Sisley Spring 2016 Phyto Lip Twists and Eye Twists with Swatches

Sisley is back this Spring with 6 more additions to their super popular Phyto Lip Twist range. If you don't already know about my love for this jumbo lip pencil formula, read these past few posts here and here to get some history (and to see swatches of all current shades in the range). Even though Sisley is known for their amazing skincare (read my prior reviews here), this Phyto Twist range both for the eye and lip has been an instant hit.

The newly released shades for the Lip Twists vary between very fleshy nudes to a wearable nude, to bubblegum pink and to bold fuschia and red. If I have to pick my favorite, it would most definitely be shade 15, though 14 is an absolute stunner if you are looking for a jewel tone garnet shade. The formula is creamy and hydrating while still being long wearing and comfortable on the lips. The paler shades do fade a bit faster than the bold shades, but they are so easy to reapply that I usually don't even use a mirror! And being a packaging junkie, the zebra stripes appeal to my animal print loving self. I still hold these as one of my favorite jumbo lip pencil formulas and think there is a shade for any and everyone in this range.

The Eye Twists were released a bit later than the Lip Twists, and have proven to perform just as well with a wide range of shades to choose from. Here is my review on the other shades which spans both neutrals and bolds, while the hues for spring 2016 balance the scales perfectly.

There is a gorgeous gold shade perfect for everyday or as a base under powder shadow, a warm bronze which will universally look beautiful on anyone, and two vibrant shades in a royal purple and deep jade for those that want a bit more excitement in their eye makeup. Of course I have been wearing the heck out of 9 and 11, but have challenged myself to find a way to wear the two other shades. Maybe I will put that on the agenda for a future tutorial. From a staying power perspective, these fall in the medium range where they still stay emollient enough on the lid to blend them seamlessly, but will not smudge or crease for up to 6-7 hours (that is my experience not a proven statement from the brand). Jumbo pencil lovers will definitely want to pick up at lease one shade from both the eye and lip formulas because these still remain some of the best ones in my collection. The Lip Twists are available now, but the Eye Twists will be launching within the next few weeks, though UK customers can get them now on the Sisley website here.

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Shop more of my Sisley recommendations:

Review: Butter London Lippy Bloody Brilliant Lip Crayon

While Butter London is known for their fabulous nail polishes (Slapper is one of my favorite teals ever), little is known of their emerging makeup line. I was excited when they sent me these new Bloody Brilliant Lip Crayons for review, because we all know how much I love a jumbo crayon. (If you didn't know that, now you do. #themoreyouknow)

There are 7 shades in the collection and they range from super nude to wearable naturals to vibrant pinks and deep reds. The formula is a medium coverage with a soft and creamy texture. However, when I say soft and creamy don't think I mean easily broken and completely a mess in the slightest bit of heat. These stay quite firm and keep their shape when applying. The finish is a more natural look with a slight shine that makes my lips look healthy and moisturized. They definitely last quite a few hours (typically 4-5 with me) though I do need touch up the paler shades more often.

The swatches in order from left to right starting in the left top corner: Tea With the Queen, Trout Pout, Disco Biscuit, Primrose Hill Picnic, Teddy Boy, Toff and Ruby Murray. My favorite two shades were definitely Trout Pout (I also love the nail polish shade) and Teddy Boy for an everyday neutral shade. To check out the rest of the Butter London makeup line, click here.

New Lip Launches From Lipstick Queen, Dolce & Gabbana And Clinique

There is nothing (well almost nothing) that a new lipstick can't fix, right? It's the first product I go buy when I am having a bad day. It can be a fancy one from Chanel or a gloss from the drugstore, either way a  new lip color can be a great pick-me-up. Here are three new lip launches from Clinique, Lipstick Queen and Dolce & Gabbana that are worth checking out next time you are having a case of the Mondays (or because you are a makeup fanatic like me and have no self control):

1. Clinique Pop Lip Color + Primer - I don't know if it was the names or the colors, but either way I fell instantly in love with these cute new lip colors from Clinique. But let me be honest, I was more jazzed about the concept of them than trying the actual formula because I had assumed they would be sheer, lightly pigmented and more of a tinted balm. Well, this could not be further from the truth! Holy cow - these lip colors pack a serious punch (har, har, har) of color! And they feel like this creamy, moisturizing dream on the lips - smoothing out any dry patches and making the fine lines in my lips look less noticeable. Cute names, adorable packaging and a formula I love? You win, Clinique. 

2. Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Matte Lipsticks - While I was not quite sure what to expect with the Clinique lip colors, I knew exactly what to expect with these new matte lipsticks from Dolce & Gabbana. They were exactly the seriously pigmented and intensely matte formulas I imagined. I typically wear lipsticks more than lip glosses, and have come to really love a matte texture on the lips. But even with a matte finish, this D&G lipstick manages to glide easily onto the lips rather than pulling and dragging like matte lipsticks of years ago. I know this may surprise all of you, but my favorite of the two was Inferno. So dark and vampy but so fierce! Dark lip shades can be a bit more high maintenance to wear because they need to be applied evenly and lips need to be exfoliated and well moisturized. I did not swatch it below with any lip liner or primer, because I wanted to show the true application but I have found that priming the lip with a nude lip liner and using a lip brush made for a much smoother finish. Here is a picture I posted to instagram of me wearing it after using this technique and it came out beautiful. I know summer is a time for bright colors, but it can't hurt to break the rules a bit and sport a dark lip every now and then.

3. Lipstick Queen Cupids Bow Lip Pencils - I'm probably a bit biased with this new formula, because two of my holy grail lip colors are from Lipstick Queen. This formula in the shade Pink Bluff is one of my favorite "my lip color but better" shades, and this Lipstick Queen formula in the shade Saint Pinky Nude is another holy grail. As you can see from the below swatches, these colors are not for the faint of heart since they give opaque coverage. Luckily there is a great range of both natural shades mixed with bold, daring shades to appease everyone. These go on extremely creamy so be sure not to leave them laying around in the sun or warmer temperatures (I learned this the hard way sadly), but instantly dry down to a creamy matte finish and do.not.move. There is a slight lipstain quality about them because of this intense staying power so be prepared to grab your cleansing oil at night to remove them. Because the pencil itself is a quite narrow and skinny, they give a more precise application than many other jumbo pencils. And so with another launch, my love affair with Lipstick Queen continues.

Here are all the swatches of each formula and color. 

Row 1: Clinique Nude Pop, Clinique Beige Pop, Clinique Melon Pop, Clinique Poppy Pop

Row 2: Clinique Punch Pop, Lipstick Queen Nymph, Lipstick Queen Golden Arrow, Lipstick Queen Eros

Row 3: Lipstick Queen Metamorphoses, Lipstick Queen Desire, Lipstick Queen Daphne, Lipstick Queen Apollo

Row 4: Lipstick Queen Ovid, Dolce & Gabbana Passion, Dolce & Gabbana Inferno

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Sisley Spring 2015 Phyto Lip Twist Shades With Swatches

I swear Sisley uncovered some secret new lip pencil formula when they created these Phyto Lip Twists. Because while they look like every other jumbo lip pencil out there, they couldn't be further from that. Yes, they have the shape of a lip pencil and the mechanics of one, but the feel of them on the lips is by far one of my favorite formulas of all time. The colors manage to be bold but not too bold, sheer but not too sheer - it is the perfect balance of coverage. Rarely have I ever come across a formula that perform like this and wear so well. The shape of them makes it so easy to apply - and this may shock you but I can actually apply these without a mirror. That is how perfect the point of the this pencil is shaped - it fits right onto my lip without being too small or too big and glides right on.

The three shades they launched are Candy (8), Coral (7) and Chestnut (9) (swatched above in that order) and will most certainly get you in the mood for spring's brighter colors. As you can see from the above swatches, they look incredibly even and smooth on the lips. I find that if my lips are experiencing any dryness or peeling, these lip pencils hide that immediately. My lips stay hydrated and moisturized almost all day when wearing these, and I only need to touch up once or twice. They are obviously not as pigmented as a matte lipstick or full coverage formula, so the staying power is strong but it's certainly not a 12 hour stain. That being said, I wouldn't want it to be because that may take away from the richness and emolliency which is one of the reasons my lips enjoy wearing these Phyto Lip Twists. I know these are quite a splurge, but they truly deliver on their luxury status and are worth every penny.

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Shop some of my other favorite lip pencils:

Review: Sisley Phyto-Lip Twists

I'm going to warn you now, before the post even begins to prepare yourself and brace your wallets. These Sisley lip pencils I'm about to talk about are a lip lover's dream. Between the color choices, the pigmentation, the texture and feel on the lips - these are the absolute pinnacle of lip pencils. And at a rather steep price, I reckon they should be. But to be honest, there is nothing worse than a high priced makeup item that builds up your expectations and then lets you down in a crushing blow of bad performance. Or an off-putting scent. Or an averse reaction on the skin. Yowsa, no thank you. That's why I appreciate when a luxury product comes along that gets it right. And these Sisley Phyto-Lip Twists knock it out of the park.

Sisley is generally know for it's skincare, but slowly I've seen them putting out more and more makeup products that are worth a second look. These Phtyo-Lip Twists are worth a third and fourth look if you ask me. From the zebra print packaging to the color assortment, I'm pretty sure anyone and everyone can find a shade they love.

As you can see from the swatches above, the colors fall in the middle of the pigmentation spectrum - not too sheer and not too opaque. They are the goldilocks of lip pencils! LOL Let's first talk about texture and feel before we discuss color options. To say these glide on is an understatement - they almost apply themselves they are so smooth. A lot (and I mean A LOT) of lip colors make my lips peel or dry but because I am often in love with the color over formula, I wear them. But finally I don't have to compromise because these stay super creamy and soft on my lips all day long. I get about a good 4 hours out of them before I need to do a quick touch-up, but the shape of the pencil and twist up application make it easy enough that I don't even need a mirror. Ok - onto colors. Look at these shades!!! I am partial to Lip Twist 2 as the perfect pinky nude and Lip Twist 6 as the sassiest orange red, but frankly I love them all. Lip Twist 4 pulls a bit too blue on me so I would have to layer it with something a bit warmer, but other than that, they all have made their rounds in my makeup bag. If lip pencils are your thing (and frankly even if they are not), these Lip Twists are worth the splurge. If I could insert emojis into this paragraph, I would end this post with the two hands up emoji, followed by the dancing girl in the red dress emoji and finally a lipstick emoji and the sassy girl with her hand up to the side of her head emoji. You get the jist, right?

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