FOTD: Bright lip city gonna set my soul on fire!

I've been going through a bright lip phase at the moment which is something that I never thought I'd be doing.  These colours aren't fantastically bright but they're bright enough to allow me to strike the balance between bright and work appropriate.

My lips are pigmented and the top lip is darker than the bottom.  All three of these products mask that problem and apply uniformly to both lips.  The Korres tub is standard lipbalm size, the ELF tub really is that big. 

1) ELF's Studio Conditioning Lip Balm SPF 15 in Bombshell Brown.

The swatch is a bit dodgy on the lower lip because I was thinking..and when I think, I bite my lip.  This is most pigmented lipbalm I've ever seen.  It is practically a lipstick in creamy liquid form.  It applies like a dream, moisturises the lips and has a sweet scent and taste to it.  I can't put my finger on exactly what the scent is but it definitely has hints of vanilla.  I asked Simon if he could guess the scent and well..one night he guessed vanilla and the next night he guessed coconut.  Make of that what you will.  For £3.50, you can't ask for much more.  Well, you could.  The only thing I'd ask for would be for ELF to make this exact product into a lipstick.

And yes, I have applied the fade filter to the top photo as I had a massive spot that people don't need to be seeing.  And that bump is from a scratch..

2) Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate.

I reviewed this here and it has only recently made a comeback as I've been working through my lipbalm stash.  It also packs a fair amount of pigment for a balm and that's why I like it, dual purpose!  This is slightly costlier than the ELF one, coming in at £6.  I'm going to buy more of these to use as bright lip colours, I've got my eye on Wild Rose, Quince and Mango.  And maybe Plum.

I apply both the Korres and ELF products with a concealer brush.  No technical reason for that really, I just haven't found a lip brush that I like yet.  The concealer brush lets me build up the colour and smooth it out in a way that I can't do with fingers.  Plus, I hate dipping my fingers into things as not only is it unhygienic, it's also annoying.

3) Revlon's Stormy Pink. 

My favourite High Street pink for women of colour.  It's been reviewed and swatched here before.  It looks blue based and so I've decided that blue based pinks are the ones that work best on my skintone.  It's matte but I pair it up with a lipgloss and we're onto a winner.  In the photo I'm wearing a Stila Lip Glaze (Brown Sugar) but I wear it with a standard clear gloss too.  I got my Lip Glaze at the Stila sample sale for a fiver.  I would no way pay the full £15 for it as they are very sheer and don't really show up on pigmented lips.  The lipstick will set you back about £7.

The eye I wear is very simple, it's my beloved MEL B shadow, No7 Fawn which I am sure has been discontinued..

I tend to wear it with just eyeliner in the waterline and no mascara as my recent mascara tends to keep on smearing against my glasses and that frustrates me.

I posted before about bright lips, the lipstick I used here was another Revlon one.  I have to hand it to Revlon, they really know how to make flattering shades for darker skintones (most of the time..Smoked Peach, I'm looking at you!)

Anyone else out there embracing brighter colours as the days get shorter and colder?