Rockalilly Lipstick Review. Pucker up!

I’m a red lipstick kind of lady although I dabble in pink and even the very occasional coral shade.  Red lipstick seems to encourage strong reactions, I know there are ‘hate red lipstick pages’ (morons!) and some dislike red lips for their artificiality. Red is problematic though, the range of shades is startling once you put it on even though they don’t seem that different in the tube.  As a redhead with very white skin I have it easier than some but I don’t have whitewashed teeth so the issue is as much a shade of red that doesn’t give your toothy pegs that buttermilk shade redolent of old piano keys as anything else.

Additionally modern formulations are moisturising but they are too sheer and lightweight to provide a strong look, in fact that is the overwhelming problem with modern lipsticks: too much moisture and shine and not enough pigment. The sheer shiny look falls into that whole 70’s faux thing going on right now.  As my hair is longer and some of the sheer shiny lipsticks veer on sticky I am keen to avoid the hair stuck to mouth situation, which funnily enough does take me back to the 70’s, when as a nine your old I had a brief dalliance with cheap strawberry flavoured shiny lip gloss from Miners.

The requirements for a good vintage style red are that it be either fully matt or semi matt, highly pigmented and come in good strong dramatic shades.  A measure of how the cosmetic industry is not serving the vintage niche market is revealed by the fact that a new small lipstick company has been established by Ree Ree Rockette, a lover of fifties and vintage style who took the lipstick bull by the horns and produced her own brand ‘Rockalilly lipsticks’.  Now I have to declare an interest here that I do know this lady, but am ruthless enough to review any product with a modicum of detachment.  I was aware however that the as yet limited palette of colours would probably chime with my own thirties inspired tastes so ordered one of the reds, ‘Rockette Red’ online and subsequently treated myself to a second shade, a zingier slightly orangier red: 'Hot Rod Red' which I was able to buy at the Powderpuff Girl salon near Carnaby Street (who have the advantage of testers). Hopefully more vintage outlets will stock them.

I am quite happy to use a very expensive lipstick and re apply it fastidiously at an evening event when in any case I am likely to be in and out of the bathroom checking my false eyelashes are not about to fall in my beer (it has happened). What I am looking for is a good all round wear through the day red.  The Rockalily lippies fall somewhere between my Guerlaine and my Mac. Less oily than the former and a great deal lighter than the latter.  I noticed two elements I liked immediately: the shape of the tip of the lipstick was smaller and made it easier to apply straight on and it smelt nice.  I was impressed by the fact that this lipstick feathered far less than my other lipsticks and both the shades did not make my teeth look yellow. I did like the colours, particularly the strong dark Rockette Red.  Do I have any gripes? Well it doesn’t last as long as the Mac but then again your skin does not end up flaking after use, it has quite a nice texture.  The lipstick holder itself is functional rather than glamorous.  This is not a ‘cheap’ lipstick, but then again it is a small company and I feel it is reasonable value especially if you consider you are supporting a small personal endeavour and not a massive corporation.  The red has become my default day time colour and I look forward to this company expanding it’s wares.