Silk Naturals Slick Sticks Review

I've had really good luck with Silk Naturals as far as lip products go, so I went ahead and ordered some slick sticks with my last order. Slick Sticks are essentially lip gloss, but in the same sort of twist-up tubes that their lipsticks come in.

They were shipped and delivered pretty fast. 

I ordered..

Jackpot
Ginny
Icon

Swank
Black Dahlia
Pulse

The Upside:

• I really like that they come in tubes because they're more convenient than dealing with an applicator. 
• At $4.75 per tube, they're fairly inexpensive.
• If you spend $35, you get a free full-sized eyeshadow or lip balm, and while I can't vouch for the lip balms, I do like all the eyeshadows I've ever received from them.
• They're not sticky.

Just Stuff:

• While I really like the label being plastic because it doesn't stain, it does sort of scratch away with frequent use.
• There's no mint, and while I don't mind mint, I know some people tend to dislike the taste of mint in their lip glosses.

The Downside:

• It's petty of me, but I really dislike the label design. It feels a bit dated to me and reminds me of a now closed roller rink I used to go to as a kid in the 90's.
• While they're all lovely colors, they go on so sheer that it's hard to really distinguish between the colors on the lips unless they're extremely different colors

Funky packaging. 

Jackpot is described as a "sophisticated champagne gold glimmer lip gloss. It's festive, sparkly, and great for layering." I think this one looks better on lipstick than bare lips.  On my own bare lips, I think it sort of washes me out and doesn't look right. It can add a a nice gold sparkle to a lipstick, though!

I like Ginny a lot. It's described as a "just bitten nudeish peachy tone with a shimmery finish." It's a warm, versatile color good for spring and summer. It also looks less sheer on the lips in my opinion and doesn't need another lip color under it to look great.

Icon is described as a "nude matte plummy pink with a fine layer of gold shimmer. It's lighter in color, and an excellent nude. Icon is made to match our Nude Palette 3." It's a nice color, but it's so close a match to my lip color that all it really does is give my lips some shimmer.

Swank is described as  a "very very sheer black with hints of golden pearl." I'm undecided on this color. The underlying black sort of desaturates the color under it.

 Black Dahlia is a "very deep brownish plum shimmer. There is actual black oxide in this color- and you can see it. The black gives it a sultry edge, and a wonderful, glamorous fall feeling." I agree that this is really a great fall color, but also works well for summer and winter.

Pulse is described as a "sheer farm plum with a little bit of shimmer." It's dark enough that it can significantly influence the color of lipstick you're wearing under it. I like the color a lot, but it's similar enough to Black Dahlia that I really don't feel there's any reason to own both.

Silk Naturals Lipsticks 2

I really enjoyed my last order with Silk Naturals lip products so I placed another. I should probably share that as a habit, I always put on chapstick before applying lipstick. This is supposed to moisturize lips so that the lipstick can be applied evenly. It should also help keep lips from drying. 

I also wanted to correct something from my last review. I said that the colors featured were vegan, but it turns out that all Silk Naturals lipsticks are vegan. This doesn't extend to other products, though. I've also had to ask Karen, the owner, a few questions and wanted to say she's always been super prompt and helpful with each response.

 I received...
Cayenne (received as a free sample)
Jane
Pow!
Wham!
Bravado

Packaging varies 

This is the packaging for the free sample

Cayenne is described as a "warm red with the tiniest bit of gold." I don't see any gold, but it's still a really lovely brick red.

Jane is described as a "vivid creamy coral with a little bit of shimmer, cooler toned highlights, and full on coverage." I think I'd describe this as more of a hot pink than a coral. Jane feels a bit more sheer than the others.  Though it's too bright for me to use regularly, it fades into a color I find more wearable.

Pow is another very bright and bold color. It's described as a "deep, bold fuchsia with just a little bit of shimmer. It does stain your lips after it's been on a while - so the color really lasts." 

Wham is very similar to Pow, but more purple than red. They're both very intense colors. Wham is described as "bright bright reddish purple. It's bold, super pigmented, and has good coverage - not super heavy, but good. It does stain for color that lasts and lasts." I took a risk with this one but I'm happy I did because I think it works very well for me.  Being so bright, though, it's uses are a bit limited.

Bravado is my favorite from all of these. It's like a toned down version of Wham! It's described as a "deep burgundy with a hint of purple. It's cozy, sophisticated, and seductive." The term "sophisticated" is pretty spot on, I think. It's bold, but not overpowering. Sometimes I do makeup on friends and family, and it's worked really well on everyone I've tried it on. 

Silk Naturals Review

I placed an order with Silk Naturals for 5 lipsticks and they arrived soon after. I've had them for a few months now, so these are my thoughts!

I ordered..

Bombshell 

Rapturous

Sheena

Negligee

Lois

The Upside:

• They come in thinner tubes than I usually see, which I found to be really nice because they allow for more precise application for me.
• The packaging is attractive. 
• Great pigmentation and good staying power. They're pretty creamy too.
• At $5.75 per tube, they're very inexpensive for the quality.
• If you spend $35, you get a free full-sized eyeshadow or lip balm, and while I can't vouch for the lip balms, the eye shadows are wonderful.
• These colors are vegan, so they don't contain carmine.

Just Stuff: 

• While I really like the label being plastic because it doesn't stain, it does sort of scratch away with frequent use. You can sort of see this on my "Lois" tube.
• It was hard to wash the swatch off my arm, which I guess means the pigmentation has great staying power, but I also can see how that could make it stain.

The Downside: 

• I can't think of any.

Verdict: I think I've placed 3 orders so far, and I intend to keep placing them.

Pretty packaging. 

Lois is described as  "a creamy nudish MLBB pink color with a hunt of subtle shimmer and full coverage." This may be my favorite lip color of all that I own. The swatch is a better photo for the color than the lip photo. It's a warm, bright pink that's versatile enough to wear with just about anything without being overwhelming.

Negligee is described as a "clone of MAC's Velvet Teddy. It's a slightly warmer peachy carmel color- very nude, very J. Lo or Angelina Jolie." It's a very pretty nude color, but I agree that it would look better on someone with a darker complexion. It still is pretty for paler complexions, though. 

Sheena is the other lipstick which I feel photographed better on the swatch than on the lip photo.  It's described as a "deeper nude brown with a little reddish plum in it. Full coverage, with just a little bit of sparkle," and I think that description matches it perfectly. It's a great evening color.

Rapturous is described as a "lovely muted cool-toned rose with a hint of brown."  It's similar to Sheena, but less plum and more red. I sort of conceptualized it as a toned-down version of Bombshell.  It's another great evening color. 

Bombshell is described as "RED. Really really red." This is frankly a great description of it. It's very intense. I honestly haven't found the right occasion for this one just yet, but it's a beautiful shade. Sure makes me feel fancy though.

Performance Colors Review

I placed an order for 6 lipsticks with Performance Colors on Etsy and they arrived a short while after. I think from the time I placed the order to the time they arrived was about a week . I gave one to a friend so my review contains the following 5 lip colors:

Ginger Heart Restorative Lip Color
Coco Loco Matte Cream Lipstick
Pink Choco Matte Cream Lipstick
Posh Matte Cream Lipstick
Black Rose Restorative Lip Color

The lipsticks are for the most part really soft and creamy. The lip colors are more solid and less creamy. The lipsticks are opaque, the lip colors need to be built up to get more opaque color. Other than that I'm not sure what the difference is.

I should probably have taken photos of the packaging but it slipped my mind. The lipstick tubes are like chapstick ones. You can sort of see them off to the side of my arm swatch photo below.

The Upside:

• The cap is transparent, which I like a lot since it allows for you to see the colors easier without having to sort of guess. 
• Super pigmented. They have fantastic staying power and last fairly long, even through meals. They might stain as a result of this, though. 
• Very inexpensive! As it stands, you can get 3 tubes for $10. 
• It's been a while since I ordered, but I'm pretty sure I got some free samples out of this. I recall some eyeshadow samples and a eye pencil at least.

Just Stuff: 

• The website is a bit inconsistent showing what colors look like. While most are shown by how they look on the lip, some are shown with how they look in the tube which can make it difficult to compare. 

The Downside: 

• Because it's in a chapstick tube, it can be a bit difficult to use. This seems to be fairly typical of indie lipsticks, though. I have better luck applying with a brush than straight from the tube. 
• Since the tube is wrapped with paper, they can get discolored easily if you ever get any product on your hands.
• It was brought to my attention that these lip products have Stevia in them. While this is not really a big issue for me personally, it can potentially be a big drawback for others.

Verdict: I absolutely adore these lipsticks and will certainly use this company again!

Ginger Heart is described as a "Super-saturated, saucy red, semi transparent."

Coco Loco is described as a semi matte "medium deep warm brown color."

Pink Choco is described as a semi-matte and "opaque neutral brown pink."

Posh is described as a semi-matte an "opaque toned-down neutral coral adobe color." This color looks toned down in the photo.

Black Rose is described as "Very black red packed to the max with red sparks that catch the light."