Lip Saver

My last Sephora visit was all about lips. I wanted the best everyday natural but polished work-to-play face illuminating and divinely comfortable lip product Portland's embarassingly small Sephora had to offer. I was sure NARS would have it- I look great in red lips and NARS has some really spectacular reds- but either the light was off both in the store and outside or I was somehow having a bad lip day because almost everything I tried on looked like it was sitting awkwardly on top of my skin. I spent two hours going from brand to brand, and in the process my lips were rubbed raw and sore (it didn't help that a sales associate inadvertently handed me a tissue moistened with rubbing alcohol at one point). But then I came to the back of the store and saw that Vincent Longo replaced another brand while I was at school, and there my lips found heaven.

I tried all of Longo's formulas, and I'm quite impressed. Not only do they feel amazing, but the color selection is stunning. I can't comment on how the range will flatter the entire array of skintones out there, but I found a so far unparallelled variety of the natural "your lips but better" colors that in my opinion are one of the best things a person can put on their lips.

The standout for me was the new Baby Balm line- again gorgeous shades, but the formula is what really won me over. My raw lips felt soothed within two or three minutes of swiping some on, and the redness went down in about ten or twenty minutes. The texture is highly emollient and slippery which some women will find to be a deal breaker, but the slippiness gives lips a gorgeous natural moist shine and I assure you the color and moisture last long after the slip is gone (usually about an hour or after eating). While the description of the benefits of the ingredients on Sephora's website seems like hype, I used this product throughout the trip to NY and my lips never once felt dry. I recommend the shade Fawn Nestle as a year round polished work-to-play neutral nude rose. Although this lipstick is steep at $23 a pop, its .12 oz size is much more reasonable than many other high end sheer lipsticks (Bobbi Brown's Lip Shine is $19 for .08 oz for example) and I think the shade range and texture make this worth investing in if you're a lip balm junkie like me.