Product Review: French Kiss Gum & MAC Rougette Mattene Lipstick

Hello lovelies! Hope you're all doing well? I'm feeling a bit feverish over here... I'd like to say that it's "love's light burning upon my brow" or something equally poetic. Or that I'm all frenzied with excitement over my upcoming super duper awesome Boston trip. I LOVE Boston! (Any Bostonian readers? Would love your rec's about what to do/see/eat/drink while I'm there!)

Alas, I think it's just the normal kind of fever.


Anyway, enough about being sick... today's post is all about stuff that might get you a little action on Valentine's Day.

I was watching this ridiculous show on TV last night. It's called Keys to the VIP, and the premise is that 2 or 3 guys are tossed in a random nightclub and given insane "assignments", through which they prove how they are the ultimate playa.

It is completely preposterous. For example, one assignment demanded that the guys pick up a girl after insulting her by offering a piece of gum for her bad breath. No joke. One guy was stupidly good-looking, and the other had a hot Aussie accent, so they actually managed to pull it off. Mere mortal men might have more trouble though, and thus might need to rely on a prop like this:



French Kiss Gum. Created by Dr. Harold Katz, breath guru to the stars (who knew?) and the man behind Therabreath, just pulling this little packet out of your pocket is bound to create a stir.

This sugar-free gum promises to fight bad breath better and for longer than regular gum. I put it to the test one day by eating a big hot dog loaded up with mustard and onions immediately before a meeting with my supervisor. He didn't faint or start crying or demand that I leave his office, so I must assume the gum worked.

Seriously, while I don't know that this works that much better than traditional gum, I do enjoy the flavour. It's a sweet berry with a tiny bit of spice to it (think Christmas rather than Cayenne). I like that there's no tell-tale "I'm-trying-to-hide-my-coffee-breath-with-mint-gum" scent, although I would have liked the taste to last a bit longer. (Note: according to the website, the gum's bad-breath fighting abilities continue even after the flavour's gone) Plus, it's a heck of a lot cuter than pack of Juicy Fruit.

I did propose to a male friend that he try to pick up girls at bars by offering them a little French Kiss, and he promptly went into a very exaggerated and gay impression of how (badly) that would go. Right. So if butch gum is more your thing, don't worry, Dr. Katz has got you covered too. GUY GUM, I kid you not. ("Now with chain-link fencing in every package!")





As for the action-getting lipstick? One night, when I was mad at my usually-wonderful boyfriend over some silly thing, he walked in, stopped in his tracks and said "I know you're mad and you probably don't want to hear this right now... but that lipstick is really f-ing hot."*

The culprit? MAC's Mattene lipstick in Rougette. I've already raved a little bit about it, even calling it the "PS Kiss of pinks". But a lippie this good deserves a full review.





The swatch from the MAC site is close, but not 100% accurate... it's bit less purpley and bright than that. Rougette is a medium-dark, rich, cool raspberry pink. This semi-matte formula is really lovely... smooth and velvety with that trademark vanilla MAC scent. It's comfortable on, but I like to prep with a good lipbalm since I have dry lips.

Wear it with minimal makeup, a white shirt and blue jeans for a celeb-style casual look. Or wink at the 80's and do it up with big full lashes and a little black dress for a night on the town (easy on the smokey eye though... the look is fun, not trampy). You could even pair this with work clothes if you work in a not-too-conservative office, and if you keep the rest of your look restrained.


The Mattenes are limited edition, but Rougette and some other shades are still available on the MAC website.

Despite this Valentine's themed review though, I would not recommend kissing while wearing this, unless you love the smeary-faced look (hello Lucy Liu in Cashmere Mafia!). But ain't it nice to know that a little lipstick could help get you there?


* Men, if you're reading this, that is wrong. We ALWAYS want to hear it! ;)