I have become a little bored with the Drugstore and High End offerings. So I decided to look online and on Etsy for unique coloured lipsticks. Then I came across Portland Black Lipstick Co. With its Neo-victorian / Steampunk look, Portland Black Lipstick Company appeals to my alternative side. Mainly concentrating on its lipsticks, Portland Black offers a variety of distinct colours like Indigo Bridge (metallic deep black/blue), Chaiborg (metallic brown), The Purple Cloud (matte lavender) and Pewter Cauldron (duck tape grey). Whilst the colours are not for everyone, they are different and a nice break from the generic reds, nudes and corals. They are mineral based and come in a Chapstick-like tube. Personally, I prefer a lipstick bullet, but this is a minor issue.
The texture is creamy and smooth, no chalkiness and fairly opaque. Most of the lipsticks have either a metallic sheen or matte finish, so if you do not like frosts, you may not enjoy these. Additionally, frosts generally dry out my lips; however, these remained creamy. Furthermore, I am generally not a fan of mint added to my products, which these contain. However, it does not last long and does not make the lips tingle.
Full lipstick: my favourites too :)
Indigo Bridge - blackened metallic navy
Black Lagoon - blackened green with blue undertones
Pewter Cauldron - creamy duct tape grey
samples:
Artificial Amethyst - blackened metallic purple
Chaiborg- metallic silvery grey with soft a milky brown
Graey - creamy, milky light grey with blue undertones - the hardest to wear
The Purple Cloud - creamy, pastel lavender -nice but can make the teeth look yellow
Along with full size lipsticks, Portland Black offers samples, glitter and corpse makeup. I ordered two sample colours, Artificial Amethyst and Chaiborg. Kim was kind to include Graey, The Purple Cloud and a green glitter. Since I already familiar with the sample packaging, I wasn't surprised when a little baggy containing a sagittal slice of lipstick was delivered. It isn't the easiest to use, but nothing a lip brush can't fix.
Quick and Dirty:
Price: $12 for 0.15oz
Packaging: Tube, unique graphics
Customer Service: Great! When I emailed to follow up with the order, Kim quickly responded.
Shipping: To Canada, about 7 business days.
Cheers,
Megs
