THE AMAZINGNESS THAT IS SHANGHAI SUZY

Sometime early last year I was casually scrolling through my Facebook feed when I stumbled across a post from a high school friend who was starting her own lipstick range. Super gutsy I thought - jumping out on a limb and backing yourself at something most people wouldn't dream of doing.
Fast forward twelve months and Shanghai Suzy (under the guidance of it's gorgeous founder Jo) is fast emerging as one of the biggest brands to watch in 2014 - an even more amazing effort when you consider her first collection launched a mere months ago! As I excitedly await the launch of the A/W collection, due any day, I thought it was high time I shared my thoughts on this holy grail range.

First up a little background. See I've never really been a lipstick person. A Gloss Gal from way back, I always found lipstick just left me looking like a hot mess and it irritated me that I had to stop and find a mirror to apply it in order to get it smudge and bleed free. Every so often I'd have a "grown-up" phase and rush out and buy a few bold shades for my collection but sadly many of them still sit unopened (or if they're lucky they got used 2-3 times) - oopsie. For the most part, I stuck to a coloured gloss.

Still in awe of the bold move Jo was making, when Shanghai Suzy launched I decided to order a few shades to try them out and was blown away when she sent me the other shades as well - told you this girl is a sweetheart! For the first few wears I stuck to the more neutral colours - Miss Emma Taupe and Miss Brooklyn Rose, but a few days later I decided to have a play with the others and Miss Sally Watermelon and I began our little fling. A week later and I had been rocking a different bold lip (unheard of!) every single day and can honestly say I am now obsessed with this entire collection.

I don't know how it happened but I have become a Lipstick Lady (*cue applause*)! By the end of the week I have to empty my handbag out as I have ended up with all eight shades buried in there.




L to R: Miss Sanja Fuchsia, Miss Georgina Pink Plum, Miss Brooklyn Rose and Miss Emma Taupe.


L to R: Miss Hannah Blood Red, Miss Sally Watermelon, Miss Claire Fire Engine Red and Miss Jade Orange.

First off those lipsticks smell amazing, like the grape bubba bubba I used to spend my pocket money on as a child - ahh, good times. They come in two finishes; Nourish, a moisturising lipstick with more of a sheen, and Matte, longer lasting than the Nourish formulation and a matte finish obviously (duh). I certainly expected the Nourish formulation to be my fave (with it's distant cousin being my trusty gloss) but the Matte is equally, if not even more, amazing (gasp)! I can apply these in the morning, eat and drink till my heart's content, and at lunchtime the colour is still on my lips without a single bleed halfway down my chin - winner!

Somehow these lipsticks all seem to look good on me too, even colours that there is no way I would have thought I could pull off from looking at them in the tube or swatched - it's like magic! The shades are super versatile and work beautifully on all skin tones and even seem to look like totally different colours depending on the wearer. A friend uses these on clients at her salon and I love seeing her pics of all the shades in action - they're just so damn wearable (not to mention a bargain at $12.95).



Swatches (top to bottom): Miss Sanja Fuchsia, Miss Jade Orange, Miss Claire Fire Engine Red, Miss Sally Watermelon, Miss Hannah Blood Red, Miss Georgina Pink Plum, Miss Emma Taupe and Miss Brooklyn Rose.

I totally realise it may sound like a sponsored post but these were just too good not to share. If you've come across me in real life the last few months I have been just as actively spruiking Shanghai Suzy at every given opportunity and my friends are now equally obsessed.

Have you tried out any of these lippies yet? I missed out on this month's Bellabox but was super excited to see some subscribers had one of these included. Would love to know what your fave is!

Hope you are having a beautiful day!