10 Day Single Lipstick Challenge Part 2

So this post is long overdue, I know. The result of that looong-loong ago challenge is out - I failed to go 10 straight days using single lipstick at a time.

  But I completed 8 days which is good news, I guess. Well, the fact that I successfully experimented with bold lip colours without neutralising them, is almost like a coming of the age event for me!

So here are lip swatches from the 3 remaining days of my challenge 

Day 6: So on day 6, I wrote one of my favourite shades by Colorbar called Blossom from their Creme Touch range. I paired this with a lip definer from Colorbar called Just Coral.

Day 7: On day 7, it was Colorbar Velvet Matte in Over the Top and Miss Claire lip liner in Light Maroon.

Day 8: On day 8, I wore Maybelline Moisture Extreme in Dusky Mauve and Maybelline Colorsensational lip liner in Velvet Beige.

10 Day Single Lipstick Challenge

Being a lipstick obsessed person, I read relentlessly about new lipstick reviews on various blogs, make endless lists of what "I just neeeeed to have", cajole myself (against my better judgement) into buying that new hot pink lipstick which is on 50% off sale, get obsessed with websites that have a great collection of lipsticks....long story short, I have a huge lipstick collection and I doubt I would part with any of them, whatever be the temptation. 

But the funny thing is, and I have only just noticed it, that I almost never use just one lipstick. I always, without fail, use two or more every time I put lipstick on. It's like I am never satisfied with any lipstick's actual colour and hence, I blend two or three to get the exact shade I want. Either that or I am not brave enough to wear a colour right out of the tube.

Well, so a few days back, I gave myself a 10-day challenge. I decided to use only one lipstick every time I put on lipstick and to not resort to blending a couple. The only allowances are lip liner and clear gloss for some of those dry, matte lipsticks.

Today was day 5, the half-way mark and so far, I seem to be succeeding. These are the lipsticks I have worn so far (fyi, I am not wearing face makeup in any of the pictures as I don't wear it on a daily basis).

Day 1 - Lakme Enrich Satins  lipstick 140, Maybelline Colorsensational lip liner '338 Midnight Plum', Lotus Herbals clear gloss 'Ice Cube 32'

Day 2 - Colorbar Velvet Matte  lipstick 'Over the Top 81 V', Miss Claire Glimmersticks lip liner 'Mild Maroon L-02', Lotus Herbals clear gloss 'Ice Cube 32'

Day 3 - Maybelline Colorsensational Moisture Extreme lipcolor 'B42 Buff'

Day 4 - Loreal Colour Riche  lipstick 'Ginger Spice 815', Miss Claire Glimmersticks lip liner 'Mild Maroon L-02'

Day 5 - Maybelline Colorsensational The Buffs Collection lipcolor '950 Untainted Spice', Colorbar lip liner '008 Just Coral'

I think I can definitely go the single lipstick way, don't you?

My 'Nude' isn't Your 'Nude'

Skin colour discrimination is one of the topics that gets me really riled up. And there are plenty of reminders all around. TV commercials for bleaches and whitening creams, matrimonial ads wanting 'fair' brides, adjectives describing brown skin from 'wheatish' to 'dusky' to 'dark' and the thousands of words, many of them pejoratives, in regional languages that describe the multitude of brown shades we have, the SA at the makeup counter who insists that the shimmery blush is 'skin colour' - I ask her whose skin colour? as it is neither her skin colour, nor mine. The beautician who insists I need to bleach my skin in order to "remove my tan". I tell her that is the skin colour I have - she is perplexed.  I know, I know, I am ranting.

But you get my drift. We all have heard of that major crayon brand which carries the shade 'Skin' - it looks nothing like mine. Nude undergarments are always beige in colour. Nude makeup is always ashy on me. Nude lipsticks make me look sick. Obviously, my 'nude' is not the same as what these companies are selling. Its obvious that the cosmetics and fashion industry have so far catered to only one kind of 'nude' and that 'nude' is not mine.

Well, lucky for us non-white people, some big companies are looking to change the way the colour 'nude' has been perceived so far.

In the cosmetics industry, Maybelline launched its 'Buffs' collection of lipsticks in January this year. It has nude shades for women of colour. I have been dying to try them out.

Image Courtesy: www.beautyzine.com 

And I came across this article today - Nude Colour - about this company called 'Nubian Skin' which is redefining 'nude'. It has launched nude lingerie for women of colour. Do read the piece - its heartening to know that 'women of colour' do not have to limit themselves to the perceived 'normal' anymore.