Product Review: Revlon Colorstay Sheer Overtime Lip color

aka: How to look like Blair Waldorf.

Ack! I promised I'd post days ago, but totally didn't. Since the Canadian dollar is sky high right now, I took a somewhat impromptu trip to Pennsylvania to do some serious outlet shopping. Can I just say that I love America?

But anyway, the promised review. There comes a day in every girl's life when she has to stand up and admit to the people she cares most about her deepest and darkest secrets. That day is not today, because it is no secret that my guilty pleasure is watching Gossip Girl. The sole fact that Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars!) is the narrator is enough to make me watch the show*.

But aside from Kristen, the show is just plain addictive. You get the eye candy of the boys and men (Helloooo Rufus Humphrey!), the cattiness and wit of Clueless, and the clothes, good Lord the clothes, that deck out our Upper East Side elite.

Very quickly, I have become enamoured with Blair Waldorf's character. Gotta love that whole tragic-bitch thing (see also: Sara Michelle Gellar in Cruel Intentions). And of course she always looks immaculate.




And while I can't tell you how to get her cheekbones or chic Manhattan wardrobe without spending thousands of shopping-and-surgery dollars, I can tell you how to get her perfectly pouty lip look.

Revlon Colorstay Sheer Overtime Lip Colour in Sheer Pomegranate is the way to go, my friends.





This colour is a pinkish medium red that manages to be vibrant and rich, but casual. In the I'm-fabulous-but-I'm-not-trying style. Perfect for a candy-red pout with a hint of fuschia and shiny gloss to keep it modern and young.

But there are a gadzillion red glosses out there, why this one? Well, maybe rich socialites don't need to worry about things such as practicality, but I hate how red lip colours get over everything**. So, a long-wearing formula is a must. But long-wearing formulas tend to be drying and opaque, giving you crusty, flat lips circa 1980's, and that is no one's party.

Revlon Sheer Overtime lip colours are the only long-wearing products I've tried that actually feel kind of comfortable on the lips. This is no cushy Estée gloss or Clinique moisturizing lipstick, but it goes on smooth, and lets you play with it a bit before it dries into stuck-on matte-ness. The shiny gloss that goes over it is much less sticky that those in other long-lasting lip products (Maybelline, I'm lookin' at YOU), and the shimmer in it helps add depth to the colour. Although, since the base colour actually goes on relatively sheer, you're already getting some dimension there.

As for wearability, it's great. Yes, you will see some colour come off on your coffee mug, and no, it doesn't last for 8 hours perfectly (it does last though, it's just not bulletproof). When it does wear off, it does so gracefully, coming off in tiny specks, which means that the colour that does stay on your lips is not patchy or weird.





Let's face it, if you're going to look like a preppy New York social queen, it's going to take some effort. But these Revlon lippies help make things a bit easier, so you have time left over to focus on things like, you know, work, school, or being able to feed yourself. I have them in 2 other more easygoing shades -- Sheer Plumite (a cool pale lilac), and Sheer Rosette (a neutral light-medium rose) -- and I love them all.

As for the rest of Blair Waldorf's look? Keep the eyes soft with a slightly shimmery taupe shadow and feathery mascara, and swirl some neutral rosy blush on your cheeks. Pop on a headband, wear your most polished and preppy clothes, and maybe you too can be the queen bee of everything!


*If Kristen Bell did voice-overs for C-SPAN, I would watch that too.

** In fact, if the show were about real New Yorkers, we'd be seeing red smears all over coffee cups and deli sandwiches, instead of pristine and sparkling martini glasses.