I love a good ol’ matte lipstick. It is the only thing I wear on my lip these days. Sometimes a full-on matte lipstick can be drying and accentuating all the cracks and wrinkles on the lips. Yes they can be long lasting but it will starts to get uncomfortable as the hour went by.

Jumping on the matte lipstick bandwagon is none other than Mary Kay. They recently came out with Gel Semi-Matte Lipstick that comes with a somewhat gel-like lip cushioning formula. All together there are eight shades to choose from – Bashful You, Rich Truffle, Mauve Moment, Powerful Pink, Always Apricot, Poppy Please, Crushed Berry, and Midnight Red. I am going to show you four out of the eight shades. So you will get to see how these four completely different shade family fares on my darker lip tone. I have with me Bashful You, Always Apricot, Poppy Please, and Crushed Berry.

Sorry that my lipsticks looked a bit beat up lol. That is because I have been using these lipstick like crazy for the past few weeks. While my camera was still in the service centre, I took the time to really try these lipstick out. They may looked beat up but hey, that means I like it so much so that I have been wearing them often 😉

Usually a gel lipstick is not opaque but not this one. Mary Kay’s Gel Semi-Matte Lipstick offers a full coverage and it utilizes gel microsphere technology to maintain its rich, opaque, stay-true colour and long-lasting. What’s interesting with these lipstick is that it is formulated to give a soft-focus effect. Meaning these lipstick has optical diffusers that works by scattering light and blurs away minor lip imperfection. Hah! Now, that is something I am looking forward to.

All four shades swatched BEAUTIFULLY. Right off the bat I know I will like Always Apricot and Crushed Berry. I seems to be leaning more to a pink base shade when it comes to my lipstick 🙂 . After trying each lipstick out, day by day, I actually like them all. The shade that really surprises me the most is the most nude shade – Bashful You. It seems so pale from the lipstick bullet but surprisingly it turns out to be THE PERFECT NUDE shade I have ever tried! On me it has a hint of peachy brown which almost looks like a peachy pink. It does not matter because I finally found a nude shade that I can pull off 😀

Here comes the most random photo of all. This is what happen when a spectator was by my side and he asked “why do girls make funny faces when they apply lipstick”. Just as I was bursting into laughter, the camera timer set earlier went off. Guys, this is NOT what you ask a girl when she’s applying lipstick, okay? Not cool. Not cool at all. Hehe! Funniest shot ever.

Anyway, back to Mary Kay Gel Semi-Matte Lipstick. The lipstick is a semi-matte lipstick therefore it does not dries down to a complete matte after a minute or two. It remains a tad bit creamy (not glossy) throughout the day. However after going through a whole meal, I notice that the lipstick wears off and turns to more matte. The colour stays put thanks to its Advanced “Cushion Matrix Technology”. This fancy schmancy technology utilizes something called ultrafine silica microsphere to embed and retain the lipstick colour on the surface of the lip. That explains why I still get the tint on my lips even after the lipstick wears off a bit. The moisturizing properties that keeps the lip supple and moist are mainly from Sunflower Oil and Jojoba Esters.

Below is all four shade lip swatches. Bashful You looked shinier because it is the first shade I tried on and I had lip balm on earlier when I do my makeup. If you do not prep your lip with lip balm like I always do everyday, the shade will be more matte 😉

Mary Kay Dream Beautiful Contest 2016

Every year I shared about Mary Kay Dream Beautiful Contest and for 2016, the entry submission are now opened. Dream Beautiful Contest has entered its fourth year. Being one of the most glamorous beauty contest, Dream Beautiful is a regional makeover competition among Asia Pacific region in the celebration of the making of Asia’s next modeling star and makeup artist talent.

Dream Beautiful Contest 2016 is targeted to garner thousands of pairs from nine countries in the Asia Pacific. The countries included are Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan. This competition criteria is slightly different from others whereas Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant will be entering the contest with one of her customer. Together as a pair, both of them will be competing with other participants. At the final, winners from each country will be gathering in Hong Kong for a weeklong Grand Finale, which is scheduled to take place next year.

Contest will begins 1st July 2016 to March 2017. To participate in Mary Kay Dream Beautiful Contest, contact your Independent Beauty Consultant at +603-7711 7500 to get a complimentary makeover as well.

For more information, please visit www.mkdreambeautiful.com or www.marykay.com.my. Good luck girls!