Do you have a big freaking issue trying to find a neutral that doesn't make you look like you've A: been tonguing either a snowman or a dust bunny, B: are not-so-recently deceased or C: were voted off a reality show? Sucks arse, doesn't it? And it's expensive after a while, what with all those beigey-sandy-taupey fails piling up and mocking your presumption. I just don't do things like MAC Blankety or Peachstock or say, LimeCrime Coquette because the results are zombie-horrendous. In fact, they're zombie-horrendous on most people so let's wish them back into oblivion where they probably belong.
When I want a check out the eyes dammit lip I have to reach for something at least as dark as my natural mouth but still subdued enough to be considered neutral. Or risk the abovementioned ABC syndromes, which doesn't leave me with too many options. Babes of colour will possibly sympathise. Enter Del Rio. Heard of this shade before now? Me either. I don't know why it took me so long to discover it- possibly due to the lack of decent reviews :p
When I want a check out the eyes dammit lip I have to reach for something at least as dark as my natural mouth but still subdued enough to be considered neutral. Or risk the abovementioned ABC syndromes, which doesn't leave me with too many options. Babes of colour will possibly sympathise. Enter Del Rio. Heard of this shade before now? Me either. I don't know why it took me so long to discover it- possibly due to the lack of decent reviews :p
| After trial and a shitload of error, my absolute favourite neutral is MAC Riri Bad Girl but that's LE and I have to conserve it; my walking to the shops to buy milk stick is probably MAC Hot Tahiti, which is... lame, in an MOR sort of way and just takes the edge off a bald lip situation. Del Rio may look twinsies with Hot Tahiti in these pics but don't be fooled. They're different beasts. The image at right (with this very review in drafts as a backdrop ohmygerrrd!) is the closest to reality. BELOW (from bottom, all MAC) Hot Tahiti, Del Rio, Riri Bad Girl (LE), Taupe, Mehr (LE).  |  < This swatch was taken in neutral indoor daylight. Del Rio a deepish, half-dirty pink/half-latte brown. Think cinnamon quills and hot chocolate- not cool, not warm... rose-flushed mud. Pink deer brown. The sort of tone Nature spreads around quite a bit and that's always a good sign. It definitely favours the brunette. I can see this on an icy blonde, but warm/golden-toned girls should probably leave it alone and conversely, if you're very cool-complected or battling under-eye bags, discolouration etc, it may party with those problems and end up too ashy. |
Do give it a try next time you're at the counter; such disregarded shades often have an LE-type quirkiness about them and to me DR is almost exotic. Lol. So yes, gently brown and quite matte, an equation that = retro. But no one should worry about lingering grunge stigma; then as now, on the right face browns are striking, authoritative, richly flattering and anti-princess. And it's not like Del Rio is going to smack anyone about the head with chocolate drama anyway; it's quite subdued, especially to someone more used to much 'bigger' shades- I'm talking understated without being too basic. A neutral with just a weeny a bit of dominatrix in its DNA. Muted, not neutered.
 RIGHT (from bottom, all MAC) Hot Tahiti, Del Rio, Riri Bad Girl (LE), Taupe, Mehr (LE). Warm direct outdoor daylight. |  |
The formula is okay-good, delivering about 80% opacity. While I find satin to be an acceptable texture generally, this one's on the waxier end of things and sets to a low-sheen long-lived finish. There's an awareness that you're wearing lipstick but it's a good compromise between endurance and comfort and I personally don't find it drying. I'll use it alone and to make dirty reds like MAC Studded Kiss and Fixed on Drama (with which it is especially agreeable) more workable since it has a lot in common with them tonally. Taken as a whole Del Rio is a really nice utile find.
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