Tarte Lipsurgence Skintuitive Lip Tint and Lip Gloss

RATING (out of 5 stars): 3 stars

COST: $24 each for full sizes

THE SKINNY: This was one of those random "special offer" items I put into my online Sephora shopping cart to reach the free shipping threshold. The two products are sample sized and sold together.

Tarte's Lipsurgence Skintuitive lip products are supposed to change color, in this case various shades of pink, based on your skin's pH. Mine is sort of a pale magenta pink. The color is kind of meh, mostly because I'm not a loves-pink girl. But I do like the way the products feel on my lips.

The "tint" version is sort of a lip crayon with a Chapstick consistency. It's moisturizing and lasts about as long as my Carmex does. It is a little fragile, though. I've broken off the tip when it gets too warm in my bag and had to smush it back into place.

The "gloss version" is a gooey gloss that leaves a generous coating on my lips and really helped with the late-winter dryness.

So, product great. Color OK. At least it wasn't a really obnoxious pink, right?

KEEP OR TOSS: Keep.

CHECK IT OUT: Tarte Lipsurgence Skintuitive Lip Tint has a lot of moisturizing ingredients in it. Find a complete list online.

-- Tested by Shay

Julep Luxe Lip (Sheer Coral)

RATING (out of 5 stars): 2.5 stars

COST: $24 ($19.20 for Mavens)

THE SKINNY: Julep's new Luxe Lip treatment is more than just a lip conditioner, it contains a nice gloss color as well. The lip glosses were introduced in a recent monthly box and online.

I liked the color a lot (Sheer Coral). It was not sticky and lasted as long as you would expect from a gloss.

But the metal tip applicator was a little odd. First, it was cold. (Not something I want in mid-January.) Second, the color was super sheer. I liked that, but if you are looking for color, this is not the product for you. (It's also something buyers have complained about on the Julep website.)

After a few days, I am not sure about the "treatment" part either. It works fine, it feels fine, but my lips are not any smoother or less dry.

KEEP OR TOSS: Keep.

CHECK IT OUT: Julep's new Luxe Lip line comes in four colors.

-- Tested by Carrie

J. Cat Beauty Wonder Lip Paint

RATING (out of 5 stars): 1 star

COST: $4.99

THE SKINNY: I haven't been a fan of the J. Cat Beauty products that occasionally show up in my Ipsy bag. This one is one to toss immediately as well.

Wonder Lip Paint is runny and smudges easily. It's difficult to use and smells a little funny.

It's not quite a stain and not quite a gloss. Because of that, it never quite dries on the lips.

KEEP OR TOSS: Ick. Toss.

CHECK IT OUT: J. Cat Beauty Wonder Lip Paint comes in 15 shades, including turquoise and green. That should tell you all you need to know.

-- Tested by Shay

Starlooks Lip Gloss

RATING (out of 5 stars): 2.5 stars

COST: $12

THE SKINNY: Starlooks Lip Gloss in "Guilty Pleasure" is a decent, quiet pink color. It has just enough shimmer to it to make the color interesting without making you look like a teenager.

But this gloss has that texture that threatens to turn gritty in a few weeks. It offers a little moisturizing ability, but the color doesn't last more than an hour.

KEEP OR TOSS: Toss.

CHECK IT OUT: Starlooks Lip Gloss comes in 47 colors.

-- Tested by Shay

Hikari lipstick

RATING (out of 5 stars): 2 stars

COST: $13

THE SKINNY: Hikari's lipstick in the shade "cabernet" came in a recent Ipsy bag, and it's one of the driest lipsticks I've tried in a while.

This is billed as a long-lasting matte lipstick, and it is that. It's just not very comfortable on the lips.

The color lasted for several hours, even with multiple coats of Carmex (which didn't help as much as I wanted them to).

KEEP OR TOSS: Toss.

CHECK IT OUT: Hikari lipstick is available in six shades.

-- Tested by Shay

Makeup Forever Rouge Artist lipstick

RATING (out of 5 stars): 4.5 stars

COST: $20

THE SKINNY: Makeup Forever's Rouge Artist is my new favorite lipstick. This uber-creamy formula feels great on my lips. The color lasts an hour or two, but the moisturizing effect lasts most of the day.

I like that this lipstick is easy to apply, too. It glides on but doesn't ooze outside your lip line, like some of the more-buttery lipsticks.

The color, Copper Pink, that came in the birthday month bonus from Sephora this year is my new favorite, too. It's vibrant, but still neutral enough that it looks OK with a lot of the bronze eye shadows I've been wearing of late.

I really must have more of this. It's really not that expensive.

KEEP OR TOSS: Keep.

CHECK IT OUT: Rouge Artist comes in two formulas: natural and intense. Both formulas come in 51 shades separate.

-- Tested by Shay

NYX Butter Gloss

RATING (out of 5 stars): 3 stars

COST: $5

THE SKINNY: Ispy sent a full-size tube of NYX's Butter Gloss lip gloss in a recent bag. (Ipsy sends a lot of NYX products, which are generally hit or miss for me.)

Butter Gloss is a rich, creamy lip gloss that does feel good on your lips.

My only real issue with the product is that the gloss doesn't last long, even for gloss, on your lips. I felt it had disappeared by the time I left for work.

NXY promotes this product as a sweetly scented gloss. I didn't really notice a scent, so it's not that scented.

My sample came in a light pink color called Eclair, which looks horrible on me.

KEEP OR TOSS: Toss. This pink is too pale for me.

CHECK IT OUT: NYX Butter Gloss comes in 22 colors. I'm sure I could find a color that looks great on me if I tried.

-- Tested by Shay

Laura Geller Italian Marble Lipstick

RATING (out of 5 stars): 4 stars

COST: $18

THE SKINNY: I didn't notice the first few times I used this lipstick, but the color really is lightly marbled. This one from the Laura Geller line mixes light and dark shades, and it really does create an element of depth and richness on my lips.

This is easily one of the creamiest and most comfortable lipsticks I've tried. (I'm a gloss girl, normally.) The color isn't overwhelming and stays in place while keeping my lips moist and feeling pampered.

The color, Sugared Maple, is dark enough to be interesting but light enough for everyday wear. It has nice hints of bronze, also, which I'm always pining for in summer. This is a great color to compliment peach and amber eye shadows.

KEEP OR TOSS: Keep.

CHECK IT OUT: Laura Geller Italian Marble Lipstick comes in nine colors.

-- Tested by Shay

Lord & Berry 20100 Crayon Lipstick Shiny

RATING (out of 5 stars): 3 stars

COST: $16

THE SKINNY: Lord & Berry is an Italian boutique fashion house created in 1992 to provide makeup and fashion pieces. The makeup is available through a few online retailers in the U.S., such as Beauty Bar.

The crayon lipstick goes on smooth and almost wet. (Recommendation: Use a lip liner to help keep the color in place.) I needed to tame the color down by blotting, mostly because "Scarlet," a deep red with pink undertones, really isn't my color.

The lipstick really isn't shiny in the sense of it being glossy. But it's not matte, either. It falls somewhere in between. The lipstick has a rich, pretty color to it.

It felt a little dry on my lips after a few minutes, but it was tolerable. I'm a Carmex junky, so anything that's not a gloss feels a little dry on my lips.

The color lasts an average amount of time for lipstick. It started to fade after about an hour and was gone after two hours.

KEEP OR TOSS: I'd keep if the color was better for my complexion.

CHECK IT OUT: 20100 Crayon Lipstick comes in 19 colors (plus another four matte shades).

-- Tested by Shay

Senna Cosmetics Lip Lacquer

RATING (out of 5 stars): 2.5 stars

COST: $19

THE SKINNY: Thick is the most appropriate adjective I can use to describe Senna Cosmetics Lip Lacquer in Hard Candy, a pale pink neutral gloss with a lot of gold and pink glittery bits. It's very thick and Very glittery, so glittery that it feels gritty on my lips.

The gloss does pack a fair amount of moisture onto my lips from Vitamin E and jojoba oil, and the color (and glitter) lasts about an hour before you need reapply.

Senna Cosmetics says these glosses are vanilla flavored, but they aren't flavored enough that I noticed.

KEEP OR TOSS: I'm on the fence on this one. I might keep for now and toss later when I realize I haven't touched it in months.

CHECK IT OUT: Lip Lacquer comes in 14 shades and a lot of them look glittery.

-- Tested by Shay

Marvelous Moxie Lipstick

RATING (out of 5 stars): 4.5 stars

COST: $18

THE SKINNY: Ipsy sent a sample of the new Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Get Ready, a nice warm pink, in the March 2014 bags. I, for one, was really excited to get this because I'm such a fan of all of the Bare Minerals/Buxom lip products.

Marvelous Moxie didn't disappoint. It's creamy and thick and delivered rich color that lasted a few hours. It feels amazing on my lips and keeps them nice and hydrated. It actually feels like a lip balm (think Carmex) and a lipstick in one tube.

This is everything I expected it to be and more.

KEEP OR TOSS: Keep

CHECK IT OUT: Marvelous Moxie Lipstick comes in 16 colors.

-- Tested by Shay

Be A Bombshell The One Stick

RATING (out of 5 stars): 2.5 stars

COST: $16

THE SKINNY: The One Stick from Be A Bombshell is a multi-tasker that can be worn as an eye cream, a cream blush or a lip gloss.

Overall, I found this stick to feel dry, no matter how I used it.

Dry on my lips was the worst of the three experiences. The product went on a little gritty, too, and I immediately added a real gloss over top of it. The color lasted an hour or two before it disappeared.

The One Stick works best as a cream blush, but again it’s a little dry against my skin. It blends OK, but it only gave my cheeks a little pop of color and not that warm glow I’ve grown to expect from cream blush. (This product came in a recent Ipsy bag in Flustered, a warm pink color that I probably wouldn’t have chosen for myself.)

Overall, it’s a meh.

KEEP OR TOSS: Toss. Spend less money and try Maybelline’s Master Glaze blush stick.

CHECK IT OUT: The One Stick comes in seven colors, including a shimmery highlighter.

-- Tested by Shay

Happy Birthday, Beauties! Comparing the Sephora and Ulta Gifts

One of the best parts of having a January birthday s getting a first look at the birthday gifts from two of my favorite beauty retailers, Sephora and Ulta. So today, I'm going to show you what goodies you can expect on your big day this year.

While both birthday gifts are pretty nice -- who does not like a present? -- they are distinctly different. Sephora has a fairly premium brand available this year, while Ulta is offering first-access to a new product from Calvin Klein. 

If you are celebrating a birthday this month as well, we'd love to know what you thought of your goodies. Share your thoughts with us in the comments, on Facebook or join the conversation on Twitter!

RATING (out of 5 stars): 3 stars (Sephora), 4 stars (Ulta)

COST: FREE during your birthday month.

SEPHORA: Make Up For Ever Mascara and Lipstick Mini Duo

This birthday bonus includes two super small samples from the Make Up For Ever Line: Smoky Extravagant Mascara and Rouge Artist Natural N9 Lipstick, which I had tried and really liked in the past. The mascara is a decent product as well. The brush is pretty tiny so it is hard to compare to a full size, but it coated nicely and lasted throughout the day.

Both goodies are pretty nice. And I really liked that Sephora offered a pretty premium product for the gift. They are just so tiny. That's really my only complaint.

Sephora will allow you to pick up your gift in-store or during online checkout. 

ULTA: CK One Color Mascara (Black)

I was ecstatic to see a brand-spanking new product as the gift from Ulta. I was even more thrilled when then person behind the counter handed over a full-size tube of mascara. (He knew the way to a girl's heart!)

Calvin Klein seems to have nailed it with this beauty product. The mascara has a great brush with tiny bristles that caught each last. The formula is thin and makes for great daytime wear, although you will probably want a little more drama for evenings out. I was a little worried that the mascara would include the CK One signature scent, but thankfully it did not.

This mascara comes in five colors and retails for $18. Reviewers on the Ulta website seem to like it as well. The only downside is that you must pick up your Ulta gift in store. (But they keep them right behind the counter so you don't have to scour the shelves for it.)

THE SKINNY: Ulta is the big winner here. You get a full-size and newly-released product that retails for $18. That's pretty hard to beat.

-- Tested by Carrie