A happy shade.

I turned 26 last Sunday! I'm officially nearer 30 than 20 and making me realize that being 25's like being in between and 26 makes me feel like I'm on the way to being a full grown adult. I don't know how I feel about all that but I fully embrace my new age and honestly, I can't wait what 26 brings because 25's gonna be hard to top.

Thought I'd celebrate my 26th with a brand new lippie, following a personal tradition. I started having a birthday lippie back in 2015 when I turned 22 but when I checked out my previous posts, it seems like I missed a year: 2016. It's weird to me that I don't have a birthday lippie in 2016 so let's all just assume that I forgot to blog about it and move on to this year's lippie!

But let's backtrack/review a bit, shall we? My 2015 birthday lippie was the Burberry Lip Cover in English Rose, a rosy nude with a slight brown undertone. In 2017, it was Lipstick Queen's Mauve Sinner, a gorgeous cool mauve and in 2018, I gifted myself Sunnies Face Fluffmatte in Mood, a taupe mauve that I absolutely adore. All everyday appropriate shades, all with a touch of pink. 

This year's lip is still an everyday appropriate shade that's definitely pinkier than the past lippies: Colourpop's Lux Lipstick in Belle, part of the Disney Designer Collection collab. #DisneyAndColourPopLUX

Before we start, can we just take a moment to appreciate how GORGEOUS the packaging is? From the box to the tube- it's perfection. The usual Coloupop Lux lippie packaging is beautiful; I mean, come on- the rose gold tube with the stars? Freaking classy and chic AF. But the Disney Designer Collection lippie packaging? It's pure royalty. It gives me Disney Princesses turned businesswomen vibes and I'm here for it! The cool toned gold tube with the princesses' signatures all over the lippie cap paired with the box with designer-like sketches in full color? GIRL. This is an overall top notch packaging, if you ask me.

Colourpop describes Belle as an "enchanted rosy berry" and it's on point- it IS a nice warm bright rosy berry shade. It's a shade that took me by surprise as I always lean more on cool toned shades but I immediately warmed up to it (pun intended hehe) because just look at it- how can you not be brightened up by this shade? It's bright but doesn't border on neon. I'll admit that this kind of bright shade isn't always my cup of tea but Belle may easily convert me to wearing more like it. 

I have to say, though, the lipstick swatches of Belle on the Coloupop website is misleading. On their site, Belle looks like a very cool toned mauve while in reality, it's a warm berry rose. I thought my eyes were tricking me, making me see Belle as a warm shade when it's supposed to be a cool toned shade. I went to my go-to beauty site, Temptalia, and her review and swatches confirm that I am indeed right: Belle IS a warm toned rosy berry (or plum, as she called it). I don't know how the hell Colourpop's swatches became cool toned but they need to fix it because Belle is such a gorgeous shade and so far from the photos in their site.

Formula is just like the regular Lux lippies: creamy, buttery, and rich in pigmentation. Since it has a  cream finish, it feels very comfortable and somewhat hydrating on the lips. I didn't experience any tugging or skipping, and it definitely didn't give me any patchiness. On my dark lips, it took me 2 layers to fully cover it up.  Despite having two layers, it didn't feel heavy or thick on the lips. Since it doesn't dry down, it's no surprise that this will transfer on anything it comes in contact with: tissues, cups, hair, skin, clothes, your pet's fur, pretty much anything. Good news is it's easy to retouch and reapply.

Belle definitely made my day and birthday brighter and happier and it kind of made me more open to try and even wear brighter shades (hey, as long as the undertone's great, I'm in!). Don't think I'll give up my mauves and taupes, though, but I think my muted shades can co-exist peacefully with my bright shades. Can't wait to wear the hell out of this!

Special thanks to my sister for getting me this lippie. Thank you, Ate Tati! xx