I was recently inspired to try de Leon Cosmetics, an indie brand based in Australia, and boy am I glad I did; Gladys, the owner/formulator, was quite kind and patient with my sample order of doom (you'll see what I mean). She even threw in a few (no less than 4) freebies because she was changing the packaging on her samples, meaning the ones she had on hand were a little less full than usual. Mahalo, sweet woman!
And just look as these beautiful lip colors! First pic shows matched pairs of de Leon lipstick balms & glosses (balms on the left, gloss to the right).
More lippies after the jump!
L-R: Let the Wookiee Win lipstick balm, Rogue Demon Hunter lipstick balm, Why Can't I Stay gloss, I Don't Play Well With Others gloss, I Aim To Misbehave gloss, Pretty Floral Bonnet gloss, G'Night Kiss gloss, Ambassador gloss, Registered Companion gloss, and Ooh, Look At The Pretties gloss.
I've heard plenty of times that you really need to see a lip color on your own lips to get an accurate read of how the shade will play on your skin and you know what? Now I believe it. From looking at the samples in the container and arm swatches I would have automatically disqualified many of these (Wee Little Puppet Man, Stay 'n' Gloat, I Don't Play Well With Others, Pretty Floral Bonnet, G'Night Kiss, & Ooh Look At The Pretties) from ever being worn. But...look at them on my lips:
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| My bare lips, for comparison |
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| Wee Little Puppet Man gloss |
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| Stay 'n' Gloat gloss |
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| I Don't Play Well With Others gloss |
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| Pretty Floral Bonnet gloss |
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| G'Night Kiss gloss |
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| Ooh, Look At The Pretties! gloss |
So all the folks who kept telling me: you need to try it on before deciding whether you like it or not, were absolutely correct. All of them looked surprisingly wearable for me, G'Night Kiss and Pretty Floral Bonnet gave me hope that pastels are not out of my reach, and Wee Little Puppet Man has made a nudist out of me ;P Stay 'n' Gloat, which pulled so brick/orange in the arm swatch, became a lovely and shockingly subtle apricot shimmer on my lips and I was pleasantly surprised that I Don't Play Well With Others was a little less "screaming" than on my arm.
Which is mixed news, as I was hoping the samples would help me "narrow down" my choices for full size purchases. Instead, it has lengthened my wish list--because these were the shades I thought I wouldn't like XD
Stay tuned for Part 2--featuring the ones I fell in love with right outta the gate!
Me ke aloha,
Lizzy
