Revlon Fire and Ice is a proper Vintage Lipstick.
By which I don’t mean that it’s a 30 year old lipstick. I meant that the shade has proper vintage pedigree, being introduced in 1952.
I will, as ever, start with the lipstick chart. Revlon Super Lustrous in Fire & Ice is £7.49, so falls into the cheaper, under £10 category.
As a “budget brand” it falls in the top 3, but is priced considerably higher than it’s closest rival, the Collection 2000.
The Blurb
According to the Boots website
Silky smooth colour. With an exclusive blend of moisturisers and vitamins. SPF15
The Pros
It really lives up to the silky smooth colour claim, I’ll give it that. It feels lovely to apply, really creamy and rich. If you don’t blot you can really feel it on your lips, which is a plus or a minus depending on whether you like the feeling of lipstick! It’s seriously full coverage. One coat gives an intense bright colour, and can be a bit of a shock to the system, even for a regular red lipstick wearer.
The tip shape makes it fairly easy to apply without a lip brush, though the colour intensity does mean that the slightest flaw shows up, so you might want to use one anyway.
The black and gold packaging also looks unobtrusively classy from a distance.
The Cons
My first con is the colour. I’m an established red lipstick wearer, but this is truly terrifying! I felt it was a bit orangey, as that sort of shade doesn’t really do anything for me. But it’s a bright, bright, intense red. It does feel very 50s, but it’s just a bit too much for me and I’ve only been brave enough to wear it outside 3 times since I got it last August!
The packaging, although classy on first inspection, is fairly flimsy and scratches easily when left in a handbag, plus I’m not really a fan of those clear lid panels, I think they look cheap.
Lastly, to the staying power. The initial creaminess, on me at least, very soon turned into a heavy gloopiness that felt slightly sticky on my lips and created those little “lipstick bogeys” as I like to call them on the inner corners of my lips. I did find that blotting helped with this slightly and made it longer lasting, so it’s definitely one that needs careful application to get the best performance from it.
The Verdict
This is a great lipstick at a reasonable price for a really authentic 50s look, if you’re willing to put the effort into applying it properly to get the best performance.
If you’re a beginner to red lipstick, or prefer more muted shades I’d look elsewhere on the chart as there are better lipsticks for less!
Now another slightly starey eyed full face…..
