Make Up For Ever — Fifty Shades of Grey Give In to Me: Rouge Artist Natural Lipstick and Lab Shine Lip Gloss

Make Up For Ever has launched four new and limited edition make-up sets as apart of their collection in collaboration with the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. The Give In to Me set includes a total of five full-size permanent products: four shades of Artist Shadow in a palette, a Graphic Liner Vinyl Pen Eyeliner, a tube of Smoky Extravagant Mascara, a tube of Lab Shine Diamond Collection Lip Gloss in D14 Indian Pink, and a tube of Rouge Artist Natural Lipstick in N4 Pink Beige. This is a review of the lipstick and the lip gloss. The Rouge Artist Natural formula is described as "an ultra creamy formula that hydrates the lips with a natural sheen," and the Lab Shine formula is simply described as offering "spectacular and intense shine." The set comes in a black vinyl keepsake box with peach trim. Inside the box is a side compartment with a key charm that goes with the theme of the collection. Aside from the exterior and keepsake boxes, the products are housed in regular Make Up For Ever packaging. The Rouge Artist Natural Lipstick comes with 3.5 grams of product, and has a light rose scent. The Lab Shine Lip Gloss comes with 2.6 grams of product, and has a light fruity tea scent. The Give In to Me set retails for $79 USD or $90 CAD.
Rouge Artist Natural in N4 Pink Beige
Lab Shine Diamond Collection in D14 Indian Pink
Rouge Artist Natural in N4 Pink Beige and Lab Shine Diamond Collection in D14 Indian Pink

N4 Pink Beige is a medium warm-toned pinked beige with a soft sheen in a cream finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is warmer and more pink than Make Up For Ever N5 Nude Beige, more pink and less frosted than Make Up For Ever N3 Iridescent Pink Beige, slightly more brown than MAC Bare Again Sheen Supreme, slightly darker and warmer than MAC Patisserie, darker and more pink than MAC Jubilee, lighter than Urban Decay Liar, darker and more brown than Urban Decay Naked, lighter and more muted than NARS Anita, and darker and more pink than Too Faced Naughty Nude.
D14 Indian Pink is a light-medium muted guava pink with gold and pink iridescent shimmer in a Diamond finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a creamy, non-sticky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has low pigmentation and sheer to semi-sheer buildable colour pay-off. It is darker and warmer than Make Up For Ever D12 Quartz Pink, lighter and cooler than Make Up For Ever D22 Papaya, sheerer and more sparkly than MAC Partial to Pink, sheerer and cooler than MAC Dynasty at Dusk, darker than MAC Baby Sparks, darker than Dior 343 Spring Ball, sheerer and more sparkly than Dior 583 Papillon, warmer and more sparkly than NARS Belize, and sheerer and more sparkly than NARS Chihuahua.

I never gave much thought to Make Up For Ever's lip products before, but both of these have left me pleasantly surprised and completely impressed. The Rouge Artist Natural lipstick has a soft, creamy texture that applies smoothly and evenly. It doesn't feel too heavy or balmy on the lips, but it remains creamy and comfortable to wear. As implied, it gives a more "natural" finish, so it does have a soft sheen and semi-opaque colour pay-off (though it is buildable to complete opacity), and makes lips look softer and fuller and generally more plush. It's comparable to MAC's Mineralize Rich Lipstick and Too Faced's La Crème in terms of colour pay-off and finish, and YSL's Rouge Volupté Shine and Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine in terms of texture. The Lab Shine gloss is non-sticky, slick, smooth, moisturizing, and also really comfortable to wear. The Diamond finish in particular gives a fantastic dimensional look without being too sparkly, and has a sheer to semi-sheer opacity that makes it ideal for layering. I would say it's the most similar to Dior's Ultra Gloss and MAC's Cremesheen Glass in terms of feel and application. Oh, and have I mentioned that it smells like peach tea? I don't think I've ever smelled a lip product quite like this, and it's totally delightful (to me). 
Kudos to Make Up For Ever for doing a fantastic job at choosing the lip shades for this set, too. Both shades are truly universally flattering and will work beautifully on all complexions from light to dark and warm to cool. The Give In to Me set as a whole is also an incredible value, given that all of the products in it are full-size and permanent (the set is worth $179 USD or $204 CAD). Again, the Fifty Shades of Grey theme is only reflected in the keepsake box so fans of the movie can appreciate the novelty of it, but those who want the set strictly for the make-up can breathe a sigh of relief that the product itself is in Make Up For Ever's regular black packaging. Oh, and if you only have an interest in selected products in the set, they are all available to purchase individually.

Make Up For Ever — Fifty Shades of Grey Give In to Me: 4 Artist Shadow Palette

Make Up For Ever has launched four new and limited edition make-up sets as apart of their collection in collaboration with the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. The Give In to Me set includes a total of five full-size permanent products: four shades of Artist Shadow in a palette, a Graphic Liner Vinyl Pen Eyeliner, a tube of Smoky Extravagant Mascara, a tube of Lab Shine Diamond Collection Lip Gloss in D14 Indian Pink, and a tube of Rouge Artist Natural Lipstick in N4 Pink Beige. This is a review of the 4 Artist Shadow Palette. The set comes in a black vinyl keepsake box with peach trim. Inside the box is a side compartment with a key charm that goes with the theme of the collection. Aside from the exterior and keepsake boxes, the products are housed in regular Make Up For Ever packaging. The palette contains a total of 10 grams of product, and the set retails for $79 USD or $90 CAD.
I-514 Pink Ivory, ME-612 Silver Brown, S-556 Taupe Gray, and I-628 Reptile
I-514 Pink Ivory, ME-612 Silver Brown, S-556 Taupe Gray, and I-628 Reptile

I-514 Pink Ivory is a pale warm champagne beige with a pearlescent shimmer-sheen in an Iridescent finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more golden than Make Up For Ever I-526 Pearl Beige, warmer and more golden than Make Up For Ever I-528 Pearl, lighter and less golden than MAC Ricepaper, and similar to MAC Dazzlelight and Makeup Geek Shimma Shimma.
ME-612 Silver Brown is a medium warm-toned caramel bronze in a Metallic finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is warmer and more orange than Make Up For Ever ME-654 Cauldron, warmer and more brown than Make Up For Ever ME-554 Gunmetal, warmer than MAC Sable, more copper than MAC Bronze, and more metallic than Makeup Geek Frappe.
S-556 Taupe Gray is a medium-dark cool-toned taupe grey with a subtle sheen in a Satiny finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is cooler and more grey than Make Up For Ever S-560 Taupe, darker and warmer than Make Up For Ever S-114 Pearl Gray, lighter and less matte than MAC Copperplate, lighter and warmer than MAC Pearled Earth, and lighter and more grey than Makeup Geek Taupe Notch.

I-628 Reptile is a medium-dark warm-toned olive brown with a pearlescent shimmer-sheen in a Iridescent finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more golden than Make Up For Ever I-324 Bronze Khaki, lighter than Make Up For Ever D-320 Golden Khaki, darker and more brown than MAC Sumptuous Olive, more golden and much more pigmented than MAC Greensmoke, and more brown and more metallic than Makeup Geek Dirty Martini. 

Stunning, stunning, stunning! All four shades included in this palette are just gorgeous, and exactly what you would expect from Make Up For Ever's Artist Shadows. Soft, dense, and buttery; ultra-pigmented with full colour pay-off; amazing blendability with smooth and even application. I have nothing bad to say about any of these four shades, really. I also like that the pans are removable from the palette here, so all four shades are interchangeable. You can buy all four shades separately in case you don't want all of them together, but I actually think this combination works really well to create a variety of looks from natural to sultry, and they should work well on all complexions. The Give In to Me set as a whole is also an incredible value, given that all of the products in it are full-size and permanent (the set is worth $179 USD or $204 CAD). Again, the Fifty Shades of Grey theme is only reflected in the keepsake box so fans of the movie can appreciate the novelty of it, but those who want the set strictly for the make-up (or just don't like the movie, period) can breathe a sigh of relief that the product itself is in Make Up For Ever's regular black packaging. 

Make Up For Ever — Fifty Shades of Grey Desire Me: Cheeky Blush Trio

Make Up For Ever has launched four new and limited edition make-up sets as apart of their collection in collaboration with the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. The Desire Me Cheeky Blush Trio includes three shades of Artist Shadow in a palette and a travel-size 150W Precision Blush Brush. It comes in a black velvet keepsake drawstring bag with peach lining and a chain featuring a dog tag and a key charm that goes with the theme of the collection. Aside from the exterior box and the drawstring bag, the products are housed in regular Make Up For Ever packaging. The palette contains a total of 7.5 grams of product, and the set retails for $49 USD or $56 CAD.
I-526 Pearl Beige, I-808 English Pink, and S-748 Coral
I-526 Pearl Beige, I-808 English Pink, and S-748 Coral

I-526 Pearl Beige is a pale warm beige with a pearlescent shimmer-sheen in an Iridescent finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and less peach than Make Up For Ever I-524 Pinky Beige, less pink than Make Up For Ever I-528 Pearl, lighter and less metallic than MAC Soft and Gentle, warmer and more frosted than MAC Lightscapade, and less metallic than Becca Opal.
I-808 English Pink is a medium slightly cool-toned carnation pink with a pearlescent shimmer-sheen in an Iridescent finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and cooler than Make Up For Ever I-804 Golden Pink, warmer and more muted than Make Up For Ever I-858 Flamingo, darker and more frosted than MAC Dame, lighter and cooler than MAC Dollymix, and lighter and much more muted than NARS Angelika.
S-748 Coral is a medium-dark brightened warm coral-orange with a subtle shimmer-sheen in a Satiny finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is brighter and more orange than Make Up For Ever S-800 Grenadine, lighter and less red than Make Up For Ever S-742 Tomato, less reddened than MAC Modern Mandarin, darker and brighter than MAC Style, and more shimmery than NARS Gilda.

All three shades in this palette perform beautifully: they're soft, smooth, blendable, and pigmented. There's been a few reviews that state that these go on sheer, and if you're swatching on a dry hand or arm, it's true that they won't give off a lot of colour. I want to note that I did swatch these shades over a primer on my forearm (as I do with most face products), because I feel like this gives a much more realistic colour pay-off and is the most similar on the face (where it's generally more moisturized and holds on to pigment differently than a dry arm; I tested these on my face as well, so I know this to be true). I think the three shades here work beautifully on their own and in tandem, and you can definitely blend two or more shades to create brighter or softer hues (I-526 and I-808 can be used as eyeshadows as well!). I also like that this palette includes one highlighter shade to create more dimension and glow to the face, rather than just straight blushes (hence "cheek trio" rather than "blush trio"), which so many cheek palettes do. 
The brush is okay and will do the job in a pinch to apply these powders, but I find that the bristles in it aren't porous enough to really hold on to the pigment, so execution is semi-sheer at best. And I think it's too small to use effectively as a blush brush. I would save it for applying liquid or cream product instead, or to use for contouring. As for the packaging, I think it was smart of them to leave the Fifty Shades of Grey theme to just the keepsake bag and the box — fans of the movie can appreciate the novelty of it, but those who want the set strictly for the make-up (or just don't like the movie, period) can breathe a sigh of relief that the product itself is in Make Up For Ever's regular black packaging. People have to note that Make Up For Ever put together these sets because they were inspired by the movie; they are not new and limited edition shades that were made for the movie. So if you don't care about the movie at all or if there's only one or two shades that interest you, you can rejoice because all three shades in this palette can be purchased separately.