Lipsticks you can't have: soft matte coral with Catrice

In May, I went to England to spend three weeks with my guy, and we went to Holland for a week during that time. It was surreal, looking out the bus and ferry windows and thinking "oh hey now I'm in France/ Belgium/ Holland!"

Catrice Velvet Matt Lip Colour in Colour Bomb

And my favorite thing about being over there, after the company, the sights, and the experience in general of course, was SHOPPING! Every drugstore in Holland seemed to have tons of GOSH, Catrice and Essence products, including the limited edition collections - like Catrice's Revoltaire, from which I bought a few items :D  

Catrice Colour Bomb,  swatched on otherwise bare skin; direct sunlight, no flash

Actually, Suzy bought this lipstick for me! I'm still a little too afraid of mattes to feel confident buying them, but I'm so glad she gave me Colour Bomb** (THANKS SUZY :D). The Velvet Matt [sic] Lip Colour formula is very smooth and goes on pretty easily. And the color is a fantastic vivid coral with a white base, making it appear almost pastel on the skin.

Swatches on otherwise bare skin, L-R: Sleek Coral Reef, Catrice Colour Bomb, MAC Coral Polyp; direct sunlight, no flash

When compared to other corals, the white tones in Colour Bomb really make it stand out. It's also very obviously matte compared to the other two, which are not especially glossy lipsticks.

Naked lips for reference; direct sunlight, no flash

Colour Bomb applied to otherwise bare lips; direct sunlight, no flash 

Colour Bomb is surprisingly subtle on my lips - this is actually two coats, because I realized after my first round of photos that one coat was barely showing up at all on camera, and thus added more. It did get a bit flaky on the more dry patches of skin, sadly. I'll have to be more diligent about exfoliating in the future >_<

Buying info: Colour Bomb is from the limited edition Revoltaire collection, which is still on their website but not in stores. I don't believe you can buy this anywhere online, either, except possibly in a blogsale. It cost me €4.49 (roughly $5.50).

*Title is of course inspired by the proficient and hilarious Elvira of Pink Sith fame, with her Taupes, Blushes and Highlighters You Can't Have!

**It's spelled "color," dammit