The fact that I call my beauty blog "Can't Live Without My Lipstick", I thought I would write about finding out that my favorite, used-everyday lipstick was discontinued, and thinking "how will I live without my lipstick??!!" I'm sure you all can feel my pain having discovered at some point that your favorite lipstick, or eyeshadow, fragrance, body lotion, whatever - name your beauty poison -had been eliminated! My well-loved but doomed lipstick was from Diane von Furstenberg's makeup line that she had a couple of years ago for about, oh, ten minutes. She still has a few beauty items, but not the full line. My pick was a lipstick called Once Bitten. It was a great pinky-beige (yes, the favorite neutral lip color, boring, I know, but we all want it, right?), but it had a slight sheen, so it wasn't heavy and matte, but also not sheer where it would disappear after half-an-hour, and it just seemed to be the closest to a perfect everyday lipstick I have ever found. (Of course, I am still looking, and probably always will for that ever elusive perfect lip color!) If I put foundation on my lips before applying, I'd get a great nude look. Conversely, lightly exfoliating my lips before application would result in a rosier hew. That's not a new trick, but it really worked with this shade. The day I went into Sephora, walked over to the DVF display to replenish my Once Bitten stock, only to find it GONE was traumatic (not to be melodramatic. I know a discontinued lipstick is not the end of the world, but y'all know, if you're reading a beauty blog, that it can really be disappointing to have a fave product taken from you). However, I had heard about this company called Three Custom Color Specialists that duplicate to the best of their ability discontinued makeup items. I decided to take a chance, and I'm happy to say it was a great experience. You can call them at or go to their website, and they'll give you instructions. I sent a Once Bitten tube with a little bit of the lipstick left in it (that was tough - what if it got lost in the mail, and then I had nothing?!) so they could match it. After a few days, I found myself anxiously awaiting the mailman to see if my new (old) lipstick had come yet. I remember it was summer, and if I was not home when the mail was delivered I'd be worried that the lipstick might melt, sitting in a hot mailbox. Luckily, no such fate fell upon my two (or was it three?) new tubes of my duplicated lipstick. Now, it isn't 100% exactly the same, but I would say it is 99.5%, so that's pretty darn fantastic, huh?! I have since ordered more - they keep your formula on file. They have a list for you to check to see if your shade has already been duplicated, saving you the trouble of sending in a sample of your makeup item. So, if you find yourself in the sad situation of having your adored lipstick vanish like I did, don't despair, Three Custom Color is there to help. You don't have to live without your lipstick after all!!
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