


I cannot remember the last time I wore a standard, traditional lipstick. You know, the one that comes in the little bullet. Remember them? Everyone has gone mad for liquid lipsticks recently and I can't say I blame them. I love liquid lipsticks. I have about 17 of them. I love them and I have spent a hell of a lot of money on them. There are so many different brands offering liquid lipsticks nowadays but with so many options out there, how do you know which ones to go for? Whilst I haven't tried every brand which has a matte liquid lipstick offering, I have tried a few from 4 different brands, each varying in price, colour and availability. Let me tell you all about the ones I have tried so you can decide which ones to go for!
The NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams - £5.50, available at Boots / ASOS
These matte lip creams are so popular at the moment. NYX has been around in the UK for a while now but it has only been recently that they have been readily available at Boots, with counters popping up left, right and centre. There are 26 different shades available in the range, all of which have a matte finish to them. For your money you get 8ml of product which comes housed in a short little tube which has a doe-foot applicator inside the lid. Each NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream smells very synthetically of vanilla which fortunately, doesn't apply to the lips. They are very creamy in formula but because the applicator is quite wide I find it is hard to get a neat, even line around the lips with it, otherwise it just ends up all over the mouth area. Each shade I have tried so far has been rich in pigmentation although they do tend to highlight the dry areas on the lips so prepping beforehand would be best. Longevity wise, I don't find them to be too long-lasting what with eating and drinking - I found them to wear away after an hour or two but for the price I wouldn't mind too much having to re-apply now and again.
The NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams... are inexpensive, have a great selection of wearable shades to suit everyone, are rich in pigmentation and are easy to find on the high street. The NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams also... smell very synthetically of vanilla, show up problem areas on the lips, have a wide doe-foot applicator which makes it hard to apply on the inner-corners of the lips and aren't particularly long-wearing.
The Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kits - $29.00, available online only
Ahh, the infamous Kylie Lip Kits. If you thought the NYX lip creams were popular.. boy, these are in a whole new level. Released once a week on the Kylie Cosmetics website, these lip products are hard to get hold of. They sell out quickly so if you want one then you better hop onto that website quickly and get your place in that online queue as soon as possible. Available in 9 different shades, each Lip Kit includes a 3.25ml tube of liquid lipstick, as well as a traditional lip liner which compliments each liquid lip shade. At $29, the Kylie Lip Kits are the most expensive out of the liquid lipsticks featured in this post, although the price does include a lip liner too. As you can only buy the Kylie Lip Kits from the Kylie Comsetics website which is based in the United States, you can also expect to pay an $8.95 shipping rate for all domestic states within the USA, or $14.95 for all other countries. On top of that, you can also expect to pay a customs fee if you are in the UK which is priced at around £4 per Lip Kit plus an £8 Royal Mail handling fee. Meaning these may be the priciest lip product you will ever purchase.
The liquid lipstick comes housed in a see-through bottle which has a doe-foot applicator within the twist-up lid. They smell very much of synthetic strawberries & cream which I personally find rather unpleasant but fortunately it doesn't apply to the lips. The formula of the Kylie liquid lipsticks is very creamy and pigmented - one swipe of colour is plenty to cover the entire lips, although you do have to make sure you don't apply too much otherwise it can crack and flake slightly. Out of the bunch featured, this brand of liquid lipsticks is the most comfortable to wear and the most long-lasting. Eating and drinking? No problem! These stay put all day long. They do not budge. Application is incredibly easy what with the use of the lip liner, meaning both products work wonderfully well together. The only exception to this is the shade Kourt K but you can read about that in my review.
The Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kits... come in an array of different shades, come with a lip liner, are easy to apply, are very pigmented and last all day long. The Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kits also... are very expensive when you take the product price, shipping and customs into consideration, are very hard to get hold of, smell very synthetic, doesn't have a stopper included so the wands get very messy.
The Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks - $20.00, available in store and online at Sephora only
Another really popular brand of liquid lipsticks, these Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks have another famous name to them. Available at Sephora online, these liquid lipsticks are available in 28 different matte shades varying from pastel pinks to pitch black, there is bound to be a shade for you. For your money you get 6.25ml and once again, the product comes housed in a clear tube which has it's doe-foot applicator inside the twist-up lid. They have a very slight chemical smell to them which I personally don't mind. Anything but synthetic vanilla! They definitely smell the best out of the bunch, that's for sure. Formula wise, they aren't as creamy in texture as the other liquid lipsticks. In fact, I would say that I find the formula to be very thin and watery. I also found it rather hard to apply due to the shape of the applicator so I think a lip liner would be useful when trying to apply them. The shades I have tried have been rather pigmented but because the formula is rather thin, you can't get away with just one layer so you really need to build it up to get a full opaque shade on the lips. The Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks aren't as everlasting as they claim, either. I found that Lolita faded away almost immediately after applying and once I had eaten and had a drink, it was completely gone. I have also found them to be rather drying and uncomfortable on the lips, although they didn't show up any dry areas.
The Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks... come in 28 different shades, are pigmented, don't show dry areas on the lips, are buildable in colour and don't smell synthetic which is a rarity when it comes to liquid lipsticks. The Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks also... are only available in Sephora, have a thin and watery formula, need to apply more than one layer to get an opaque shade on the lips, would benefit the use of a lip liner to help guide with application, are quite drying and uncomfortable on the lips and don't last very long at all.
The Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain - $14.00, available in store and online at Sephora only
I haven't heard too much about this own-brand Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain before which is a shame as I really think they can hold their own against the big brands. Available only at Sephora, these cream lip stains come in 14 different shades and you get 4.8ml of product for your money. The product comes housed in the typical clear tube with its doe-foot applicator within the lid but we know all of that now. These cream lip stains smell very similar to that of the NYX Lip Creams, ie, synthetic vanilla but even more so. If the scent were to transfer onto the lips I really don't think I would be able to stomach it as it is rather strong-scented. Formula wise, they are very creamy and pigmented - one swipe of colour is plenty and they apply like a dream. You don't need a lip liner to apply them either due to the shape of the doe-foot. Whilst I cannot fault it's formula and application, I can't fault it's longevity either. It lasts all day long without moving at all, and that's with eating and drinking. I also didn't find them to be drying or uncomfortable on the lips either.
The Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stains... are available in 14 different shades, are very creamy in formula, are extremely pigmented, are really easy to apply, are comfortable to wear and last all day long. The Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain... are only available at Sephora and have a very strong, synthetic vanilla smell to them which is very overpowering.
My Ranking
It is really hard to tell you which brand and product is the best out of the four above as they are all so different and vary in price so much. I think the Kylie Lip Kits would be my favourite out of them all but they are just so expensive when you take shipping and customs into consideration. I would hate to add up how much money I have spent on them over the last few months - and I only have 5!
1. Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stains
2. Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kits
3. NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams
4. Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks