[Review] Portland Black Lipstick [part 2]

This time, we're taking a look at Portland's titular Black lipstick, Metallurgy, Artificial Amethyst and Chaiborg.

A quick overview of the colours as per their website:

Black: The best ever! A perfect blend of black iron oxide and mice in a moisturizing base, this colour is opaque and long lasting.

Metallurgy: This unique lipstick is forged from black, green and gold colours to produce a truly unusual metallic experience. The results are surprisingly sophisticated - but with the primitive boldness you have come to expect from Portland Black Lipstick Company products.

Artificial Amethyst: We introduced this dark purple lipstick at this year’s wonderfully fun Portland Hallowe’en Bazaar. In true modernist fashion, we celebrate the fact that it is not made from real gemstones, but from FDA approved mineral pigments. After all, have you ever *tried* to stick amethysts on your lips? They fall off and bounce around on the floor…

Chaiborg: This futuristic lipstick is a cross between the metallic silver gray of industrial robotics and the warm light brown of milk tea. Neither too warm nor too cold, Chaiborg is a cosmetic life form all its own!

Time for swatches!

Artificial Amethyst

Looks like a rich metallic dark purple like it's namesake The colour goes on beautifully, producing a very deep purple colour with a faint metallic shimmer. I would call it within the same family as Indigo Bridge in terms of looks. 

Of all the colours tested I like this about as much as Indigo Bridge. Photo doesn't entirely do it justice.Very pigmented as well, it took very little to get it this opaque. If you want it slightly lighter, a blotting would bring out more of the purple hue.

Black

Ahh yes, the colour that Portland Black Lipstick is most famous for. It's a very rich black that goes on opaque with minimal amount. It stays on pretty well too and is one of the darkest blacks I know on the market. The caveat: it's a bit hard to get off and might stain lips a little bit. Time to break out the makeup remover! it's rich and pigmented but it really isn't a huge favourite  for me though I can see why lots of people love it.

Chaiborg

Is a  metallic silver grey with a warm brown tone, like it's namesake chai. It's very similar to the other metallic lippies but being one of the more neutral shades, it's pretty wearable. Makes you look kinda like you have iron -robot lips, and it straddles the line between being a warm and cold shade too. Photo sadly doesn't really do it much justice either. 

It's nice but it's not one of my favorites because it looks a little odd against my crazy pale yellowish skintone.

Metallurgy

Is a deep greenish gold, metallic colour. I'd say it's somewhere between black and pewter cauldron with a hint of gold sprinkled in. A nice shiny metallic colour for those who don't want to hit full on black. It goes on great and it's crazy pigmented. In terms of metallics I still like chaiborg more in terms of the cooler metal colour options.

I think I was a little unlucky with this sample that it had gone off a little. It smelled and tasted weird so after the review I got rid of it. I've tried it before with another friend who introduced me to the brand and I didn't experience this. We HAVE very hot weather and I hadn't stored the sample properly so that's likely the cause of it. According to Portland Black Lipstick Co. each lip stick colour has a different shelf life and if it smells sharp and a little like crayon or has dried out, it's probably reached the end of it's lifespan.

Rating: 5/5

Pros: Creamy, tastes nice, has staying power.

Cons:

All these colours save for Artifical Amethyst were very hard to remove without any form of makeup remover. Artificial Amethyst has natural carmine and might prove to be an allergen to some people.