Liquid matte lipstick bumper roundup review

Yikes. Long time no bloggo, doggo.

It's been a while. I've been recovering from a mental breakdown  (yup, another one lololol), spending time with my animals, and generally trying to avoid any sources of stress in favour of living in a weird bubble of failed-adult denial. Does this mean I've neglected lipstick? Hell nah. Come on. You know me better than that.

I've been playing with a shit tonne of new lippies, so I thought I'd make life easy for all concerned (ok, for me), and amalgamate my rambles into one superramble. Buckle up kids. It's gonna be a wild ride.

Squad goals, amirite. Ok, so first on the chopping block is the Lix Matte Liquid Lipstick by Models Own, weighing in at £7.99. I have the shade 'coral fresh'. It's, er, a fresh coral.

The shade is bright- almost neon- and perfect for summer. The formula is moussey and feels fairly comfortable once dried down, if somewhat cakey. It's transfer proof, though friction will disturb it. It took a bit of faff to get an even and streak-free finish but it was worth it in the end. Just a heads up: this is pretty damn minty. If you love mint, you will go gaga for this. If you hate mint, AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Anyhow, overall this lippy is a win for me. I quite like the fresh and urban packaging too. Swatch!

Models own lix matte liquid lipstick- coral fresh

Up next is the Lip Fix matte long lasting liquid lipstick from PS Workout range at Primark. It's a cheap and cheerful £2, and I believe it only comes in two or three shades, of which I have 'warm up', a nutmeg nude-brown.

The packaging is deceptive. You'd expect the squeezy tube to have that awful slanted plastic tip applicator of shitty cheap lipglosses. But lo! It has a doefoot applicator. The formula itself is good- lightweight, opaque, transfer proof. Very good for two bob. The only drawbacks are that it's a bit drying, and the odd packaging means you can't see how much product is left. And I kind of find the whole concept of wearing lipstick for a sweaty workout sesh a bit weird, but to each their own innit. Overall, another win. 

Primark lip fix work out matte long lasting liquid lipstick- warm up

In a similar colour category, I present to you Nyx Lip Lingerie in the shade 'exotic'. It'll set you back £7.

I hate it. 

Ok, it feels pretty plush, the shade is gorgeous, the concept of a range of nudes is nice. But it's just SO sticky. Even though it dries to a matte finish, it somehow never feels matte. It remains tacky and had my lips kind of sticking together. Ew. That said, this is from the OG release, and I know some of the newer shades have a different formula. It seems like the formula across the shades is inconsistent, with some being sticky, others being dry and crumbly, and some gloating smugly in that sweet, sweet spot of perfection. My advice would be to search reviews on any shades you have your eye on. I hope you get lucky, comrade.

P.s, check that rogue cat hair chilling on my lip

Nyx lip lingerie- exotic 

NEXT. It's MBA Cosmetics' liquid matte lipstick in 'violet riot', and....

WHAAAT? I just sauntered over to their site to double check the price and I can't find their liquid mattes anywhere. Perhaps they've been discontinued. Oops. 

So in that case, I'll keep it short and sweet. Pigmented, long wearing, no scent, no fancy packaging but a formula that falls solidly in the 'good' category. And the colour is incredible. A proper punky blurple, the likes of which has no comparison. If you like the shade, it's available in their cream lipsticks. And if you like the sound of formula, they have a bunch of metallic mattes, which might well perform similarly. 

Mba cosmetics liquid matte lipstick- violet riot

Moving on to another showstopping shade, it's Gerard Cosmetics' hydra matte liquid lipstick in 'mercury rising', an absolute scorcher of an orange. These are £11 in the UK.  

I'm late to the party with the hydra mattes. They've been around for a while and have long had their praises sung. I can see why. Classy packaging, a yummy vanilla scent, a moussey formula that sets to a comfortable, cushiony-matte finish, a great shade range. It's just really good, ya know? Do bear in mind that because of the somewhat moist formula, it's not quite as long wearing as other liquid mattes. It is still mostly transfer proof though. Just reign in the savage snogging. 

Gerard Cosmetics hydra matte- mercury rising

Next is a lesser known kid, a liquid matte lipstick from Eunique Beauty, a black owned, woman owned indie line based in the UK. You know how I like to support them small businesses. I have the shade 'melanin', a super dark brown, which I snagged for £7.99.

The formula seems to be of a thick cream consistency and is very pigmented, but I feel like the doefoot applicator, which is a little stiff and scratchy, doesn't lend itself too great to smooth application. Regardless, once on, it dries very quickly to a transfer proof matte finish. It's quite tight feeling, so be sure to pat on some lip balm beforehand. It wears well for a couple of hours before it starts to crumble, at which point it's best to completely remove and reapply than to attempt damage control. Despite the niggles with the formula, I still really love this lippy on grounds of colour alone. It's so unique (or should I say eunique harhar) and in that happy place between gothic and sophisticated. I bet it would look killer on deeper complexions too. 

Eunique Beauty liquid matte lipstick- melanin 

The next lippie is the most expensive of the bunch, and also the most disappointing. It's the Urban Decay Vice liquid lipstick in the shade 'studded', which is in the metallized finish. 

Sigh. I wanted to love it. I'm all about those quirky shades. Olive-grey with gold shimmer? Sign me up bruv. But it was SO sheer. It took me three coats plus spot touch ups to get it to look even. And you can still see patches. Wtf. And unsurprisingly, that many layers effect how it looks and feels. Think crispy, tight, dry. I manage to make it work using only one layer over a brown lip liner, but of course that means I have to compromise on the end colour. And I shouldn't have to make a product work. You kinda expect better from Urban Decay. Shrug. Maybe the other shades/finishes in the range are better, but 'studded' is a thumbs down for me. 

Urban decay vice liquid lipstick metallized- studded

And lastly! The cheapest of the bunch. It's Miss Rose longlasting lipgloss (it's a liquid matte lipstick). It doesn't have a shade name or a fixed price tag, but it's between £1 and £5 on ebay. I got mine from Pakistan. 

It's actually pretty good. It has a painty smell (which dissipates once dry) and is a bit sticky, but it's not drying and it doesn't crumble or peel or collect in icky pools or any of that crap. And it lasts like a trooper. All day plus food and drinks plus naps. Plus a zombie apocalypse. 

And I just adore this shade of pink. I think it makes me look a bit cute. A bit. 

Miss rose long lasting lipgloss 

And that concludes our tour through some of my recent lipstick acquaintances. Yep. SOME. I have an entire backlog to get through. Watch this space....

....If you don't have a life. 

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nyx soft matte lip cream- a review & swatches

 And so, we move onto lip creams. What's the difference between lip velvets and lip creams? Well, generally speaking, not much. That's why I'm using my next few reviews as continuations from the lip velvet series rather than as a separate category. They tend to be thicker in consistency though, as the name implies, and tend to maintain a bit of slip throughout wear rather than setting to a budgeproof second skin. I say 'tend to', because sometimes, the only real difference is in the name. Enter NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream.

     These babies are cute and playful- if they came in jars I'd want to sit cross legged on the floor to scoop out the insides and eat em. They also come named after cities (I do love my themes), and my shade is Antwerp, which I picked because my best friend's nickname for me is 'Twerp'. Now I can be an twerp, hehehe. It's a gorgeous shade- the love child of a dusty rose and a vivid coral, giving the perfect balance between pretty subtlety and loud-mouthed fun. I really really love it, and find it so flattering to my medium complexion. It might just be in my top ten favourite lipstick shades.

   As mentioned earlier, the finish is typical of velvets, in that it tattoos your lips with long lasting, touch proof colour. It's a real winner of a texture. NYX definitely got the 'soft' part of the name bang on, because this feels so buttery and light to apply, and once it sets, though very matte, manages not to look or feel dry. One layer is all that's needed for full opacity, so there's none of the dreaded patchiness that comes with touching up after the first coat has dried. It doesn't crumble or flake with wear either- it's truly brilliant. How did I only just discover it?

   Have some swatches, though they honestly don't do the shade justice. The woes of a bad camera.

nyx soft matte lip cream- antwerp

 

nyx soft matte lip cream- antwerp

 These cost a mere £5.50 from the NYX uk site (under the gloss section), and if I had loads of spare money, I would buy all the shades and love them and cuddle them forever.

review and swatches: nyx macaron lippies lipstick- earl grey

I'm gonna review a blue lipstick today. Aren't I quirky and outrageous? I am. It's a NYX release- a whole line up of pastel rainbow sticks. It's the first pastel colourful range to grace the market, which makes the folks at NYX a bunch of trailblazers. Whilst outlandish brights do exist (think neon orange, acid greens), these are all white based shades. Muted/bold? Great! And they all smell like macarons.

    I got 'Earl Grey', which isn't grey. It's blue. I think it's because of the cornflower blue flowers that the tea is made of.

 Now, pastel shades are notoriously difficult to apply evenly, and this lippy is no exception. It's pigmented and would in fact be opaque- but for the fact that it's a creme formula. The soft texture means it's comfortable to wear, but is very frustrating to get a streak-free finish with. If only it was matte,  it'd be perfect. 

That said, if you've got some patience, you can make it work. Don't bother with a lip brush, just whack on a coat straight from the tube. Then, blot lightly with a tissue and dab on some translucent powder. Finally, apply a final coat in a patting motion rather than with swipes. I find this method keeps the lipstick in place fairly well and stops it skidding about all over my chops. 

Nyx macarons lippie- Earl Grey 

 I personally think such a cute and unique shade is worth the extra effort, but if you're not the sort to sport a baby blue pout, bear in mind the versatility of such a product. You can use a touch of it to adjust a lipstick shade. I've worn it over a red lipliner to get a gorgeous satin plum shade. 

Anywho. The NYX Macaron Lippies are an affordable  £5.50, so great if you want to experiment with a fun shade without breaking the back.  

Do you think you'll have a play or nah? 

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