Dose of Colors Lip Gloss in Undressed

Today is another of those quick posts that I bring to the table every now and then- a quick feature on a permanent collection item.

Today, let's talk about Dose of Colors Lip Gloss in Undressed. This isn't my first review of the line (see my review of Bellini here), but the color and experience is quite a bit different than the last.

As a reminder, for $15, you receive 0.16oz of highly pigmented lip gloss. These are high shine, and Undressed is the pure nude of the range.

Yes. these are in the same tube as the liquid lipsticks.

Undressed is a terror on my lips alone, so we're going to stick to swatches here:

On my pigmented lips, it looks like scary concealer lips- but shiny. So, that's a no-go. That's what all shades like this look like on me- so it's ok.  These types of shades work best when mixed with a lipstick or a liner underneath. That's why I didn't want to show it on my lips because it's not accurate.

I like this gloss formula, but it is heavy. This isn't a weightless formula by any means, but I like the effect. I think I'm good in terms of the current available collection with the two shades that I own.

Dose of Colors Lip It Up in Brulee

I have a quick post today to share with you- an offering from one of my favorite indie brands.

I was lucky enough to literally run into this at a local Ulta; I wasn't sure what color to purchase when perusing online.

Say hello to Dose of Colors Lip It Up Satin Lipstick in Brulee.

According to the brand, the Lip It Up formula is a satin lipstick. For $17, you receive 0.11 oz. Brulee is classified as a pinkish beige.

These are in lovely rose gold, thin and elongated tubes. The most interesting part is the design of the lipstick itself.

Yes, it's square and angular. It allows for a more precise line, especially given the formula. Overall, I find this formula to be on the stiffer side in terms of traditional lipsticks. I'm eager to try Dose of Colors' regular lipsticks so I can compare formulas.

Brulee is the most wearable, everyday shade in the range (IMO).

It pulls a lot lighter on my lips due to pigmentation.

I like it, but it's not something I find myself reaching for out of habit. I prefer a more emollient lipstick formula. Still, I'm so happy to have ran into it so I could try it for myself.

Wear time is what you'd assume for a standard lipstick.

If you get a chance to see these in person or fall in love with a color, I recommend checking out the line. It's not my favorite, but I need to make myself use it more.

Dose of Colors Holibae Liquid Lipstick Set for Holiday 2017

A few days ago, we kept it snuggly and nude with Dose of Colors The Snuggle is Real kit, now it's time to kick up the heat and check out the heat with the Holibae Set.

The Holibae set also retails for $29 and contains three red liquid lipsticks. This is a fantastic value since these are full-sized liquid lipsticks and to buy three of the singles would be $54. This is the kit that initially intrigued me the most, as I've been eyeing Merlot and Los Anjealous

First up is Bittersweet.

As a reminder, these are all full-sized, and the same as the permanent lipsticks.

According to the brand, this is an "orange red." I happen to agree, and think this is more of a summer red on my cool complexion.

It's fun, but it's not my favorite out of the trio.

Next up is Strawberry Pop. The brand describes this as "strawberry red."

I think this is a lovely mid-toned red that's not quite the deep, classic red I want this time of year, but it's a fun change of pace. This is my favorite formula, and I know I'll get a lot of usage out of it.

Again, I find this a bit light for me this time of year... but it's a nice spring red for me.

Last is Extra Saucy. The brand describes this as "deep red."

This is that lovely oxblood that I reach for this time of year. It's beautiful and lovely and everything that I want.

This is the one that will be on my lips this holiday season.

Here's a look at all three of these shades together:

I think that this is an extremely well-edited trio of reds. I think this is a fantastic value, and I recommend buying both of these sets.

Dose of Colors The Snuggle is Real Liquid Lipstick Set for Holiday 2017

Today's posts are all about Dose of Colors, and my lips were on fire the night that I swatched all of these. I've not shown all of the shades that are in my stash, but I have shared my thoughts on the formula in this post and this post in the past. Spoiler: it's one of my favorites.

Dose of Colors launched two LE liquid lipstick trios for the holiday that are an incredible value. These liquid lipsticks, that contain 0.16oz of product each, retail for $18 each.

Say hello to The Snuggle is Real and the Holibae Sets. Each contain a trio of all-new, limited edition shades- and they retail for $29 each.

I'm going to talk about The Snuggle is Real in this post, and my review of Holibae goes up at 6PM EST.

The Snuggle is Real is a collection of cozy nudes. After testing all of these, snuggle is exactly the word I'd use. When I see these colors, I can think of lounging at home with large cozy sweaters, luxe throws, and textures. These would look incredible with the loungey colors- creams, greys, browns, etc. Cream came to mind because I was wearing an oversized cream sweater while playing with this set.

One quick note- these do dry down to full matte, but I didn't want to actually murder my lips so I didn't let them totally dry for swatches- either on the lips or on the hand.

There are three shades in this box: Let's Cuddle, Lazy Daisy, and Warm & Fuzzy. They're all exclusive to this kit, and make a fantastic addition to any nude-lovers set.

Let's start off with the lightest shade in the box- Let's Cuddle.

According to the brand, this is supposed to be a "warm beige." I find it to be a beige that leans towards camel.

In case you were wondering, these are the same as the regular lipsticks. Now, let's go to the swatch:

In theory, I like this color. It's just not quite right for my pigmented lips and my coloring. That said, it would look fantastic on those of you with medium or deeper skintones.

Sorry for this photo, but it's actually the most true to color of all that I shot. Even if it's a lil' blurry. Just look at the color!

This is my least favorite in the set- my natural pigmented lips poked through a bit.

Next up is Lazy Daisy.

According to the brand, this is "dusty mauve taupe." I don't really see the taupe as much as I see a dusty mauve- my perfect dusty mauve!

This is what so many MLBB liquid lips look like on others but look so dark on me. Take a look at this on my lips.

I wish this wasn't a LE shade- I've finally found my MLBB dusty mauve liquid lipstick!

Last up, Warm & Fuzzy.

According to the brand, this is "warm rose."

See what I meant about wet swatches? I see such strawberry red but muted in this color, if that makes any sense.

On my lips, this is another winner.

Here are all three shades in The Snuggle is Real box.

Overall, I think this is the perfect present for your punched up nudes lover, or for yourself. This is such a lovely box!

Dose of Colors Fall 2017 Liquid Lipsticks: Sleepless & Play It Cool

Today's post has a bit of drama associated with it. Let's talk about the two new Fall 2017 liquid lipsticks from Dose of Color- Sleepless and Play it Cool.

I purchased the pair from Ulta for $18 each, standard for the line. I'm sorry to say that I had to purchase one of these twice and I'm not happy with the whole experience. We'll get to that at the end of the post.

These weigh in at the standard 4.5g/0.16oz each and are in the normal packaging from the brand. The formula is cruelty free, gluten free, paraben free, and vegan.

Let's start with Sleepless.

Sleepless is described as "dusty greige with lilac undertones."

This is the lighter of the two shades, although it's hard to tell in the tube. Since these are online exclusive, I was flying blind when I ordered it.

These have the normal doefoot applicator that I really like:

Take a look at this swatch- I love the swatch shade.

Now, here's what it looks like in ambient, and then studio lighting on my extremely pigmented lips. I'm hoping to get a color payoff like the swatch if I used foundation or Lip Erase; as previously mentioned, I won't do this for reviews.

It's a little cool to wear alone but I think I can play with it and make it a fall staple for me.

Play it Cool is described as "dusty rose taupe."

This is the deeper of the two shades- and the one that originally caught my eye.

Take a look at the swatch- this is more wearable, IMO, but still very Fall.

It still dries down with a cool undertone. First is ambient, second is studio lighting.

Here's the two swatched on my hand so you can see what my lips do the color overall....

Both of these colors are rather cool on me, but I'll use them quite a bit once it really cools down. This is one of my favorite formulas, so I'm always curious to try more shades.

Now, onto the bad part of this post. I'm left with a negative feeling about the experience, mostly from Ulta. Let me say that things happen, and humans make mistakes.

I originally purchased Play it Cool (I only purchased Sleepless when I was forced into a second order) with a second liquid lipstick. When it arrived, I noticed something was wrong.

Left- normal (Berry Me) Right- No Stopper 

There was no stopper in it- I'd received a clearly defective one. Now, anyone who has tried to do online exchange with Ulta knows why I was groaning. Just to make sure, I reached out to the brand. No response via Instagram, but I did get a response when I sent an email that said it looked defective but deal with Ulta.

I understand that's policy, and appreciated the quick response. But there wasn't even a "we're sorry for shipping a defective product to Ulta to send to you." It was just confirmation that there was a stopper missing but I was Ulta's problem. No warm fuzzies indeed.

So I placed a second order with Ulta and took it back to my local store for a return. Since I used some points on the order, I got a whopping $8.75 back from returning the product. It costs $18!

So, really, I paid $27.75 for Play it Cool due to Ulta's return policies when I clearly received a defective item. This whole experience has soured me on online orders with Ulta, and now I question a brand I was starting to fall in love with.