Yay! I was one of the lucky few who got some lip stain samples in my recent order as Kristen mentioned in this thread! I was hoping that I might get one lip stain sample after I saw her post, but I was amazed to find FOUR samples in the order I received tonight, including the two colors that I was most looking forward to! Wow -- thank you so much, Kristen!!

In general, all of these colors are definitely sheer and amazingly wearable! Even if you don't like the corresponding blush, you should sample the lippie -- I don't like all of these blushes but I love all of the lippies!

The lippies also have a distinctive flavor, but since I am horrible at describing flavors/scents I'll let someone else describe it. I don't think my nose works right

Keep in mind that I have very pale skin and light colored lips, so I have a hard time finding lippies that aren't too bold on me. I also tend to look best in warm to neutral colors and have a hard time pulling off cooler lippies (though there are a few exceptions, like Rosebud!). I also tried all of these lip stain samples with a lip brush, which tends to give me a sheerer/lighter application than applying a lippie directly from the tube, so they may be a bit brighter if applied from a full size tube. So with that being said....

Loveonyourside (sundaygirl) -- sundaygirl blush is my favorite Rocks blush, and this is my favorite of the lip stains that I tried! It gave me a lovely peachy/orange fruity tint, but was still subtle enough I could wear it to work. It actually reminds me of a more clear/bright version of Wallflower which is another favorite lippie of mine, but probably a bit more orangey than Wallflower. Not orangey in a bad way though

Noreservations (femmefatale) -- this actually turned out to be a great My Lips But Better (MLBB) color for me! A bit of bright pink with just the slightest hint of peach to make it look very natural on me!

Shesaknockout (firewoman) -- this is a bright fruity red, but much more wearable than an opaque red like Vivid lipstick. Think of a more sheer and less sparkly version of Lollypop, perhaps. (Which is good -- I love Lollypop but it's definitely a sexy date night look for me!) This is probably the brightest of the four samples I tried, but I'd still feel comfortable wearing it to work if I kept the application light (like with a lip brush!)

Fallingfromgrace (sinisterrouge) -- first off, I am not a fan of sinisterrouge. It looks like an unnatural pinkish-purple on my warm skin (though it's pretty in the jar ) However, fallingfromgrace looks much better on me than sinsiterrouge! It's a sheer, fruity berry pink color on me -- in the same color family as Melancholia, I think.

Loveonyourside is a definite full size for me, and probably noreservations as well. I liked the other two samples, but will wait until I can order samples of the other 4 then I'll pick a handful of favorites to order full sizes! I really shouldn't spend the money to order full sizes of all of them

How would you describe the longevity or staying power of the lip stains?

Ooh I can't wait to order these! When you say they have a distinctive scent, does that mean it's different than the scent of the other AL lip products? Thank you so much for your review, it's helping tide me over till the lip stains are orderable.

I received a sephora catalog in the mail yesterday and perfect timing for the new sonic lips. The trend for the fall is dark lips and I saw a couple of the sonics that would work perfect. I love it when I can afford a trend. Normally its too expensive. I can actually have more fun this fall....Yeah!!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by blueAnn:
How would you describe the longevity or staying power of the lip stains?

I just sampled them for a few minutes last night so I don't know. I rarely wear samples all day until I get a full size -- it's too annoying to carry a sample baggie and lip brush around for my after lunch touch-up Maybe I'll try wearing one some morning and see how long it lasts, then touch up with a different color later.

green3 -- I think I notice a flavor more than a scent, the scent isn't that noticeable. It is different than the GL Color Cremes and lipsticks.

I received one of my latest orders last night too, but didn't have any new lip tint samples. It's great to know that it could happen. I have another recent order still on its way.

Thanks for posting the very helpful review. I am light skinned too and blushes don't look so good on me. I look clownish and end up washing them off. The purchase I am waiting on is the Fiber Optic Blush Brush because I think it will make a difference for me. I bought several samples of Perle powder and may end up using it for blush.

Even though the bright blushes are too bright for me, it is still amazing that something that looks sooo bright purple turns pink on the cheek.

I really want to like the new lip stains because I don't waste my time with a lippie I have to keep re-applying. So far, lipstick is the only non-aromaleigh cosmetic I use and I would like to change that.

Oh my gosh, yay! Thank you so much for reviewing these, girl_geek. Your reviews are very well thought out and helpful. I cannot wait for these. Seriously.

I'm especially glad to hear your thoughts on Loveonyourside. I have the same thoughts about Sundaygirl being a clearer, brighter version of Rococo (which I also love), so yes, very happy to hear you think the same of this and Wallflower. Of course, then I have to remind myself that my lips are pretty pigmented, and the orange could look like utter crap with my natural lip color. So I don't do anything rash, like buy a full size right out of the gate and turn out disappointed. Thank goodness for samples, really.

quote:

Originally posted by SassyBanjo:
I received one of my latest orders last night too, but didn't have any new lip tint samples. It's great to know that it could happen. I have another recent order still on it's way.

Thanks for posting the very helpful review. I am light skinned too and blushes don't look so good on me. I look clownish and end up washing them off. The purchase I am waiting on is the Fiber Optic Blush Brush because I think it will make a difference for me. I bought several samples of Perle powder and may end up using it for blush.

Even though the bright blushes are too bright for me, it is still amazing that something that looks sooo bright purple turns pink on the cheek.

I really want to like the new lip stains because I don't waste my time with a lippie I have to keep re-applying. So far, lipstick is the only non-aromaleigh cosmetic I use and I would like to change that.

I think the fiber optic blush brush will definitely make the Rocks! rouges more wearable for you. Even on my darker skin, they have a tendency to look a little too bright and clownish if I apply them with a regular blush brush. I have to use a really light hand, and blend some foundation over the top to tone them down. With the FO blush brush they look like a more natural flush of color. Of course, I've learned that you really can over do it, even with the FO brush. Less is definitely more with these babies. Some of the Perle powders make great blushes too, IMO. I love Spectre as a cheek color.

Yay!

Did you take any pix?

I'm dying to see what they'll look like on

quote:

Originally posted by SassyBanjo:
I received one of my latest orders last night too, but didn't have any new lip tint samples. It's great to know that it could happen. I have another recent order still on its way.

Thanks for posting the very helpful review. I am light skinned too and blushes don't look so good on me. I look clownish and end up washing them off. The purchase I am waiting on is the Fiber Optic Blush Brush because I think it will make a difference for me. I bought several samples of Perle powder and may end up using it for blush.

Even though the bright blushes are too bright for me, it is still amazing that something that looks sooo bright purple turns pink on the cheek.

I really want to like the new lip stains because I don't waste my time with a lippie I have to keep re-applying. So far, lipstick is the only non-aromaleigh cosmetic I use and I would like to change that.

Yes, the fiber optic brush will make a world of difference! Also, you can try applying the blushes underneath your foundation for a subtle "glow from within" sort of look. In fact, when I use the Rocks blushes, I apply them with a fiber optic brush and wear them underneath my foundation For blushes that are just a little too dark/bright/shimmery for me, like Rococo, I'll apply them with a fiber optic brush on top of foundation, then apply a very light dusting of foundation on top to tone them down just a hair. Finally, one other trick is to mix a lighter blush (the Pure Blushes are good for this) with a too-dark or too-bright blush. There's a lot of options available for you! Before I found AL I only had two blushes I liked; now I have well over a dozen that I can wear if use those various tricks!

The Perle powders are a bit too shimmery for blush for my taste (I perfer a fairly matte finish), but if you don't like them as blushes or face powders, they also make lovely eyeshadows Allure is my perfect nude eyeshadow!

Girl_geek, please, please, please, with sugar on top, can you give us some swatches on your arm????

I can't WAIT for these babies.

lol Cin -- I've had some late nights at work lately, but maybe I can find some time tonight

Here you go! These pictures were all taken indoors with various settings, so the lighting is probably a bit yellowish but you get the idea.

As you can see, in the sample baggies, these look like the same neon or dark colors that we saw in Kristen's blog:





But swatched on my arm, you can see they are much more sheer! I tried to apply the stain a bit heavier on the left side of the swatch and blend it out more sheerly towards the right to show how the colors are buildable, but I'm not sure if you can really tell much in the photos. Looks like there's also some "clumps" of balm, probably caused by the fact that I'm using a cheapo concealor brush for these swatches I think if you were applying from a full size tube, it wouldn't be clumpy.

Left to right: fallingfromgrace, shesaknockout, noreservations, loveonyourside





By the way, it's rather difficult to take a pic of your left arm; while using your right hand to hold the camera, hold toilet paper over the flash, and hit the button; and trying to get at the right angle so shadows from the overhead lighting don't go across your arm

quote:

Originally posted by girl_geek:

By the way, it's rather difficult to take a pic of your left arm; while using your right hand to hold the camera, hold toilet paper over the flash, and hit the button; and trying to get at the right angle so shadows from the overhead lighting don't go across your arm

LOL! Sounds like you could get a job as a contortionist for Cirque de Soleil!

Hi everybody! I got 5 of these in yesterday's mail with my order Some were different from Girl_geek's selection, so here they are:



From left to right they are blankgeneration, fallingfromgrace, headoverheels, noreservations, and shesaknockout

I put on 'blankgeneration' with Heather lipliner first, here are my lips wearing that:



And I also took a picture of my sample baggies against a white paper; they look just like the colours do on my computer screen, IMO! They go on much more sheerly, so they look great I think

Here is that picture:


OK, I'll post this now, I wrote it up before and my browser just disappeared, ugh! Enjoy

Yay, more pics, thanks Abby!

Good thought with the white paper -- I just used our off-white counter tops so it's hard to tell how the white balance affected my photos! I'll have to remember that next time

Now if someone could post a pic of notorious and fictionromance, we'd have the whole collection!

Nice swatches, but they definitely seem very sheer.

(The following is my long convoluted explanation that may not make any sense.) They are not opaque like the lipsticks, no... yes I would say they are sheer, but I can definitely see a difference in all 5 of the colours I have.

Some of the sheer quality may be due to the lip brush application; they *may* be more opaque applied from the tube. Maybe my flash washed out the colour a little in my picture too (probably it did)!

Kristen said she intended for these to be tints that coordinate with the Rocks! blush line (and just like those look very different on, ie. more of a natural tint/sheer, I believe she wanted these to automatically match them in wearability, if that makes sense)? That is my take on the explanation...

So at least we all have the opportunity to sample so we do not get disappointed and spend money on full sizes that we will not use, right?!

By definition, lip tints (or stains, whatever you call them ) are very sheer. Somewhere I know Kristen said she meant for these to be very sheer, because if they were very opaque these neon and very dark colors would unwearable for most people! But I can't find where I read that -- not sure if it was on the forum or a blog comment.

Girl_geek, she said it toward the end of the other thread that you referenced (not sure if she did in blog post also...). So even though I would wear dark purple, burgundy, orange, etc., it would not work for most people nor sell very well!