I received an interesting email from reader, Tuti quite recently. Here’s an excerpt with her question:-
Ohya, just an idea and I am so curious, maybe you can raise up the issue like: how many girls out there do really finish their lipstick and how many lipstick is enough? I think this is an interesting topic, especially for the group “lipsticks bandits”
Ah, Lipstick Bandits and fellow readers, have we got a conundrum on our hands!
What do you reckon your answer to Tuti’s question is? As for myself, its going to be tough questions to answer! LOL! But I’ll try. (If lipsticks aren’t your thing, weigh in anyway with your thoughts on lipgloss if that’s what you prefer 😉 )
Q1: Do I ever finish using my lipsticks?
Well, yes I have. This was back in the day when I’d only have 1 lipstick, or at maximum, 2. The ones I would regularly finish were initially by Maybelline and then by Kanebo T’estimo. These days, I’d be lucky to make a dent in any of them and its been the case ever since my collection started growing. I used to buy quite a few each time from warehouse sales so that was the start of a slippery slope 😛
The one lipstick I’ve been using a lot of, and which I keep in my bag at all times is Dior Addict Icone. Its a very versatile colour that I use for touch ups or when I forget to apply lip colour (yes it happens) and I love my Dior Addict lipsticks. Yet look, this is about all I’ve managed to use so far! 😛
Icone is on the left and Incognito is on the right to give you an idea of what a newish tube of a similar lipstick looks like. Hardly made a dent in it. Yet, its an achievement to even get it down that far 😛 Red lipsticks are worse. I wear them a lot, but the deeper and brighter colours are less wearable daily so those are barely used.
Q2: How many lipsticks does a girl need?
Ahem! You mean me? Ok I’ve lost count of how many I own. The answer I would give is “A Lot” because I have one for every occasion or tone LOL!
But as for how many a girl really “needs”, I’d say maybe 2 – one bright creamy colour for impact (think Red), and a lighter textured rose or pink or whatever colour gives you a brighter outlook, or that “My lips but better look”, for daily wear. A slick of lipstick can help you look a little more polished and brighten up your complexion in a jiffy 🙂
So that’s my answers to Tuti’s questions. How about you?
Have you ever finished a lipstick? How many lipsticks do you think a girl really needs? One? Two? Many?
xx Paris B
thanks PB for posting up the question. interesting yah…now i know i am not alone having so many lipsticks, thanks to all beauty blogs out there:) i have finished 2 lipsticks, maybelline & bloom. but now my collection is tooo many, lost count, or i shld say better i don’t count, so i don’t feel guilty.
Thanks for the idea Tuti 🙂 Like you, I prefer not to count too. What I don’t know won’t hurt me LOL!
I am late bloomer about lipsticks, I only used lipbalms (colorless and tinted) and lipglosses for a long time. I thought lipsticks were more colorful for my taste (that was before “sheer” entered our life 🙂 ). In the end, in 2010 I had only one lipstick, my first lipstick (Avon – baby lips, a nice pink color), now I have like a thousand lipstick from both drugstore brands (nivea, maybelline) or high end ones (benefit, clinique). I know that if I stop buying lipsticks today, these lipsticks will be enough for me at least until I’m 40, but I just can’t stop myself 🙂
If I have to choose colors, I would definitely have three: one pink(ish), one coral and one nude color.
Oh by the way, I still can’t use strong colored lipstick, especially red-maroon-cherry colored ones. I’d probably learn to use them one day..
Never too late to wear lipsticks Casey 😉 In the main I will agree with you. Sheer lipstick has been quite revolutionary to introduce the concept of wearing lipstick to the masses. Previously they were all so opaque and thick! I love how you say you have a thousand lipsticks – that’s so cool right? LOL Strong coloured lips will take a bit of practise. In my case, I started out with it because I felt that if I were to wear a lipstick, I might as well look like I was 😉 There’s no need to have to wear a strong colour but its always nice to have at least one for that special occasion
*Lipstick Bandit furtively sneaking around here* Erm no…have yet to finish a lipstick. Which is quite ridiculous since I run through lipbalms so quickly! But anyways, making good progress on Dior Diorkiss, so maybe we’ll see some results there 😀 As for how many lipsticks a girl needs, if we’re cutting it down to the bare minimum, I’d say 3: a red for special occasions or days when you’re feeling special, an everyday pink/rose, and a nude to go with heavier eye makeup.
Ohai Lipstick Bandit! 😉 I think for us, it would be quite an achievement to make a dent, much less finish a lipstick right? Heaven knows, there’s always another new one waiting around the corner to test or buy teehee…
Haha! As a Lipstick Bandit, I say you need as MANY lipsticks as your heart desires! I think a lipstick is the best way(and sometimes the cheapest way) to change up your look or to just even cheer you up. And really, who cares if you never finish it? As long as you are happy that’s all that matters!
Tracy, you are so right! I use lipstick to change up a look too and really, once you slick on your red lipstick you can almost forget about having to do anything to the rest of your face or outfit – instant glam factor 😉
I have never finished a lipstick before…but then again, I didn’t start wearing lipstick until very recently–and even then, they’re the very sheer formulas from Burberry or Chanel. As far as “how many lipsticks is too many?”–well, I don’t think that is an issue as long as you love them and get joy out of them. 😀
Ooh Burberry – did you get the Lip Mists? I wanted to but am afraid of them melting like Xiao’s or turning bad like my previous one. I have a love-hate relationship with Burberry. Sigh 🙁
Oh no–how did Xiao’s melt? And why do you have a love/hate relationship with Burberry? Yes I did get the Lip Mist in Field Rose and I LOVE it. I’ve left it in my car before when it’s been pretty warm and I didn’t have any issues with melting. I LOVE the texture–it’s smooth and buttery soft and the pigmentation is just perfect (for my taste at least)
I remember Xiao tweeting a picture a while ago. Her order came in the mail and her Lp Mist was melted. It happened twice I think. For myself, the lipstick I had started smelling funky after less than 6montha. I like Burberry’s blushes but I thought their shadows a bit blah. That said, I’ve since read so many raves about the neutral bar shades I feel I should check them out again! And maybe a lip mist too 😉
I’m fairly new to the lipstick world and the only lipsticks I’m close to finishing are my Rouge Gs (it’s been a year and they are still going strong!) my mum on thee other hand uses her lipsticks up rather quickly as she makes it a point to properly use one up before moving on to the next! As for me… I have been accumulating quite a few lipsticks now but we’ll see how it goes 😉 bad of me to do so, isn’t it? :p
Ah your mom is so disciplined! My mum is like that too and she actually finishes up lipstick before asking me for another. I sometimes wonder what she does with them – eat them? LOL
*lipstick bandit salute* Even pre-beauty blogger I’ve never finished a lipstick. Now, I can’t even think of one that I’ve made a dent on. It’s an achievement if I use it more than three times… (with our new motto, this has to change!)
Anyway, if I was a “normal” person, I’d say three. One red, one rose, and one nude/bright depending on what kind of girl you are. I think everything else are just variations on this theme.
*salute* Yes Xiao, we have to learn to be a bit more discerning – too much mediocrity around 🙂 I find leaving a lipstick in my daily bag helps me use it up a little more. But otherwise, its impossible to finish anything these days 😛
i have never finished any lipsticks…..but i have finished a few lip balms /pats self on back.
i am not sure how many lipsticks/glosses i have, and they are lying all around the room and in every single bag/laptop bag, few at work, so i guess i will never run out of it
*pats you on back* I could never commit to a lipbalm long enough to finish it 😛
I’ve never finished a lipstick before in my life. But my mom regularly finishes lipsticks so I let her take what she likes from my stash. XD
Its funny isn’t it how our moms manage to finish things like lipsticks and we don’t. My mom is the same!
Sadly (?), I have never finished a lipstick in my lifetime! But I must admit I am not a lipstick addict and I possess about 4 to 5 lipsticks. They are really not anywhere near empty!! The main reason is not that I don’t like the colors, but because lipstick somehow doesn’t belong to my daily make up routine. Either I feel very overdressed with lipstick on (though that depends on the color you’re wearing) or I simply forget. And only with of some special occasions here and there you can imagine how fast a lipstick gets empty *irony*… (^_^)
Haha yeah some people do feel too dressed up with lipstick on but try a sheer lipstick next time. It might help you ease into the more opaque ones 😀
That’s a good question. I don’t think I ever finished a lipstick (only lip balms). But my excuse is that I do freelance makeup, too 🙂
Haha I think few of us have 🙂
My approximate 12 tubes of lipsticks fall within 2 color categories – browns/coral and pinks. The outcast red has been quite neglected – except when used under brown/pink.
Looking back, I think I must have finished about 4 -6 lipsticks. When I say “finish”, they were really finished. As I liked the shade and me generally being $$ conscious and wanting every bit to count , I even scraped out the parts of the lipstick recessed in the tube, melted the chunks of scrapings, poured the liquid into empty lip palettes and let them set. Viola! New lip palettes with colors of my choice. Though I am not too sure if the melting and all is a good thing to do.
I just haven’t the heart to throw 1/2 or partly used lipsticks until some start to have a stale oil smell.. then sadly to the bin it goes.
Good on you JK for finishing up lipsticks right to the bottom! I did too but that was so long ago I’d forgotten LOL Lots of people melt lipstick into their own home made palettes and if the texture doesn’t change its all good. Lipsticks are wax based anyway so melting them shouldn’t change anything
Beetrice brings up an interesting point about finishes – so I think we’re on about 30 lipsticks per person, minimum :p.
I’ve never finished a lipstick in my life, but to be fair I only really got confident enough to wear them about a year ago, so everyone else has had a head start! I think lipstick is one of the most face-changing make-up items out there, so I think everyone needs a whole lot of them. I’d say actually, they should outnumber eyeshadows (dun dun DUN! Controversial.).
Aww Lizzie, a year is definitely too soon to finish up lipsticks especially if I’m guessing you would have accumulated quite a few by now 😉 I love how a lipstick can change one’s look far more quickly than any other makeup. Makes life a lot easier too 😉 (Actually I will agree with you about eyeshadows. Once you find a good palette you’d use everyday, that’s about it really. But you can never have too many lipsticks hehe…)
my mum uses one tube every year and i always make sure i buy her a new one before she runs out! cant buy her more though…she will nag and nag and nag…
*cough*
which is why i must not let her know how many i have!!!
but really, if compare to most ladies out there, i have very little, ie 8 lipsticks (and 4 of them were a gift! including the one u gave me Paris! Yay)and 5 lip-gloss
You are such a good daughter Gin 😉 And 8 isn’t very little – its a lot by your mom’s standards hehe… 😀
I’ve finished a handful of bobbi brown lipglosses just because they are my favourite brand, but so far not a lipstick, though I’m doing pretty well with a current maquillage one, it’s about half gone and I’m trying my best to use it up 🙂 I have tried so hard to stop buying because I have so many unfinished ones but it’s a losing battle!!
Maquillage! I still haven’t tried their lipsticks. I should, and see if they will be as good as the Shiseido makeup ones 😀 p/s don’t fight it Jan – you know you’re going to lose the lipstick battle 😉
oh and it’s even worse with eyeshadows…though I have some blushes with some nice pan showing 🙂
Love all the answers above!!! Very interesting to read indeedy!
Anyway, as for me, I have NEVER ever finished any lip product – lipstick, lip balm, lip gloss, lip pencil! I just think a girl can NEVER have too many lippies!!! Says she who bought 2 new lippies during her lunch break today…muhahahaha
🙂
HAha 2 at lunch! Talk about lipstalking 😉 I am actually eyeing to pick up one of the new liquid lipsticks from Guerlain and Shiseido. They look very promising!
Oh wow I’m an absolute hoarder – started with perfumes then it became ( and still is) blush! I’ve only ever finished 2 lippies ( Clinique one in Shy Violet desperate for this to come back as I wore it on my wedding day! & a Chanel one).
I reckon a girl needs at least 5 lippies – a berry/pink tone in cream and sheer formulas for everyday, 2 fab reds – again sheer red for wearability and intense for evenings and a stunning coral.
I do store and disinfect my makeup & skincare carefully and since living in a dry and multi season climate most if my stuff have survived so far – not the ones left behind in KL though!
Yay for blush! 😉 I find that keeping most of my cosmetics in a cool room (bedroom that has air conditioning running often) helps with longevity. But I can imagine that the weather here will definitely kill off more than we care to think about. Maybe not a great idea to hoard too many cream stuff eh? 😉
I’ve managed to make a dent in some lipsticks, but I haven’t finished any so far! This is mostly because I’ve only very recently started making wearing lipsticks a habit though, and I’m kind of hoping to finish one some day!
How many lipsticks does a girl need? Hmm. I’d say a good nude (like a pinky nude, not one that washes you out), and a good bright color (be it coral, fuchsia, or red). This question is really hard though! I have about 5 lipsticks with me for my 18-day trip, and I’m not tired of them but that’s because a lot of those are my summer lipsticks!
Wow! 5 lipsticks on an 18 day trip! I’d have brought 2 LOL But that’s because I know that no matter what I’d probably end up buying more while on holiday haha… Good on ya Sunny!
I have exactly one lipstick – a bright bright true red. For casual occasions (like grocery shopping) I wear it as a tint, more formal occasions require a full on red lip. But I’m already bad at choosing my clothes to wear each morning so it’s relieving to have only one choice for lipstick =)
I love how minimalist you are, and how you make your one lipstick work for all occasions! 😀 Also love that its a red of course 😉 Which is it?