Crazy Lipstick Colors on the Huffington Post

I still love my red lipstick, but I got a hankering for a purple lip back in 2010. I tried various purples for years; none of them seemed quite right. By the time MAC made its bright purple Heroine lipstick part of its permanent collection last December, it had been so long that I was a little bit over it and ready for something more exciting. MAC was also offering a limited-edition Punk Couture collection, which included a black lipstick, Hautecore, so I got that along with Heroine. I’d tried several black lipsticks over the years, and decided most of them weren’t opaque enough. Hautecore was quite impressive.

Hautecore, from my Instagram.

But I realized that what I really, really wanted was a blue lipstick. MAC didn’t have any, so I started searching online and discovered all sorts of little companies that I hadn’t heard of before. I’m pretty hesitant about buying makeup online, but after studying people wearing it on Instagram, I picked Doll by Ka’Oir. I loved it!

Click for more photos.

After that, I couldn’t be stopped. I had to try crazy colors from all the little companies. I’ve already blogged about the blue by Melt Cosmetics called DGAF.

Click for more photos.

I also got By Starlight purple from Melt …

From my Instagram.

… a neon pink called Shady Lady …

From my Instagram.

… and a gray-blue called Space Cake, which scared some small children. (MrB’s youngest grandson pondered this for a while after we had a family brunch and then told his father, “Wendy has a black mouth.”)

From my Instagram.

As my orders were coming in, I decided I had to tell the lipstick lovers of the world about all of these cool option, so here is my story on crazy-colored lipsticks for the Huffington Post.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY HUFFINGTON POST LIPSTICK STORY.

As always, I did way more reporting than I could possibly fit into the original story — I like to have a lot of facts! — so I’ll be posting about my visit to the offices of Manic Panic on this blog shortly. Tish and Snooky, the fabulous sister-owners of Manic Panic, have a lot of interesting tales to tell.  But read the Huffington Post story first, then we’ll get back to Tish and Snooky.

SERIOUSLY! CLICK HERE!

Even after I decided that I was writing a story on the lipsticks, I bought all of my personal samples. Tish and Snooky really wanted to give me a couple of lipsticks, so, after they ran off to a trade show, I had to beg their employee to let me buy the product instead. It was like a New Yorker cartoon with nice Manic Panic gal — who was sporting vivid purple/pink/red hair, tattoos and facial piercings — looking at a jeans-wearing woman twice her age and thinking, “You’re weird.” Anyway, the Manic Panic lipsticks I got don’t have the staying power of my No. 1 all-time-favorite lip color, Lasting Lust by MAC, but hardly anything conventional lipstick formula does. The colors were fabulous. I got Electric Amethyst …

From my Instagram.

… which might be my favorite purple yet. I notified a purple-lipstick obsessed friend that this was a must. “Worth the hassle of re-application,” I said, and I don’t say that lightly! I also got Green Envy lipstick. I couldn’t imagine green would look good, but, as Tish pointed out, you never know until you try. Some surprising shades are unexpectedly flattering and this is one of them.

From my Instagram.

For a liner for Green Envy, I got Autograph Pencil liner in Eyegasm from Kat Von D at Sephora — it’s a perfect match. I still have to take my liquid lipstick in Blue Moon from Pretty Zombie Cosmetics for a test drive.

Got it, tried it on, but haven’t worn it all day yet.

I’m very excited for Blue Moon because it seems most like Lasting Lust in its formula and feel. Stay tuned for my review. In the meantime …

DON’T FORGET TO READ MY HUFFPOST LIPSTICK STORY!