La-la-la-love... LIPSTICK

Here are a five good reasons why lipstick can be a bit dyahe:

• They can dry out your lips, making your puckeroos unsuitable for kissing...
• ...and even if your lips are suitable enough, it's definitely hassle to MOMOL because nobody wants to have lipstick smeared all over their face.
• Eating can be a bit of a pain. Think stains on your spoons, forks, chopsticks and eventually, your teeth. And when you're done, the colour's already gone from the middle part of your lips making you look a bit trouty. 
• The annoying lipstick rim on your coffee cup/mug. 
• You have to test them to see if they suit your skin tone but how clean are the testers, seriously? This reminds me of what my college blockmate said when I gave him the remnants of my coffee cup: "Uy, para tayong nag lips-to-lips!" ("Wow, drinking off your cup feels like I've kissed you on the lips!") This, buddies, is why I never try lipstick on my lips which sometimes can be a costly mistake.

But lip colour is such a fun way to change looks/express moods and to show one's personality which is why I still love the stuff. My makeup kit is very basic but I do have a little over 30 tubes of lip gunk lying around, varying from high end and drugstore brands to cult classics and favourites. I guess whilst most girls shop for clothes when they're stressed for a quick perk me up, I switch lip colour instead. 

As previously mentioned, I like MAC lippies best because their colour range excites me and they're quite long-wearing. As promised, here's a rundown of my MAC lipstick mini-collection.

Paramount - deep, reddish brown. This colour looks a bit more brown on me than red and is quite a good colour for fall.
Finish: Satin
Application: Smooth and easy
Retouch: Once

Cherish - beige, nude. This was my first ever nude lipstick and though I was convinced I loved it, I realise now that it washes me out a teeeensy bit. Best paired with 'dark smoky eyes'.
Finish: Satin
Application: Smooth and creamy
Retouch: Twice

Mocha - (Satin finish) medium brown with a slight peachy tint. My go to lipstick when I fancy the natural look. Definitely one of my favourite "MLBB" shades around.
Finish: Satin
Application: Smooth
Retouch: Twice

Paramount, Cherish, Mocha

Sin - oxblood red, bluish undertones. I wanted to get a vampy colour for fall/winter and ended up getting this shade as it looked like a nice, deep plum on a sales assistant's face. It's very dark on me so I only apply a single stroke when I wear it at daytime.
Finish: Matte
Application: Quite pigmented so you have to be careful with your lip lines
Retouch: Zero to once

Rebel - berry red, puple undertones. One of my favourite shades of all time! I think if I were a lip colour I'd like to be Rebel. It's bold but not too bright, fierce but not aggressive, flirty and playful altogether. It's pinky and purply at the same time and can easily be worn for a day-to-night look.
Finish: Satin
Application: Easy
Retouch: Once

All Fired Up - bright fuschia pink, red undertones. I think this is one of the nicest pink and red "inbetweener" shades around. It's highly pigmented and lasts a long time.
Finish: Retro Matte
Application: Make sure you prep your lips for moisture as it's quite dry
Retouch: Once

Pink Nouveau - pale pink, blue undertones. This was my first pink lipstick and I still love it to pieces. I love how this shade seems to suit any skin tone. It's such a playful Barbie girl colour too.
Finish: Satin
Application: Easy
Retouch: Twice

Mehr - warm pink, slight blue undertones. This is such a nice colour on medium skin tones because it's another MLBB shade. It's quite subtle, perfect for a clean, dewy, natural look.
Finish: Matte
Application: Easy
Retouch: Once

Angel - aka Kim Kardashian's favourite and my biggest lipstick mistake. I wanted a pale pink colour and bought this after reading reviews. As I don't exactly test lipstick for fear of cooties (har), I ended up buying Angel and regretting it as it totally makes me look like I've had twenty convulsions in a day. NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Bangkok is so much better.
Finish - Frost
Application - Easy
Retouch - Twice

Sin, Rebel, All Fired Up, Pink Nouveau, Mehr, Angel

Fresh Moroccan - warm red with gold specks. I hate glitter so I was a bit reluctant to get this but for the sake of variety, I did and I'm glad. It's not as drag as I thought it would be and the gold specks aren't too loud at all. Such a pretty colour and I love how it lights up my face and makes my lips look fuller.
Finish: Frost
Application: Easy, but be careful of the lip line.
Retouch: Once

Russian Red - bright warm red, slight blue undertones. My super-favourite power red lipstick of all time, the MAC lipstick that started this slight obession.
Finish: Matte
Application: Quite pigmented so be careful of your lip line!
Retouch: Once (it's that good!)

Ruby Woo - bright red, blue undertones. My other favourite red lipstick of all time and it would've taken first place if not for its relatively more difficult application process. It's slightly more opaque than Russian Red so I need to put a bit more coats of it.
Finish: Retro Matte
Application: Like All Fired Up, make sure your lips are moisturised before application as it's quite dry.
Retouch: Once

Chili - warm red. Another colour that seems to go well with all skin tones. It has orange undertones and is quite a safe shade of red if you don't want to go as bright as Russian Red or Ruby Woo.
Finish: Matte
Application: Easy
Retouch: Once

Brick-o-la - berry, reddish pink. I wanted to find a MAC dupe for my Revlon Toast of New York favourite and I thought by looking at the shades without testing, this was it. It's not. Brick-o-la, however, is quite opaque so I use it as a lip stain or an emergency perk me up.
Finish: Amplified
Application: Smooth and creamy
Retouch: Twice

Retro - red with brown tones. I like this colour a lot. It's a muted red so it's very wearable and very old school glam.
Finish: Satin
Application: Easy and creamy
Retouch: Once

Fresh Moroccan, Russian Red, Ruby Woo, Chili, Brick-o-la, Retro

Good to Go - neon orange. I don't usually wear orange and coral lipstick because I don't think they suit me. My friend gave this to me as a birthday pressie and I was surprised by how much I love it. It's a cool spring-summer colour, don't you think?
Finish: Pro Longwear Lipcreme
Application: Smooth and creamy, but careful of your lip line (and teeth) as it's a flat stick
Retouch: Zero to once

Good to Go

So there you have it, my mini collection of MAC lippies. I wanted to share with you three other colours I quite like (Amorous, Viva Glam I and Freckletone) but I can't find them for the life of me. I hope this is enough to show a range of colours they have, though admittedly the best way to find a lip colour that suits you is to really try. If you have a slight phobia of using testers like me, I've been told that the next best way to test a lipstick is to swipe it on a fingertip. But make sure you wash your hands after!!!

Oh, and excuse the goosebumps, it was quite cold when I took these photos.