Fire and Ice has more of a tendency than other shades to highlight flaky lips. It's not nearly as bad as some I've used, but if you are very picky, you might want to exfoliate before applying it.

Messy hair cropped out.
It's stunning, but it's not the more comfortable replacement for Wet N Wild Purty Persimmon that I envisioned.


Left to right: Revlon Fire and Ice, Wet N Wild Purty Persimmon, NYX Butter Lipstick in Little Susie, BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Light It Up, and NYX Matte Lipstick in Perfect Red.

The theme with all three of these colors is surprise, but not disappointment. Anyone else a big fan of the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks? I don't think they are at all inferior to some of the most expensive lipsticks I've used, and they're only 5 bucks. What shade should I try next? (Let's pretend it's in any way reasonable for me to buy more lipstick.)

Also, do you also find that your skin tone tends to enhance certain undertones in lipsticks? It's fascinating how the same colors can look so different on different people. I'm not expert enough in undertones, though, to know what it is about my skin that makes these lipsticks look more pink.

20 comments:

  1. My skin tone also enhances pink colors, can be really annoying when trying to find a red lipstick. I would also agree with the formula feeling similar to the Urban Decay Vice line, very smooth and comfortable to wear.

    The two colors I have of the Revlon are Mauvey Nights and Raging Raisin. I would also get Black Cherry if they improved the formula.

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    1. Mauvey Night looks pretty, though maybe close enough to UD Rapture that I can ignore it.

      I've heard that Black Cherry is a mess. That's too bad. It seems like dark purple-reds are difficult to formulate without their becoming patchy for whatever reason.

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  2. I've tried all three of these! My mom got me Berry Haute, which is one of her favorite lipsticks, but I gave it back to her eventually because it was very close to MAC Up the Amp. I don't wear the other two very often, since I prefer my bright, bold lipsticks matte, but Fire and Ice in particular is a really special color. I'm not sure it looks great on me (it's a lot brighter and warmer on me than it is on you), but I feel great when I wear it!

    I owned Mauvy Night for a long time before buying UD Rapture. The two are indeed very similar, though Rapture is more flattering on me because it's cooler-toned. You definitely don't need both. Another one I like is Primrose, which is a sort of pinky lilac-y nude.

    AVOID BLACK CHERRY LIKE THE PLAGUE. It's so, so bad.

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    1. Primrose looks pretty! I wonder if I could pull it off. I don't usually get along with very light lip colors.

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    2. I have primrose and a skin tone fairly similar to yours, and it makes me sad. If it were sheer it would look great, but it's too opaque for such a light color and makes my lips too pale, if that makes sense?

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  3. Berry Haute is my favorite purple! It looks beautiful on you! Great post :D

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  4. I have Siren, which is a straight up orange, which I didn't quite like because it enhances flakes and it's semi sheer and gave me patchy coverage :S I do have Icy Violet too and I looooooooove that one so bad. Beautiful, frosty, and a tiny bit sheer but very ethereal and pretty.

    I've always lusted over Fire and Ice and Cherries in the Snow! They're such classics. Cherries really looks SO pink on you, it's surprising. And Fire and Ice is really stunning on you, coral or orangey red or whatever. And I vote that Berry Haute does actually look purple :P

    I wonder if I can find a space in my red lip collection for them, or I should skip them :P

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    1. Icy Violet looks so interesting! But the internet tells me it was limited edition. Boo!

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  5. I have Mauvey Night and love it as a MLBB. It's similar to Sheer Rapture, which I love, but a hell of a lot cheaper.

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    1. Maybe it'll be something for me when I run out of Rapture. If I ever finish a lipstick . . .

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  7. Funny story, I used to HATE this line because as a teenager I'd buy it from the local drugstore in my small town and it always ALWAYS smelled off and tasted funny. So I quit buying the line and never went back. Well 20 years later I was talking to someone about that and they said that it sounded like that small drugstore (a CVS mind you) was selling expired lipsticks and I really should try the brand out again. So I bought one a year or so ago, and sure enough no smell and no funny taste. And now I LOVE the line.

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    1. Hmmmm, I wonder if it's that or if the formula changed? I didn't mention the scent because as you say, I haven't noticed one at all. That's actually surprisingly rare in lipstick, for some reason, but definitely another plus.

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    2. The Moon Drops line has a really strong smell and taste, sort of powdery and floral. I wonder if the Super Lustrous lipsticks used to have the same fragrance?

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  8. I love all of these colours! My friend wears both Fire and Ice and Cherries in the Snow constantly and they look great on her. Fire and Ice looks more coral on her than on you, though. The only one of the SL lipsticks I've ever owned was Black Cherry, which was sorely disappointing formula-wise, but I should really give the line another try. I think they're on sale at my store for $3.99 this week, which is amazing considering the usual price is $11.99 here.

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    1. It's so weird how much of a chameleon F&I is. I've seen everything from orange to red to coral. And that is a damned good price for Canada! By the way, any Canadian makeup you think I should pick up when I go back for the holidays? I'm thinking maybe some Marcelle mascara.

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    2. Marcelle mascara is a good bet! I'm a fan of Marcelle in general - I like their liners and BB cream, and some of their skincare is great. (The cleansing gel is awesome and cheap.) I've been into Lise Watier lately too, though they keep jacking up the prices. The liners, eyeshadows, lipsticks are always good. They have great seasonal stuff but those things tend to be pretty pricey. Annabelle I can take or leave and Joe Fresh has increased their prices by like a million percent since moving into Shoppers. (The lipsticks used to be $4 or 3 for $10 and now they're $12 each!) I wish there were more readily-available Canadian makeup brands out there! I've found a lot of the Canadian makeup landscape really uninspiring lately. LW and Marcelle are the only Canadian-exclusive brands putting out products that I'm interested in. Everything else that's cool (Deciem, Bite) is available in the US too. Ooh, have you checked out Vasanti? I haven't actually tried any of their stuff because my store doesn't carry them but I know a lot of people really like their powders and eyeshadows. Otherwise I can't think of anything other than prestige skincare brands.

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  9. These were the first lipsticks I owned when I started seriously wearing makeup around age 14. I owned Cherries in the Snow and Fire and Ice but I didn't love them - they were too bright for my goth teen aesthetic. I don't think I'd try those particular shades again now because I still don't love bright pinks and reds on myself (Cherries in the Snow never looked remotely red on me either). I also owned Black Cherry (and my experience with it wasn't so bad - maybe it got shittier in the last ten years), Iced Amethyst (a weird frosty purple, dunno if it's still around), and Blackberry, the BEST deep red shade that I have been unsuccessfully trying to dupe since they removed it from the line sometime in like 2011. It was seriously flawless. I haven't actually tried anything from the line since they killed it.

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    1. I never wore anything more dramatic than a tinted gloss or balm until a few years ago. All the time I wasted . . . . Also, I just googled Blackberry and it looks perfect. FOOLS.

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