I was tagged by Sandy of Lippie Obsession to do this and it’s right in my wheelhouse! Since I pulled out all my lipsticks yesterday for the lip stash post, I figured I’d do this tag today. For the Makeup Muggles out there, MLBB stands for “My Lips But Better” which means these lip products enhance the natural lip colour – usually a close match or slightly darker / brighter / lighter / shinier – whatever is “better” to you.
I do not wear lipstick regularly, but when I do, I typically choose a MLBB shade. My lips are quite pigmented, so some of these colours may seem deeper than what you might consider a MLBB lippie. I chose these lipsticks not only for the colours, but also for how much I like the formulas:
From left to right:
• Illamasqua Glamore Nude Lipstick in Minx
• Elizabeth Arden Exceptional Lipstick in Breathless #17 (of COURSE I have to include this! See my post comparing the old vs new)
• Guerlain Rouge G de Guerlain Lip Color in Garance 06
• Shiseido Perfect Rouge in Dreamscape RD351
• Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipstick in Fig
• Shiseido Lacquer Rouge in Portrait RD203
(That Guerlain tube was a PITA to photograph!)
Some overall thoughts:
• This was actually a really useful exercise for me to swatch some of what I consider MLBB lipstick colours to see how they compare against each other
• I’m rather pleased to discover that Guerlain Garance is quite similar to my beloved EA Breathless!
• I also didn’t realize how pink the Bite Beauty Fig is, but I do like wearing it to brighten my lips.
• I love Shiseido lip products – they have a Japanese aesthetic to them – a bit more sheer with a natural finish and hydrating properties.
• The Illamasqua Glamore Nude lipstick formula is about as “matte” as I would venture – it’s very opaque in one swipe but does not feel heavy on the lips.
Doh! After I finished taking pictures and started writing this entry, I realized I forgot one of my favourites: MAC Lipstick in Cosmo! Ugh – I’m too lazy to retake pictures of everything so here’s a comparison between Cosmo and 3 other shades shown above:
Cosmo is a mid-tone rose colour that MAC describes as “pink coco”. It is an Amplified Creme which is quite pigmented and comfortable to wear on the lips.
All of these lipsticks reside in a prominent place in my makeup area so they’re at easy reach when I grab one to toss in my purse for the day.
Do you have any of these MLBB lipsticks? Any recommendations for me to try?
I tag:
• Ari Mariel
• Life’s Melody
• The Line of Beauty
• Just Jay Beauty
• Ryane Zamora Beauty
• Valentina Boré
• rylie*style 😉
• fivezero 😛
Beautiful shades! I love MLBB colours! I love the look of the Illamasqua and Mac lipstick, so pretty!
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The shade ilamasqua looks so pretty.Love to read your tag answers. Great MLBB picks 🙂 x
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Thanks for tagging me love!! I’ll have to do this when I get home from work tonight. 🙂 xx
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I had to tag you since you’re a lipstick fiend! 😛
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I appreciate the thought hahahah. It’s beginning to be my legacy now and I’m not complaining! I’ll do it now that I’m procrastinating on doing work. 😀
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Looking forward to seeing it! 😛 Then back to work for you!
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…I got sidetracked and now I’m running late on the work I had to do so it’s gonna have to wait for later haha.
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Lovely choices!! I tend to stick with MLBB colors on a daily basis as well. 🙂
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What are your favourites? Have you done this tag? If not, you should!
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I haven’t done this tag, but maybe I will!
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I’m editing my entry to tag you then! 😛
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aww, thanks! I will get to it soon 🙂
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Thanks for the tag I will do it ASAP! I’m loving the look of “Minx”
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Looking forward to seeing your list! 😊
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You know, I really like the one Shiseido Perfect Rouge lipstick that I have. Gonna go check out some more.
And yeah, I was just going to say before I read it, Garance looks really close to Breathless 17!
I can’t believe I don’t have MAC Cosmo. :O
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I have 3 Perfect Rouge lipsticks and I love them all. It’s definitely a formula I would buy more of.
The Garance is quite close however, I refuse to carry that 5lb lipstick in my purse! I actually went on ebay to see if there were listings for Breathless #17 and there are a few… I’m so tempted to get a back up!
Cosmo is lovely! It’s better than Twig imo, and MAC is always pushing Twig onto people as a bridal colour – I feel Twig is too brown.
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Get the Breathless backups! 🙂 Stick ’em in the fridge or something.
OK, I gotta get Cosmo. I have Twig and ITA, it’s too brown. Soooo 90s but not in a good way. It’s currently languishing in my purge pile. I guess I can B2M it!
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Yeah B2M for it!
SO tempted by the Breathless… good tip about keeping it in the fridge!
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I have a tub of lipstick in the back of my fridge. I forgot about it until my mom was cleaning it out recently, and was like, “You have lipstick in the fridge.”
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Haha that’s funny. I only keep konjac sponges in the fridge. Told the boy not to cook them. 😛
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Have you done this tag?
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I don’t think so. Will have to one of these days! 😀
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Well, then I’m just going to have to tag you!
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LOL thanks!
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Great picks! Ugh I hate when you forget to include a product in a picture! Then the struggle of whether you re-take the picture or not lol. It’s so great you discovered a dupe among your lipsticks! Glad you did the tag 🙂
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Ah, the trials and tribulations of a blogger, lol! When my bf heard me swear because I’d forgotten the 1 lipstick, he laughed at me! 👿
Thanks so much for tagging me! 😀
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What pretty shades! I wish my lips were as pigmented as yours. Without lipstick, they just sorta blend right into my face, haha 🙂 That Guerlain tube looks interesting, no wonder it was a pain to photograph! I think it’s my favorite of all the ones you mentioned though 🙂
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The Guerlain formula is one of my favourites. It’s very pigmented yet comfortable to wear and has a bit of natural shine in a satin finish. The tube itself weighs about 5lbs though! It’s silly when I try to take it with me out for a fancy dinner in a little purse, the thing is like a brick, lol!
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From looking at the swatches, I think M.A.C.’s Twig might be a good fit as an MLBB color for you too.
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Funny, we were just talking about it a few comments up. I have Twig – it was my very first MAC lipstick. But I feel that it’s quite brown and MAC SAs always push that shade as a MLBB colour. Here is Twig at the left hand side, and Cosmo is on the 2nd from the right:

(My Twig is retired though since it’s more than 10 yrs old)
I’ll do swatches to compare them in a future post!
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Lovely shades and a great, fun post!
Hajara | Chocolatefrosst Xx
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Thanks! You should do this tag! 😉
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I’m going to I guess!! 🙂
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I’ve been wanting to try Bite Beauty, maybe I should add Fig to my MLBBs…
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Bite Beauty lipsticks are fabulous! I definitely want to get more.
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That bite beauty lipstick is sooo pretty and seems so tempting!!! ❤ I also love the mac lipstick!! Great tag 🙂
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Bite Beauty lipsticks are fantastic! I highly recommend. It’s a formula that I will definitely buy more of. I have a couple more of them in minis that were released during the holidays – I think mini lipsticks is the way to go for me – then I can at least use them up!
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I’ve never tried anything from bite beauty though I always find myself swatching them when I’m at sephora lol I think it’s a sign that I need to buy one :p yesss I love minis too!!! They are super tiny that they fit everywhere lol and true you can use them up lol
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Minx is such a beautiful colour!
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It IS a great colour – the formula of that particular Illamasqua collection (Glamore Nude) is also fantastic, very creamy and not drying.
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I think EA Breathless and Guerlain Garance would be the ones I would go for. And I also like MLBB lipsticks like you, just mine would be slightly lighter. Nice picks! 🙂
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Thanks – good picks! Those are my favourites too! 🙂
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They are all very pretty and lovely neutral shades. Mac Cosmo looks especially lovely.
xxx Anne
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You should put that on your list of next MAC lipstick to check out, since you’re no longer a MAC lipstick virgin! 😉
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The list is growing at an insane pace now! Will have to edit it a little before my next trip or bad things will happen 😉
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All such gorgeous colours!!! I love MAC’s Creme Cup, Jubilee and Blankey 🙂
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