Justine Skye x The Lip Bar Island Gyal Collection Review
GIFTED: Justine Skye x The Lip Bar Island Gyal Collection
*this post contains items that were gifted to me by the brand. No compensation was given for the review of these products. The opinions shared here are all my own honest views.
When the Lip Bar slid into my DMs on Instagram I must admit I was pretty excited. I love trying new makeup products and it feels even better when you're being noticed for the work that you're putting out. I just had to be honest my gladbag burst when the brand actually took note of my work. Yay me!
You see although I haven't posted as much written beauty content on my blog and it's a damn shame on my part. Eek… sorry about that. I have been going ham on Instagram and putting out video content in my #Featurefridays IGTV section. So if you aren't already following me there, the check it out and hit follow to keep up with my new videos. This past Christmas I even did 12 days of lipmas and that was definitely fun. And now a new opportunity had arise.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the brand, The Lip Bar is a vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand that proclaims that they exist to help change the way you think about beauty. The brand was launched in 2012 by Melissa Butler who started the brand in her kitchen using natural ingredients due to her disdain for the beauty industry’s lack of inclusivity and diversity, and the consistent use of harmful chemical in beauty products. Years later, hard work has paid off and the brand is now available retail in Target stores across the US, as well as on the Lip Bar website.
Now the brand has reached another phase in their evolution as they have launched their limited edition celebrity collaboration. In their first ever celebrity collaboration, the brand borrowed inspiration from the Jamaican roots of songstress Justine Skye to create the Island Gyal Collection. Paying fitting homage to the beauty that is Jamaica and it's people, the country who’s influence in deeply embedded into her blood.
This four (4) piece collection continues to pay ode to island life by using island monikers in the naming of each product and includes The Island Gyal Cheek & Eye Palette, Eyeland Ting Blue Eyeliner, One Love Shimmer Gloss and Fiya Metallic Liquid Matte Lipstick. And staying true to the Lip Bar’s popular fast face branding, this collection of simple makeup essentials is perfect for the girl on the go who doesn’t have 2 hours to ‘beat her face’ but still loves looking good.
Honestly, this was my first time using products from the brand. I had seen them on Instagram for a while but I hadn’t had the opportunity to try any of their products prior to this. Now I’m happy that the brand reached out to me while also being mad that it took me so long to cop any products from the brand.
The Review
The Packaging
I have to admit, I love a good packaging. And I love it even more when the packaging fits the theme of the brand or the collection and I really applaud the Lip Bar for staying on point with the theme in their packaging. The products all came is an orange-pink-purple type package which was made to depict an island night or an island at dusk which then had juxtaposed on it were palm trees and the sea. All of this culminated into a calm and serene effect that made the buyer feel like they just made a quick trip to the Caribbean to relax on the beach.
Eyeland Ting Blue Eyeliner
The website describes this product as ‘cobalt blue eyeliner celebrates Justine Skye’s individuality, commitment to unapologetic self-expression and those gorgeous Island Gyal eyes. We’re obsessed...and you will be too. Don’t wait for Spring or Carnival because these will go fast.’ It claims to be smudge proof, waterproof and made with Jojoba oil and Aloe Vera. This product retails for $14 usd but is currently on sale for $8.40 usd for net wt 0.31 oz of product.
Can I get a moment of silence for this vibrant blue please? ……….. Now when I say colour pay off, I mean colour PAY OFF. The application is smooth and it glides on easily and comfortably. The blue is brilliant in colour and is evident after just the first stroke. For the highly melanated like myself, finding an eyeliner (other than black) that instantly gives the colour you want without having to apply repeated strokes to build up the colour is truly a blessing. Many brands really miss the mark when it comes to that element so I’m happy the Lip Bar has found the formula. Oh and bonus, it really is smudge proof.
The only drawback is that I find that the point breaks a bit easily and being that it is a sharpened pencil liner, you may sharpen a bit to get back the liner point and as a result may waste a bit of product.
Fiya Metallic Liquid Matte Lipstick
This brown girl friendly nude lipstick is described as a chocolate brown metallic with little reflection created to celebrate Justine’s love of a beautiful nude lip and to celebrate the black girl magic and brown girl fiyah that only Island Gyals bring. The brand claims that the liquid matte lipstick goes on like gloss, dries matte and lasts all day - without drying your lips out. This product retails for $16 usd, was on sale for $9.60 usd for net wt 0.24 oz of product. It is currently sold out on the website.
I love a good nude lip. I find it’s the perfect way to add just a bit of colour to enhance a look without overpowering the look. And it comes in especially handy when you want to highlight other parts of your makeup for example your eyes and eye makeup and not risk feeling like you’re overdoing it.
The lipstick comes in a plastic rectangular cannister with a geometric shape cover and a doe foot applicator. The colour of this lipstick is a stunningly gorgeous deep chocolate brown that shows up true to colour on the lips. The metallic flecks becomes more apparent with more coats and as the lipstick dries. It doesn’t feel heavy on the lips when wearing. The lipstick applies smoothly and literally glides on the lips as you brush it on and the colour is evident after just the first stroke. Like the eyeliner, the colour payoff is to die for. The only drawback I had with this was that I found it to be just a tad bit sticky but otherwise it’s an A1 product.
One Love Shimmer Gloss
The gloss is a shimmer rusty bronze metallic brown colour that works splendidly alone but also as a great enhancer as a layered product. This product retails for $16 usd for net wt 0.31 oz of product.
Another nude lip product, this gloss also comes in a plastic rectangular cannister with a geometric shape cover and a doe foot applicator. And just like with the other products, the colour payoff is gorgeous. It is the perfect everyday gloss to dress up and elevate any look.
The Island Gyal Cheek & Eye Palette
This multi-use face palette retails for $25 usd but is on sale for 15 usd on the website for 3.3 oz of product. Described as ‘an ode to Island Gyals everywhere AND to all things Justine Skye’, the versatile palette can be used as a highlighter, blush, bronzer or eyeshadow and features purply pinks and iridescent oranges.
The shades are named ‘bare with me’, ‘island gyal’, ‘ultraviolet’ and ‘juju’. With ‘bare with me’ and ‘ juju’ being the oranges and ‘island gyal’ and ‘ultraviolet’ being the pinks. Let me tell you, these are pigmented af! The palette is a shimmery palette and sometimes those can really miss when it comes to showcasing the colour while maintaining the shimmery quality but the Lip Bar really hit this one for 6. The colours are both wonderful and true to form on the skin which is always a win for dark skin girls who struggle to find shadows that show up beautifully on the skin.
The entire Island Gyal Collection is currently sold out on The Lip Bar website. It retailed for $60 usd but was on discount for $42.60 usd.
Overall, I think this collaboration and collection was a pretty good one. As mentioned before, this collection consists of the perfect essentials for the on-the-go gyal and even better for the on-the-go gyal who’s on vacation. I loved the colour payoff of all the products, they were absolutely stunning. And most of all, it was pretty affordable.
Have you ever tried any of The Lip Bar products before? Did you get your hands on the Island Gyal collection? I’d love to hear your thoughts so comment down below.