I first heard of this brand because I kept reading in magazines that Freida Pinto loved their products (she wore their makeup to the GQ awards). This was obviously just before she was signed up as one of the new faces of Loreal. I'm always a sucker for trying products that celebs swear by. The only exception to this, is if they are 'the face' of a brand because, in that case, generally they are bound by contract to mention the products in every interview they do. Not cool. I guess they have to make a living though! After discovering how wearable some mauve based lipsticks can be, I tried out this Cosmetics A La Carte Sheer lipstick in Misty Rose. This lipstick is a balm finish so it's designed to be moisturing and smooth to apply. Because the colour is sheer, it makes it a very wearable shade as you can see from the pic. It feels really moisturising on the lips and just glides on. I like the packaging too, it's simply but quite stylish.
Although it's a sheer lipstick, you don't have to spend ages applying layers of the stuff, a couple of swipes does the trick. I would liken the formula to the likes of MAC Hue which is a Glaze. I can understand why the brand have labelled the finish as 'balm' because you get a nice shine from the lipstick too. It had reasonable staying power but as with all glaze finish lipsticks, it does wear off after a couple of hours so you will have to re-apply. I was very impressed with the quality of this lipstick and I'm definitely going to try out some more shades in the future. They have 4 types of finish in their lipstick range - Sheer (Balm), Pearl (Lustrous Shimmer), Cream (Plush Moisture) and Velvet (Matte Comfort). There is a good choice of colours available and I'm looking forward to trying out some of their nudes and pinks.
If you want to check out what other shades are available, you can go to http://www.cosmeticsalacarte.com/
Have you tried out this brand yet?
