ELF Mineral Lipsticks: Barely Bitten and Runway Pink

I’m a huge fan of a red lip but it has to be the right red on me. For me that can be pretty much any shade (red toned, orange toned, dark, bright, yeah I’m pretty lucky that way :p) but I like ‘em sheer and wearable. I spotted a swatch of Barely Bitten somewhere and it seemed to fit the bill nicely and at £3.50 each I couldn’t resist picking it up. Runway Pink is pink/ nude shade that gets a lot of press too so into my online basket it jumped. 

The ELF Mineral Lipsticks are somewhat deceptive. The packaging feels light weight and cheap however the quality of the product itself far surpasses expectations. Both are creamy in formula and don’t dry my lips out at all, very important during the colder months where my lips turn into dry, flaky disasters.

Barely Bitten is a slightly deep, slightly orange (on me) sheer red. There is a slight shimmer in the tube but on the lips it just look a bit glossy. It is infinitely wearable and I find it to be totally office appropriate. If you are loving the red lips for Autumn look but feel self conscious in a full on red for £3.50 it’s a very good way of trying out a more wearable version of the look. 

For me Runway Pink is a little less easy to wear. It’s quite pale and although there is a hint of shimmer in the tube it looks pretty matte on. This makes it unforgiving on lips that aren’t in tip top shape and because of my pigmented lips I need to be quite heavy handed with the application. Once it’s on though it’s really quite pretty. I don’t ‘do’ concealer lips and this has enough colour to be nude but not corpse like. 

The lasting power of these is nothing special but it isn’t ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ either. I’d happily buy these again and I’d like to try out some other shades. Just not Bare Brown. That’s a long story... don’t trust the swatches on the ELF website.... x

*I bought these myself*