I’ve been eyeing up PBLC lipsticks for a long time - they’re one of the first indie lipstick companies I came across, but they somehow found their way to the bottom of my to-try list. Their website isn’t the best, and they come only in chubbier chapstick tubes, so I kind of forgot about them What pushed me over the edge to placing an order? A combination of their availability on Beauty Bohemia (meaning fast, free shipping - god bless australian stockists), and the fact that I was sick in hospital and my impulse control was shot to hell. And they had a metallic dark blue! I’ve never been able to resist a metallic dark blue.



They arrived here in about a week, which was brilliant. I’m used to indie lipsticks taking weeks to arrive, so wasn’t expecting these at all.

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I got Black Lagoon, Indigo Bridge and Bad Penny.

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I actually don’t mind the packaging - It’s definitely not easy to get precise lines straight from the tube, but direct application wasn’t as terrible as I thought it would be (probably wouldn’t be the case for those with lips any less full than mine). The paper labels will get beat up and start looking a bit gunky, but I’m not a stickler for appearances. They didn’t have any kind of offensive scent - perhaps a light minty scent that vanished after application. The colour range is gorgeous, although accurate swatches need to be searched for on your own (the website doesn’t give you much). My only real issue was that these needed quite a lot of building to get proper opacity - as a result of the foil-esque metallic finish, they need to be swiped several times to get a true colour finish. I haven’t given these a solid wear test, but I’ll probably update you on that.



Below the jump is each one swatched on my lips in quickly fading natural light with my post-work shitty makeup. I promise I’m not naked - why do I always swatch in clothes that make me seem naked?

Black Lagoon is described as “A dark, metallic green” but it is the one most susceptible to changing in different lights. It’s got an almost black base with teal reflects. It’s gorgeous and I definitely don’t own anything similar, because it’s definitely not just a “green”. I did have the most issues on applying this one - I found the colour shifted around a bit and it needed more building, but I loved the end result.

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Indigo Bridge is described as “a dark, metallic blue that verges on black”. I find this one has less of a black base than Black Lagoon - to me, it’s a true metallic dark blue. I do own similar colours, as a collector of blues. If you’re looking for comparrisons, it’s less purple than My Beauty Addiction Indigo but less black than MBA Breathless. It’s darker than Fyrinnae’s Graffiti; brighter and more metallic than Fierce Magenta’s Midnight Sky.



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Bad Penny is described as “A strong copper color that combines metallic shine with good coverage” and it’s the most “normal” of the colours I ordered. I’d describe it as a burnt metallic orange that reflects gold. It had the smoothest and most opaque application of the three I ordered. It’s interesting and I’m glad I picked it up.

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At $15AUD a piece, these aren’t the cheapest but they aren’t excessively expensive. I would prefer them in a slimline tube, but I don’t mind the chapstick - with a creamy formula, it means there’s less chance of them breaking or melting than when they’re in a traditional lipstick tube (MBA Breathless broke my heart). I’d definitely consider some more of their gorgeous catalogue, but I’d probably wait til a good paycheck or a sale or something. I’d definitely go through Beauty Bohemia again - I just can’t say no to shipping that quick [I know there was a bit of a scandal with BB and unauthorised swatch photos, but I believe it was dealt with quickly and effectively, from what I remember on reddit - if not the case, feel free to correct me].



I love the look of colours like Artificial Amythest.

I’m looking forward to wearing these out - I’m pretty sure Indigo Bridge will be on my lips tomorrow.

