Pouting nudely: Etude House LucidDarling Lipstick in 11 Barely Beige.

In my last Gmarket haul I was reasonably taking some advantage of the Etude sale that was going on. And when it comes to Etude, the LucidDarling lipsticks have been one of my favourite items. Ofcourse, when the colour is right, and I am quite picky when it comes to lipstick shades.

The latest release that was added to their already existing LucidDarling range was colour no. 11 in Barely Beige. I browsed the internet and the Etude House Korean site for some swatches. I found some (although I cannot link directly to them) and I was in the middle if it would suit me or not. Well, with that sale going on, why shouldn't I try it?

I love the nude lip-look! For example, the next picture.

She reminds me of 90s supermodel Helena Christensen, btw.

Now I disgress! Well, what I want to say is that a nude lip is something I normally do not reach for a lot, even though I love the look.

Reason: you either have to be utterly naturally gorgeous (example above), have a volumous pout or have that fantastically good base makeup with a dramatic eye-look.

I am normally too lazy to layer on a heavy dose of makeup. Oh, I am not a natural beauty either and lacking a bit of pout. Nude lips can make them look invisible. Noooooo do for me! I need that bit of pout to stay visible...

You probably know how the LucidDarling's packaging looks like. I have been blogging too much about this, so I continue to the colour.

The colour is a brownish beige. The close up shows the colour a bit better.

Aww, where did that tiny smudgy came from? Well, I already spoiled it virginal state by swatching it for the blog and testing it on my pucker, but I would love to have it flawless for the blog picture. (pouts my nude pukker).

The swatch on my pale arm. (vampire alert...gosh, I'm a pale person)

One of the things I love about this lipstick is that the pigmentation is so strong without leaving out that lovely sheen. Sometimes those heavily pigmented babies can come across like these matte and sheenless products. This is not glossy, but a glowy lipstick.

Weirdly, it looks a bit pinker on my arm and on the picture than it does in real life. You might even wonder why I describe it as a nude?

And you are right. I think it might be a less nudy colour on someone else than me. I have that bit of flush on my mouth, so everything that hints toward beige will go nude coloured on me.

For example, the wonderfully acclaimed MAC Hug me! That is a YLBB (Your Lips But Better) on lots of girls, but a NLAW (Nude Lips and Worse) on me.

So, do I like this colour. Oh, I am not really sure. As I said, I have that flushed lip state, so when the lipstick wears a bit off on the sides, or I open my mouth, the contrast between my natural state and the paleness of the nude looks a bit too much.

That makes a nude lip colour even more high-maintainance to me than, ohhh lets say, a sassy red or a vampy maroon shade.

But I know that the LucidDarling is quite lastproof, so that will diminish the constantly looking in the mirror and applicating new lipstick process.

I bought mine on gmarket (over here). It retails for 9000 won or $8.24 at the time of writing.