In my July Birchbox I received a ModelCo Party Proof Matte Lipstick in Peony. It's a very hot pink lipstick and my first thought when I saw the color was, "Oh no! Not another hot pink lipstick!" I put aside but eventually got around to using it and I have to say I'm still not crazy about the hot pink but the smell.... I'm sold on the smell.

The first thing I noticed about the smell was that it really smells like ripe strawberries and not in a nasty artificial strawberry way. The scent is a bit strong and so for those with scent sensitivities this may be too strong of a scent but of course everyone is different.

The color is bright, it's pigmented and for me it lasted several hours but it's not "drink proof, kiss proof or party proof" as ModelCo claims. Note: The image was taken with my iPhone - image on left in full sunlight, image on right in partial shade. I put the lipstick on around 9 AM and took the second image around 12:39 PM, I ate, I drank and by the time I took the second pic it wore off but you can still see that it left a strong pink stain.

The things I liked about the lipstick are:

• The color. Ok, it's hot pink and I wasn't thrilled with it at first but it's actually a really pretty shade of hot pink as it's on the blue side. 
• The smell. Strawberries... yum!
• The texture. Some matte lipsticks feel dry but this one doesn't because of the oils in it.

The things I didn't like about the lipstick are:

• It bleeds without a liner. You can see the edges around my lips when I first applied it and when it wore off that the hot pink lipstick feathered around the edges. Easy fix that should take care of the problem: use a liner to prevent feathering and bleeding. (They recommend their own liner to use before applying the lipstick.)
• The orange text on the lipstick container rubs off and gets all over my fingers and hands as well as all over the white tube. Easy fix: wipe it off with rubbing alcohol, no need to use nail polish remover since it comes right off with the rubbing alcohol. (Better fix would be for ModelCo to fix the ink used on their tubes.)
• It's not a true matte lipstick as listed on ModelCo's site but Birchbox does list it as semi-matte which is more accurate.
• It doesn't live up to the promise of being "kiss proof, drink proof and party proof" as you can see that after 3½ hours it wasn't bright and pink as when first applied.
• The main ingredient is mineral oil so I don't get how something with the first ingredient as mineral oil can be "kiss proof, drink proof or party proof". If you're vegan then you'll want to avoid this product since it contains bees wax.

  Mineral Oil, Carnauba Wax, Glerceryl Tricaprylate-Caprate, Bees Wax, Ethyl Hexyl, Palmitate, Microcrystalline Wax, Castor Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Aloe Barbadensis, Tocopheryl Acetate, May Contain (+/-): CI77891, CI99482, CI77491, CI77499, CI77019, CI454102, CI420902, CI15985:1, CI15850:1, CI15850, CI19140:1

The other downside is that this color is not sold individually on ModelCo's website and is only sold in a trio pack. So if you're looking for just this color then you'll have to buy it off Birchbox's site since it's exclusive to them. The colors from the Neutral Trio set are all sold individually. From the Classic Trio Set (which Peony is part of) Red Velvet and Disco Fever are sold individually.

I know my list of what I don't like about it may seem long but it's all minor complaints but I probably would buy another of the ModelCo lipstick if other colors smelled as yummy as this one. I might pick up the neutral trio set (0.13 oz each of Get Naked, Kitty and Dusk Till Dawn) from Birchbox since it's only $24 (about $8 each).

Disclaimer: Referral link. Image of the July Birchbox contents from Birchbox.com. Not affiliated with or compensated by ModelCo.