Wine, oxblood, crimson, maroon, black cherry — whatever you’d like to call it — is hot for this fall and winter. I don’t usually wear dark shades, but I felt the need to get on the bandwagon. Because I don’t always choose right, I thought I’d start with a super-affordable wine lippie…that way I won’t feel bad either gifting it or throwing it away.

I have never tried any products from the inexpensive drugstore brand, NYC/New York Color, made by Coty. But the lipstick, in a shade that looks like dark sherry or port wine, called Mahogany was only 99 cents. The price was right.
So here’s NYC Ultra Moist LipWear, shade 320 Mahogany. It is VERY DARK. I photographed it near the window so you could see the color in daylight. NYC Ultra Moist LipWear comes in simple packaging with a clear bubble top that looks kinda Space Age but let’s you see the color clearly. I actually like that.
It was easy to apply, goes on smoothly and covers well with one swipe. It is creamy and lightweight, comfortable to wear. The website says it has “a built-in conditioner, vitamin E” which means it may not be gluten-free if the vitamin E is derived from wheat. Since it’s a moisturizing lipstick, I am not expecting it to be a long-wearing lipstick which is OK, and it isn’t.
The color is a deep, dark red wine with brown/purple undertones. It has great color pay-off. I think I look a little like a vampire in it, but it’s fun. It would help to line my lips first, but I don’t have a lip pencil this dark. Have to improvise! I applied it first with a lip brush drawing the shape of my lips, filling it in with the brush, and going over it with the bullet. The dark shade is a little bit hard to apply because it has to be precise, and my lips aren’t as precise as they used to be. I think this shade looks best with full makeup, meaning a defined eye. And I think I would wear it with a black or dark purple outfit. Might as well go dark all the way 😉
Here’s a selfie I took last night, and another one below that I took today in natural daylight.
And finally, a lip swatch photographed in daylight. It’s dark, but I like the way it looks! It’s a keeper 🙂
I saw a photo of another beauty blogger with dark hair and dark eyes wearing this shade. She looked gorgeous. So don’t be afraid of the dark. Go for it!
I bought NYC Ultra Moist LipWear at CVS, and it cost 99 cents, well worth the price. It’s also available at Walmart, Target, Rite Aid, and Duane Reade. The Ultra Moist line comes in 10 fashionable shades. NYC lists the benefits as:
- Lips feel moisturized and deeply nourished
- Comfortable, creamy texture
- Easily glides onto lips
- Doesn’t feather or bleed
I don’t think NYC is cruelty-free, and again, I’m not sure whether it’s gluten-free. But for a bargain brand, it’s a good one.
So do you have a wine lipstick that you love?
Update on 3/30/19: Mahogany has been discontinued from NYC’s lineup, but there is another pretty shade, Retro Red. However, if you must have this shade, check out the link below where it is sold on Amazon, but at quite an up-charge!
Ingredients
Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Lanolin Oil, Ozokerite, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Candelilla Cera (Candelilla Wax), Ceresin, PEG 4 Diheptanoate, Petrolatum, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Tridecyl Stearate, Cera Carnauba (Copernicia Cerifera Wax), Cera Microcristallina (Microcrystalline Wax), Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Silica, Beeswax (Cera Alba), Fragrance, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Benzyl Benzoate, PPG 2 Myristyl Ether Propionate, Propylparaben, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Stearyl Stearate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Tin Oxide, Geraniol, Water, May Contain (+/-):, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Mica, D&C Red 7 Calcium Lake (CI 15850), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), D&C Red 27 Aluminum Lake (CI45410), D&C Red 27 Aluminum Lake (CI 45410), D&C Red 6 Barium Lake (CI 15850), FD&C Yellow 5 Aluminum Lake (CI 19140), FD&C Blue 1 Aluminum Lake (CI 42090)






