Queen of Coral: My Experience with FACE atelier and Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks

Years ago, I wore nothing but coral lipstick. Though I’ve branched out to nudes, mauves and reds, corals still play a big role in my extensive lipstick collection. I recently added two more. Even if coral isn’t your thang, you might still find the info about the lipstick formulas of interest.

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FACE atelier Lipstick

My blogging friend and super-talented makeup artist, Norah Salazar, often uses FACE atelier makeup in the stunning looks she creates for models. If Norah likes it, it’s a brand I have to try. I would still love to try the FACE atelier foundation because that’s the foundation that she often uses, but I was glad to have an opportunity to try FACE atelier Lipstick.

I chose Coral Reef from the bullets that I saw on the FACE atelier website. Now that I’ve seen the shade in person, calling it Coral “Reef” makes sense because it’s a very pretty beachy, coral-pink shade, though it looks deeper in the bullet. In fact, I think it’s a perfect summer lipstick that makes me sad that we’ve gotta go through about 2/3 of the year till summer comes back again. The lipstick has a matte finish. It’s a lightweight formula, and I did two swipes to get opaque color. The matte formula is not drying, nor is it overly hydrating. I get about 3.5 hours of wear before I need to touch up.

FACE atelier’s lipstick range consists of 26 different shades and two finishes. The shades have some reds, some pinks, some corals, and a ton of different neutrals. In addition to matte finishes, there are frosted shades. The description on the website says that there are also satin finishes, and truth be told, that was what I was looking for. Unfortunately, the 26 shades were split between matte and frosted without a satin in sight. I’m really curious to see what the frosted shades look like. I have a picture in my mind of a frosted pink lipstick that I owned during the 1970s, but I have a feeling these frosted look totally different!

Here’s how FACE atelier describes the lipsticks: “FACE atelier Lipsticks are extremely well-pigmented ensuring long-lasting results.  They are also hydrating and moisturizing due to the high content of emollients in the formula.” The key ingredients in the lipsticks are designed to provide comfort:

• Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil – “a vegetable oil obtained from the seeds of the Ricinus communisplant that acts as a skin conditioning agent. It’s a gentle oil and a non-irritant that’s used as an emollient to maintain soft and supple skin Conditioning. It’s also a humectant that keeps moisture close to the skin’s surface due to its water-binding abilities.”

• Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax – “a multifunctional complex of natural wax esters derived from the waxy leaf structure of Candelilla shrubs.  It increases the time that natural emollients remain on the skin, and help provide a protective, moisture resistant environment for skin.  Hydrating, moisturizing and protective.”

On my desert-dry lips, the emollients in the formula help keep my lips from getting drier and flaking. But on me, it isn’t a hydrating lipstick. It’s “hydration neutral”, if that’s a lipstick term.

I wish I could have tried more than one shade. Coral Reef is nicely pigmented. But it’s a light shade, so it’s not as deeply pigmented as I expect a red or purple would be.

FACE atelier lipstick is fragrance-free. The FACE atelier Lipstick bullet contains  0.14 oz./4 g and is priced at $24. They sell lipstick samples for $1 if you want to check a color in person before going for an entire tube.

Lipstick Ingredients: RICINUS COMMUNIS OIL, OZOKERITE, EUPHORBIA CERIFERA CERA EXTRACT, COPERNICIA CERIFERA CERA, ETHYLHEXYL PALMITATE, LANOLIN OIL. MAY CONTAIN: CETYL ACETATE, ISOTRIDECYL ISONONANOATE, PEG-150 DISTEARATE, CALCIUM SILICATE, STEAROXYMETHICONE/DIMETHICONE COPOLYMER, SESAMUM INDICUM SEED OIL, ISOPROPYL PALMITATE, LANOLIN ALCOHOL, DIMETHICONE, ACETYLATED LANOLIN ALCOHOL, KAOLIN, QUATERNIUM-18, FRAGRANCE, MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX, PPG-5 LANOLIN WAX, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), MICA, YELLOW 5 LAKE, RED 6 LAKE, RED 7 LAKE, RED 27 LAKE, BLUE 1 LAKE, CARMINE, PROPYL GALLATE, DISODIUM EDTA, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARAN.

FACE atelier Brand

I didn’t realize that FACE atelier is a Canadian brand. It is a PETA-approved, cruelty-free, Leaping Bunny certified brand.

FACE atelier is also a serious, information-based brand that makes “age and race-neutral” products. No wonder makeup artists use it.

To that end, FACE atelier gives what they call “Pro Tips” on their website for each product that sound like a professional giving me information about how to best use their products. For lipstick, they suggest wearing lighter shades if you have rough, chapped or lined lips. I like this tip the best: “… lip products are not meant to last forever.  Therefore layering Lip Pencil with Lipstick and then Lip Glaze will give you that complex shade you’ve been yearning for and significantly extend the life of your lip shade.” They also sell Lip Putty to extend the wear of lipstick and prevent feathering.

In addition to giving Pro Tips, the website has lots of information and their point-of-view on a variety of ingredients, some of which have become controversial in the past several years. I think it’s worthwhile to read what they have to say about parabens, silicones, and cosmetic-grade mineral oil and petrolatum. Visit the FACE atelier website when you have a chance. I think you’ll find it worthwhile.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick

I read about Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick and saw some swatches on Anastasia’s blog, Glamorable, about a month ago. The swatches and the name/formula “Moisture Renew” caught my eye. When I had a 30% off coupon for CVS, I decided to take the plunge. I was all set to buy one of the shades that Anastasia swatched, but as I mentioned above, I’m a sucker for coral. So “Coral Garden” it was.

I bought this just around the time that the FACE atelier Coral Reef arrived on my doorstep (via Fedex International requiring a signature so they had to come 3 times to deliver it). I forgot that I had just gotten another new coral lipstick. When I looked at the two bullets together, I thought they were going to be very similar, but they are indeed different.

Rimmel’s Coral Garden is a darker shade than Coral Reef. It’s perfect for this time of year or anytime actually. It’s kind of a peachy-coral-y nude, I think, though it looks more coral on the bullet. Actually, it looks different in different lighting!

Regardless of its mutability, I think it’s a good shade for me! As a result, I’ve been wearing it a lot.

It is opaque in one swipe, and very nicely pigmented. It has the satin finish that I prefer. It has an ever-so-faint sweet scent to mask the chemical smell, I think. It is not at all highly fragranced like some lipsticks are.

Because the line is called Moisture Renew, I expected it to be very hydrating. The formula contains Vitamins A, C and E, and it’s supposed to “drench lips in intense color and moisture”. Rimmel Moisture Renew feels lightweight and hydrating when first applied, but on my desert-dry lips, the hydration and the color fade in about 3 to 3.5 hours just like the FACE atelier Lipstick. I don’t mind reapplying, so its no big deal.

Rimmel Moisture Renew comes in 24 varied shades. It’s made in England. The tube contains 0.14 oz./4 g. The price varies according to wear you buy it. Ulta has about 10 shades online, and has it clearance priced at $3.49! A google search shows it at $3 at Dollar General, wow! At other stores like Walmart, Target, Walgreens, the price is $6.49-6.79 though I think it was about $8 at CVS where the prices always seem to be higher than anywhere else for makeup (good thing I had that coupon).

Ingredients: Diisopropyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Di-Ppg-3 Myristyl Ether Adipate, Polyethylene, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Punica Granatum Sterols, C15-19 Alkane, Silica, Vp/Hexadecene Copolymer, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Microcrystalline Wax, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Ozokerite, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Caprylyl Glycol, Parfum/Fragrance, Tribehenin, Tocopherol, Behenyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Linalool, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, C12-16 Alcohols, Sorbitan Isostearate, Hydroxycitronellal, Hexyl Cinnamal, Lecithin, Retinyl Palmitate, Tin Oxide, Bht, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Geraniol, Butylene Glycol, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Atelocollagen, Hexylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, [May Contain/Peut Contenir/+/-:Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), D&C Red No. 7 Calcium Lake (Ci 15850), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), D&C Red No. 6 Barium Lake (Ci 15850), Fd&C Yellow No. 5 Aluminum Lake (Ci 19140), Fd&C Yellow No. 6 Aluminum Lake (Ci 15985), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Carmine (Ci 75470)].

So here are my two new coral lippies. Are you a fan of coral? Have you tried either of these two lipsticks: FACE atelier Lipstick or Rimmel Moisture Renew?

Today's Author

Allison Cohen

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