Rockalily Lipstick in Rockette Red

There have been a few blog posts about the new UK independent lipstick line, Rockalily, but I haven't seen many reviews of the lipsticks. I took a bit of a leap of faith and ordered one in Rockette Red, because I like independent lines, I like the retro feel of the branding and I love a good red lipstick.

The packaging is quite basic, but functional. The Rockalily logo is stamped onto the lid, rather than being a sticker.

Rockette Red is a blue based red. It's not overly blue or dark like many blue-based reds can be: the colour is in the same colour family as Tom Ford Cherry Lush and Julie Hewett Femme Noir. The texture is matte but not drying, and gives a creamy satin finish on the lips. It's very comfortable on the lips although due to the matte texture I do need to prime my lips with balm first. The Rockalily lipstick is also extremely well pigmented; think Besame classic lipsticks or Julie Hewett Noir range (this does mean a lip brush is necessary to get a clean edge). It has a gentle vanilla scent, similar to MAC but more subtle.

Swatched:

Applied to my lips.

In context of the rest of my face (I only realised I'd forgotten mascara after this picture was taken, so forgive the unfinished eyes please).

The Rockalily also wears well and lasts a morning (with many cups of tea) without fading noticeably. When this does fade a bit after eating it wears evenly without leaving the red ring of doom around my lip line.

So far there are four lipsticks in the line: the Rockette Red I bought, Roulette Red (a deeper blue based red), Hot Rod Red (an orange red) and Pompadour Pink (a semi-gloss fuchsia). At the moment the lipsticks can be bought from the website at www.rockalily.com and cost £14 each (plus £2.50 postage), and are also stocked at the Powder Rooms in Soho and Shoreditch: link to Powder Room addresses.