Ever since starting ballroom dancing I've been on the search for the perfect lipstick. Through showcases and competitions I've tried many brands: cheap and expensive; matte and glossy; liquid and solid, yet I was never truly satisfied until September of 2015. What happened in September of 2015 you ask? Well LA Splash launched their line of Disney princess lipsticks! I purchased 3 different shades without even thinking about dance; I just simply needed to own Disney lipstick! Much to my surprise, they ended up being the perfect lipstick for dancing.

Why did you hold out on us?
Now you may be thinking, "September of 2015! Why didn't you mention this sooner?!" The truth is, I was afraid to recommend it knowing I hadn't tried the latest and greatest lipsticks; however, this past weekend I finally got around to testing out the last few brands I wanted to compare, and I can confidently report that LA Splash was the clear winner. During my time as a dancer, I've tried Wet N' Wild, Clinique, Urban Decay, Too Faced, Bare Minerals, and the final brands I tried this weekend were Stila, Tarte, and Smashbox. The biggest problem with all these lipsticks was staying power. I found that after an hour or so most of the lipsticks had faded or smudged, but I left the LA Splash color on my hand for two days (and I washed my hands and showered numerous times during the weekend) and by Monday morning it still looked good!

​The Pros

• As I mentioned before, this lipstick lasts! I have put it on at 8 am for a competition and despite eating, drinking, and sweating all day it still looks perfect at 8 pm.
• No smudging! I can wipe my mouth with a napkin, kiss my boyfriend, accidentally get hit by another dancer's enthusiastic arm styling and there are no smears. The lipstick doesn't bleed into the little cracks that extend from my lips onto my face or rub off. I've never had it get on my teeth, which I'm always super grateful for when I look at my pictures!
• The color stays true! Several of the red lipsticks I've tried in the past end up looking more pink than red after a couple of hours of wear, but the LA Splash lipstick colors remained the same from when I first applied until when I finally removed them at the end of the night.
• Quick and easy application! The brush applicator makes it really easy to precisely line your lips then fill in with the color. The liquid lipstick glides on, only requires one coat, and dries in minutes.

The Cons

• This lipstick lasts! While this is by far the biggest pro it also means you definitely need some quality makeup remover to take it off at the end of the night.
• Dried out lips. Since this is a matte lipstick, it can steal some of the moisture from your lips. I recommend following LA Splash's tip: "Exfoliate and moisturize lips 15-20 minutes prior to application."
• LA Splash doesn't have countrywide stores or distributors. This means that you may not be able to try on the color you want prior to purchasing. I recommend doing a Google image search for the color that you're interested in. The search should bring up photos of real people wearing the lipstick, so you can see what it looks like in different lighting and with different skin tones.
• $$$. At $14 a pop, this isn't the cheapest lipstick. If you order from LA Splash's site they do have free shipping with no minimum, which makes the price a little less painful. You can also find the lipstick on Amazon (link below) for less money, and as a bonus, they sometimes have colors in stock that LA Splash is sold out of on their site.

Overall Recommendation
The StudioShine Lip Lustre is the clear winner in my book. I've used it for all of my performances and competitions for the past year and a half, and have never been disappointed in how it's held up. When I think about all of the things I tend to worry about before dancing, it's wonderful to not have to think about reapplying my lipstick or cleaning up smudges.

Hopefully this review has helped you, and please feel free to share in the comments if you have your own favorite lipstick! I'll continue to evaluate new lipsticks as they come out and report back if I ever find a better product. Until then, happy dancing!

As you may have guessed from the blog name, I love sparkles! So naturally, I've been dying to try out the glitter cut crease makeup look for competition. I finally got the opportunity this past week to try it out and experiment with the LA Splash Cosmetics crystallized glitter (which I bought on sale over the Thanksgiving holiday!) at an in-studio performance. The look and the glitter was a success! I received numerous compliments on my makeup and I largely attribute that to the glitter.

The Problems with Glitter
Despite buying the glitter when it was on sale during Black Friday, I didn't try it out until now for one simple reason: I was scared! I have used glitter in the past, both some inexpensive store brands and Too Faced Glamour Dust glitter, and had poor results. While the glitter was super sparkly and pretty, I found that I had to use a lot of it; no matter how much glitter glue I used, it would inevitably get in my eyes - making it look like I was crying during the performance.  Tears streaming down your face isn't a great look when you're trying to be sexy in Rumba.

The Pros
What I loved about the crystallized glitter was it had amazing coverage. I put on a light coat of white eye shadow and then applied Urban Decay's Bondage primer (another amazing product!) before applying the glitter. Then I I used 3 dabs of glitter and was done! It was super simple and quick. I recommend using a brush with compact bristles so you can pick up the glitter and press it on without losing a bunch. The lovely folks at Ulta recommended a concealer brush, but I found a small eye shadow brush that worked well, too.

The other great part about this glitter was it stayed in place! It didn't fall into my eyelashes and eyes every time I blinked. I attribute this mostly to the glitter, because I used the Bondage primer with the other glitters, too, and had no luck. It stayed on for the whole evening and then easily wiped off with makeup remover. I don't think I could ask for more! 

The Cons
At about $12 a container, this isn't the cheapest glitter. I feel it's worth the money though, especially since I expect it will last me quite some time given how little I had to use. LA Splash runs sales every so often (I got mine for $10 on Black Friday), or if you buy it from Amazon you can bundle it with other products you normally purchase on Amazon and get free shipping. 

Overall Recommendation
This glitter was a clear winner over the other brands I've tried. It comes in numerous colors (I tried the Fuzzy Flamingo) so you can pick something that matches your eyes or your dresses for performances, competitions, or just a fun night out dancing! I loved the coverage and staying power, and will be using it for my first competition this year, Superstars! I'll be trying out the Mai Tai color for my smooth look and will be sure to post pictures and let you know how it holds up to all-day wear. Until then stay sparkly and happy dancing!