I love lipsticks. I also love space. One of the great things about indie products is they can marry crazy things like this– like I also love eyeshadow, and I love animal puns. I also love purples, pinks, and reds… so when Tilt/Shift Cosmetics, run by the incomparable Niahm, had a 20% off sale in July, you betcher butt that I went totally insane and bought all the colors of lipslicks available to me in full sizes. Tilt/Shift Cosmetics has just reopened from a brief hiatus, so now is the time to decide which of these gorgeous colors calls to you from across the misty moors, because they are truly lovely.
Onto the lipsticks!!
Lip Swatches
Solstice
This lovely little miss is a very pigmented, bright, cool-leaning pink. The texture was quite smooth and creamy, and applied evenly across the lips, Super feminine, really gorgeous!
Chaos
Chaos looked lighter on me than I had expected, but honestly I was pleasantly surprised! I love weird purples, and this has a bit of an alien, otherwordly quality to it, I think. I can’t wait to pair it with a more dramatic eye! Like Solstice, I found Chaos to be really pigmented and smooth upon application.
Equinox
Equinox reminds me a LOT of Hello Waffle’s Ginger Kitties in color, though the formula is entirely different (because of course Hello Waffle’s is a tinted balm, and this is a lipstick-type product). It’s a beige-y, peachy, nude’y, pink. At this point as I was swatching I was impressed with how hydrating the lipsticks felt, even though I had already scrubbed my lips off three times. This is probably my favorite color out of the bunch, just because it is an MLBB sort of shade for me, of my favorite sort. SO pretty!
Zenith
Zenith is a perfectly balanced orchid– just enough purple, just enough pink. I think it’s a really wearable color and works all year round… I could see myself wearing this at Christmas time as much as I would in spring (though maybe I’m being seasonally insensitive, I’LL WEAR ORCHIDS WHENEVER I WANT OK).
Nebula
Another one of my personal favorites! This one has been living in my purse for a while, and that shouldn’t be much of a surprise, because I freaking love corals. This one sort of calls to mind MAC’S Lady at Play, and also a bit of Hello Waffle’s Maraschino tinted balm but ultimately it’s pretty unique. It leans a bit more orangey red, with pink tones, and somehow it has a bit of softness to it as well.
Aurora
Aurora is a VERY pink lipstick– I’ve seen it mentioned elsewhere as Barbie pink, and I could agree with that! To me, it’s a bit cooler than Solstice, and on my lips it seemed to be a bit brighter as well. My particular jar of Aurora had some small, white flecks in it, nothing I am alarmed about, but it looked and smoothed out a bit like slightly unblended color. When I brushed the lipslick evenly across my lips it all blended out, and otherwise the product applied smooth and creamy like all the others.
Gravity
Mm, I do love a good deep red! Gravity has a hint of berry tone to it, I think… it will be perfect for holiday time. I did think this color was a little bit more sheer than the others, upon application, though I was able to build it up to the opacity you see in the photos, which I was happy with. This color didn’t seem to stain the way I thought it would.
Turn Around Time
Tilt/Shift had a 10 day turn around time when I ordered, and my package was shipped out on the 9th day, so perfectly within reason. Niamh was really sweet and patient with my stupid questions too (was the TAT business days, or just days, bla bla bla). It took three days for my package to arrive after that. When it arrived, I realized that the set I had received was missing Supernova, the 8th lipstick of the bunch. Niamh was really quick in responding to me to let me know she would be sending it my way, which I’m really grateful for! It’s on its way to me now, so I’m pretty psyched to get it. Her customer service was really excellent, and I appreciate that she is willing to take a break from new orders to make sure her existing ones are filled in a satisfactory way. Great company experience, and Niamh is spot on with her TAT, which I super appreciate!
The Look
I opted for Equinox for this look, because it looked best and ALSO because it is just such a crazy beautiful color!
On the eyes I used Femme Fatale’s Frozen Flame in the inner corner, Victorian Disco’s Bro Do You Even Lift? across the lid, Femme Fatale’s Illusions in the outer corner and as liner, and Life Entropy’s Just Kittens in the crease.
I had the sudden realization that I hadn’t given my Daisybird Cosmetic’s Don’t Be So Loud Lilac blush in a while, so I whipped that bad boy out. I don’t use my purple blushes incredibly often, and found it interesting that this sort of a cool purple gives you color without actually warming up the face a whole lot, so it still makes the rest of my skin look quite pale. No complaints, but it’s definitely a different effect than the red/pink/coral/orange blushes I tend to use.
Products
- MUFE HD foundation in 110
- Palladio Herbal Foundation primer
- Laura Mercier secret concealer in 01 and secret brightening powder
- Anastasia dipbrow in Auburn
- L’oreal voluminous butterfly mascara in brown/black
- MUFE full coverage concealer
- NARS smudgeproof eye primer
- Femme Fatale Frozen Flame shadow, Victorian Disco Bro Do You Even Lift? shadow, Life’s Entropy Just Kittens shadow, Femme Fatale Illusions shadow (also used as liner)
- Darling Girl Glitter Glue
- Darling Girl Superstar Serum
- Daisybird Cosmetics Not So Loud Lilac bush
- Pumpkin & Poppy oak bark contour powder
- Tilt/Shift Cosmetics Equinox lipslick
Final Thoughts
Niamh uses her lipsticks a lot in her own looks, and I had massive GHS (grabby hand syndrome) going on whenever I would see them. I’m so glad I gave them a try! I have really dry lips, and personally found these to be really moisturizing. So far I have about 3 hours of wear of Equinox, with minimal fading. I expect I will need to reapply sometime this afternoon, but I’m pleased with its staying power so far, without making my lips feel like a desert. The formula is a bit on the thicker side, and applies smoothly over the lips. They have beautiful, opaque pigmentation, and the textures were creamy upon application. They are very lightly mint-y scented– in my mind, I have labeled them ‘vanilla mint’ and I love it! I would say that Equinox and Nebula were my very favorite colors out of the bunch, but it was hard to choose!
Last note is the longevity of the jars– I have had these lipsticks sitting in my indie makeup box since they arrived on August 11th, and found that I only rescrewed the lids loosely onto them. When I came back to them today to do the swatches, it seemed like the top layer of the lipstick hardened a little bit, and I wasn’t able to get the lipslick onto my brush. My bad! (And to be fair, I live in an incredibly dry climate). This was pretty easily remedied by disturbing the surface and mixing it a bit, and the lipslicks applied just fine after that. If you get the full sizes, make sure the tops of your jars are screwed on well! (Which, honestly, is just a good rule of thumb for any creamy type product. I’ve realized that the top-most layer of my Anastasia dipbrow has actually hardened just a little bit and I had to gently scrape it off… curse you desert climate!!)
I definitely recommend giving Tilt/Shift lipslicks a shot and finding the color (oh let’s be honest… colors) that work best for you! Especially if you struggle with dry lips, I think these are excellent options to try out, and you’ll love the pigmentation on these bad boys.
Your Turn
Have you tried any Tilt/Shift products yet? What are your current favorite indie lip products?
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