The Lip Bar

It's not every day I can parlay with flat international shipping rates and customs charges. Thankfully, my recent parlay with The Lip Bar has been smooth sailing (I think it always is). I'm going to try my best to make this relatively short n' sweet. I bought 3 items, my items arrived in good time (considering the apocalypse is upon us) and overall ~~I'm~~ I was pretty happy with what I bought. As usual, here lay my thoughts and feelings, feel free to chime in your own if you are so inclined - I won't bite *snarls*.

Everything came in stylish but also informative packaging. I almost forgot that one of the selling points for the brand's foundation and concealers rests on the built-in "skin-loving" ingredients plus convenient design. In other words, if you're lazy about skincare and application The Lip Bar has you covered - to make you look flawlessly natural, quickly, and easily whilst helping out your skin. Yeah!

Below are the swatches for the 3 items.

The Lip Bar 4:00 Cinnamon Concealer, The Lip Bar 4:04 Skin SerumFoundation, The Lip Bar Lipgloss in Heart Breaker

Skin Serum Foundation by TLB in 4:04

4:04 - is a little too dark and too cool for me but, it's okay - I'll take the blame. I went against my better judgment and thought that 4:04 would be a good match but, whilst it can work (see pictures below) it does more than slightly deepen my skin - it also eradicates my warm golden undertones in my lighter areas.

Maybe in the summer this shade might be a comfortable swipe n' go for me, but for now, I can only really use it on the periphery of my face, otherwise, it creates subtle disunity with the undertone harmony between my face, neck, and hands if I were to use it all over my face. To everyone else, this subtle difference is a big whatever but for me, it's noticeable enough to be disappointed with my shade choice (in spite of my great love for polo necks and gloves).

testing

Choosing a shade: It took me a long time to choose a shade but, I'm pretty sure I'm in the Cinnamon (maybe Mocha?) family. I used the Lip Bar's shade finder to finally match my shade with MAC NC55 which is actually a little cool for me but, I figured 4:04 would be more golden - I was wrong. If I were to purchase this foundation again I'd probably choose 4:05 or 4:06.

TLB Skin Serum Foundation in (L-R) 4:04, 4:05, 4:06 (source)

MAC NC55 is matched to 4:04 (for medium brown skin with yellow undertones)

Fenty 430 is matched to 4:06 (for medium brown skin with red undertones)

Fenty 420 is matched to 4:05 (for medium brown skin with reddish-brown undertones)

Fenty 430, MAC NC55 & TLB 4:04

To make the shade work, I paired Revolution Fast base foundation stick in 13 with TLB concealer in 4:00.

I used 4:04 on the periphery of my face (forehead, jawline, temples, chin, lower cheeks) and the lighter shades (TLB concealer in 4:00 & Revolution fast base stick in 13) on my upper cheeks and eye area.

Bare Face, Lotion Face, Applying Revolution Fast Base in 13. The End result with Revolution foundation and TLB concealer on my lighter areas and 4:04 serum foundation on the outside of my face.

Shade mishaps aside, this foundation is very easy to apply (comes with a removable brush) and feels nice on the skin. It doesn't take long to pump out the foundation so be careful not to overpump because it's very easy to waste foundation and I can imagine that this foundation would be an easy one to finish (especially with the right shade match & that it has 10ml less than your average foundation). There's no particular scent and the coverage can be slowly built up until it sets. It does make the skin look healthy and gives a pleasant radiance. Coverage is a buildable medium to full, and it does oxidise.

I think TLB has made a good product. However, I think it would be great if they permanently had sample sizes and refillable foundation shades for when you've finished the 20ml foundation. Not only will this help their customers to get their correct shade but also it will help the environment (and customers pocket). Besides who has the time to play foundation pot luck or roulette with their shade match? Even the best of us can get it wrong every now and then ...

Now, whilst writing this post, I noticed on their website that they accept lightly used products back which actually disturbed me because my foundation didn't look full when I received it (!) - even though the brush was new. Ugh, what a way to end my initial impressions - ignorance is bliss. Now, I can't help feeling like I received something that was probably tested and used before and bought it a full price (!) *sick stomach feeling*. Maybe I received a faulty one or it looks heavily used after two-three pumps (?) but, I'm even more disappointed than when I found out it wasn't the best shade match ... I left a semi-negative review (2/3 stars but with constructive criticism) so I'll see if they have anything to say. Overall, I'm feeling a bit meh about this foundation now.

Water (Aqua), Caprylic Caprice Triglyceride, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Glycerin, Trioctyldodecyl citrate, Chrondrus Crispus Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cetearyl Olivate, Butylene Glycol, Methicone, Polysorbate 20, Avena Sativa Kernel Oil, Flavor, Cetyl Palmitate, Sorbitan Palmitate, Sorbitan Olivate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Kaolin, Boron Nitride, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Cellulose gum, Xanthan Gum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, May Contain +/-, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Caprylic Caprice Triglyceride, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Glycerin, Trioctyldodecyl citrate, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cetearyl Olivate, Butylene Glycol, Methicone, Polysorbate 20, Avena Sativa Kernel Oil, Flavor, Cetyl Palmitate, Sorbitan Palmitate, Sorbitan Olivate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Kaolin, Boron Nitride, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Cellulose gum, Xanthan Gum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, May Contain +/-, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499).

Made in the USA - 20ml - $28.00

Water (Aqua), Caprylic Caprice Triglyceride, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Glycerin, Trioctyldodecyl citrate, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cetearyl Olivate, Butylene Glycol, Methicone, Polysorbate 20, Avena Sativa Kernel Oil, Flavor, Cetyl Palmitate, Sorbitan Palmitate, Sorbitan Olivate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Kaolin, Boron Nitride, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Cellulose gum, Xanthan Gum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, May Contain +/-, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)

TLB Concealer

Cinnamon

4:00 Cinnamon Concealer - my first thought about this concealer was "oh no, it's too light", and well whilst it is kinda light because it's such a thin formula it blends nicely into the skin to gently blur and conceal the areas where you place it. Yet, if needs must you can build it up to blur blemishes (on top of foundation) or to gently highlight the skin (see the end picture for my foundation). It's early days but, I think this is a super easy product to work with, and I look forward to testing it out some more. The finish is very natural, and just like the foundation, it feels light on the skin.

Bare to Light Coverage - TLB in Cinnamon

Ingredients: Decyl Isostearate, Isostearyl Isostearate, Water, Triisostearyl Citrate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Quaternium- 90 Bentonite, Propylene Carbonate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Linum Usitatissimum (Flax) Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia (Macadamia) Seed Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Natural Caffeine (and) Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Extract (and) Lecithin, Silica, Polyglyceryl- 4 Isostearate, Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Butylene Glycol, May Contain (+/-): Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499).

Made in Taiwan - 10g (12 months) - $15.00

TLB Vegan Lip Gloss

Heartbreaker

Lip Gloss in Heartbreaker - This lip gloss is so nice it's unfair that it's not readily available in the UK. The applicator is soft and flexible and the formula is smooth and pigmented. It has a pleasant light sweet scent but it also has a "natural oily" smell which makes me concerned that it might go rancid on me quickly (a negative to natural-based cosmetics). The colour is a gorgeous reddish deep brown and the formula is not sticky or heavy feeling. I think it's a gorgeous shade that will work well with many deeper skin tones, and those with lighter skin who like dramatic shades. I love it!

Ingredients: Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil*, Triisostearyl Citrate, Brassica Campestris / AleuritesFordi Oil Copolymer, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax, Shorea Robusta Resin, RhusVerniciflua Peel Wax, Mica, Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate, ButyrospermumParkii (Shea Butter)*, Silica, Organce, Cranberry, Peach Natural Flavor, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract*, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Leaf Extract*, Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer, Tocopherol, Phenethyl alcohol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Titanium Dioxide CI77891, Iron Oxide (CI 77499, CI 77492, CI 77491), Red 7 CI 15850, Yellow 5 CI 19140.

Made in the USA - 9g - $8 (reduced from $13.00)

End thoughts: I like TLB (even with my suspicions about foundation recycling that may have bitten me). I would like to see the brand grow and be sold internationally one day (in physical stores) as they have some really great formulas and concepts (especially their lip products). Despite being catty enough to leave a 2/3 star review on their website, I still have my eyes on a few more products from the brand, and I can forgive this apparent slight because I'm really not going to run out of foundation anytime soon. Perhaps I'm being sent a message.

Ultimately, this brand is really forward-thinking and if you're lucky enough to have it in a store near you (I think some of their products are sold at Target), I don't think you'd be disappointed if you gave it a try.

*After publishing this post, I searched and found that they do have free samples but, it's not clearly visible on the website. Type "samples" in the search bar, and you'll find some options that are in stock to add to your cart - don't make my mistake.

Have you tried anything from The Lip Bar?

Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated!

Stay Safe, Be Blessed, and Take Care