Hello, Everyone!
I realized recently that I own more lip products from Gerard Cosmetics than any other one brand. With that realization, I figured I should write a review about them! I have seven lipsticks and three lip glosses, all with varying finishes in formulation. I also have their BB Illumination Creme. Their lipsticks retail for $19, lipglosses for $24, and the BB Creme is $36. However, because they've had SO MANY amazing sales this year, I haven't paid full price for any of these.
I'm going to go in order of lightest to darkest, starting with the lipsticks. I didn't use any lip liners or lip balms under the swatches for these photos, to show the way they actually look on my medium pigmented lips.
First up, would be
Kimchi Doll. This was a collab with Sophia Chang (I don't actually follow her or know who she is, but this is her collab), and the first so many orders received a lipstick tube with her signature etched in it. As you can see above, I received one of those. This color is described by Gerard Cosmetics as a "perfect baby doll pink and peach nude", but there is NO pink in this color on me. It is peach, and almost concealer like on my skin coloring, I can make it work with a lip liner under or a gloss on top, but I don't like it on me by itself. The formula on this one isn't too bad. Gerard doesn't specify on their website what type of finish it's supposed to have, but I would say it's on the matte side. It doesn't tug my lips when applying it, and it doesn't go on patchy.
Next up would be
Buttercup, and it is my absolute favorite out of them all. It is the second lipstick created by Jaclyn Hill (yes, I know who she is), and the
perfect pink for my skin tone. Out of ALL of my pink lipsticks, this is my favorite. I love this one so much, I bought a back up. I don't even recall the last time I went through a complete lipstick, but I bought a back up of this one. Gerard describes this one as the "perfect nude pink" and I agree 100%. It's creamy, opaque, flattering, and comfortable to wear. It looks good with a natural makeup look or a smokey eye.
Third, we have
Fairy Godmother. This is a matte, and can be patchy when applied. It is a
bright neon pink, and takes a lot of confidence to pull off. I've worn it, but it could be a little much for the office. It's a lot brighter in person than my camera picked up on. Gerard describes it as the "perfect baby pink lipstick that pairs pastel and flattering blue undertones", which is correct. It is definitely blue based (yay for not making my teeth look yellow!) and is one of those neon pastel colors. It tugs my lips a little bit when applying, but that could be avoided by using a lip balm underneath. It is a great color for the Spring and Summer time, but I will definitely be putting it away once we get close to fall.
Fourth, there is
Rodeo Drive. Let's be honest. This purchase
may have been influenced by my love of 'Pretty Woman'. A little bit. Or a lot. This is described as a "medium rosy pink hue" that I think is the most universally neutral and flattering out of the seven I own. It is the perfect every-day-work-appropriate-neutral. It has a creamy formula, that isn't at all patchy. It looks beautiful and doesn't require a lip liner or gloss. But, of course, you could always add one!
Fifth is
Tequila Sunrise, and is one of the few orangey lip colors I own. I'm always afraid that these type of colors will make my teeth look yellow (I'm a
huge "teeth person"), so I usually avoid warmer lip colors. This one, however, is lovely. I don't find that it makes my teeth look orange, and I do find it flattering. Gerard describes this one as a "peachy coral", and that's pretty close. This one
can apply a little unevenly, so I do have to apply quite a few coats for opacity, I would consider it a cream or maybe a soft matte. It's not as matte as Fairy Godmother, but not as creamy as Buttercup. However, it isn't uncomfortable on the lips. It's another great Spring and Summer color.
Then we have
Underground. Sweet, lovely Underground. This one isn't everyone's cup of tea. It's one of the newest contenders in the "greige" lip color battle. It's darker than Lime Crime's Cashmere, but not nearly as drying. Then again, this is a traditional bullet lipstick, and Cashmere is a long wearing, liquid lipstick. Gerard describes this as a "mixture of warm earth tones and cool grey, with a touch of pink". I see no pink on me, as this is mostly grey. I've seen this look so many different ways on so many different people. It can pull a slight purple undertone on me, which I like. I have used a small amount of Buttercup over this in order to make it a little more "wearable" for work. It's a comfortable formula on the lips, and doesn't make me want to reach for a balm or gloss. It's a creamy, opaque finish, and probably my second favorite out of the bunch.
Last, we have
1995. This was the first Jaclyn Hill lipstick, and almost the one and only that I ordered from Gerard Cosmetics. It's inspired by the 90's lip trends (obviously, as the name is "1995"), and (
I think) by the Kylie Jenner lip craze. I
despise this lipstick. It has a matte formula, and drags across my lips when I apply it. This color looks very red-brown on my lips, and is not at all flattering. Even the tube on this one feels cheap. It feels like a lightweight plastic, making it not feel as sturdy as the others. There is not
one single thing that I like about this one. I am thankful that that I wanted Buttercup so badly, that I gave their lipsticks another chance, though.
On to the lip glosses! I'm not going in order of lightest to darkest with these, but by the order I purchased them. Before Gerard Cosmetics was a separate company, everything was through Whitening Lightning, so the first three I purchased have the "Whitening Lightning" packaging. First, I have
Nude, which is one of their best sellers. It pulls very peachy on me (as a lot of things do), so I didn't like it very much when I first got it. It's not a neutral nude, but a peachy orange neutral. I do like it now, and it looks great over Kimchi Doll! Their lip glosses have a nice formulation, creamy and opaque, with some containing shimmer. I do not find these to travel outside my lip lines, or settle unattractively in any lines in my lips.It may look like it does in the picture above, but keep in mind that not many people see my lips this close up. Gerard describes this as a "neutral nude", but I don't consider it a neutral for my skin.
Coral Craze looks a
lot like Nude on me in the photo above, but in person, it's a slightly brighter coral color. I wasn't crazy about this one, either, feeling like it didn't do anything to give the illusion of whiter teeth when I was wearing it. Now that I am getting more into bright and bold lip colors, I do find myself liking this one. It looks like it settled everywhere on my lips in the photo above, but again, not many people are this close to my lips. It really doesn't look bad in person. All of the glosses I have are opaque and creamy with the coverage and formula.
I was wanting to just dip my toes into the bold lip pool when I ordered
Pink Tiara. What better way to try out a bold color than in a gloss form, right?! This one made my teeth look
yellow. I was NOT happy. I put it on the back burner (along with the other two) for a long time. I broke it out a few months ago, used it in a look, and was really pleased with how it tied everything together! Gerard says this is the "perfect milky pink for the bubblegum princess", and it does remind me of the color of bubblegum!
Buttercream. Once again, Jaclyn Hill. Gerard describes this as the "perfect creamy, pink nude", and they are accurate! For me, this is the lip gloss version of Buttercup. It goes with everything, flatters my cool, pale skin, and is just beautiful. Another creamy, opaque lipstick, and one of my favorites! I do have to say, that this one has a
terrible odor when I open it. It smells like burnt plastic, and is the only one that does. It has a strong chemical smell, but it will fade a few minutes after application.
Last, I have
Shimmer of Hope, This is the only one of my five that has shimmer in it; the other's are all creams. I had been holding out on this one, telling myself I didn't need it, but I was sucked in after seeing it over
everything on their Instagram. I'm really glad I caved! It's a beautiful gloss, that makes your lips look full and pouty; whether you wear it over a lipstick or lip pencil, or you wear it one it's own. This is my other favorite!! This is a lighter version of Nude and a lot less peachy.
My last Gerard Cosmetics item is the
BB+ Illumination Facial Creme. This is another item that I had been looking at for such a long time, but I thought it would be
way too gold and warm for my skin. As you can see from the above picture, it is
gold. However, once blended in, it adds a beautiful luminosity to the skin. You can use this as a creme highlighter or mix it with your foundations for an all over glow to the face. I haven't mixed it with my foundation, but I have used it as a regular highighter, and it is
stunning. It does stay on my skin all day, with little to no wear or breakdown. You get 50ml/1,69 oz of product, and I love that it comes with a pump. It does us an airless pump, so you may have to pump quite a few times to dispense product, I had to actually remove the pump, squeeze the creme almost to the top, and then replace the pump. I've had no issues since!
The glow on my cheekbones is from the BB+ Creme over the Loreal Infallible Pro Matte foundation.
Gerard did come out with some new powder highlights that I am drooling over. And I absolutely LOVE the names they gave them! I also want to try their eyebrow palette!
Have you tried Gerard Cosmetics? What did you think? Tell me below!
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*All items were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.
