Whenever I pick up a series on Netflix, aside from taking a virtual vacation in England during the 15th century with monsters and witches or watching a group of young adults dressing in battle gear fighting demons; I also really enjoy looking at their costumes and makeup so much I often search for YouTube tutorials on it.
With product placements all over these series, I recently discovered a line of lipstick from NYX Professional Makeup that was worn by one of the cast so I picked up several off Hermo and I’m already planning to get several more as it is considerably affordable!
What to love about these liquid lipsticks?
In statement-making matte colors, these nude-based shades of Soft Matte Lip Cream deliver a burst of creamy color that sets with a matte finish.
These are supposedly long-wearing, lightweight and creamy, it seems to me that these sweet scented liquid lipsticks are also NYX Professional Makeup’s fan-favorite.
There are over 35 original shades of pinks, purples, reds, corals, browns and beiges in the line and these high-pigmented, plush matte formula in colors are inspired by cities of the world, surely to flatter any skin tones and for any occasion.
So I got myself 3 shades; #Amsterdam (pure red) for the recent Lunar New Year festivities, #Monte Carlo (deep cranberry red) the character, Isabelle Lightwood had worn throughout the first season of Netflix’s Shadowhunters series and last but not least, #Transylvania (deep violet) because I have admittedly been watching a lot of vampire movies lately.
Ingredients list: #Amsterdam
Isohexadecane, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Dimethicone, Beeswax/Cera Alba/Cire d’Abeille, Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Talc, Propylene Carbonate, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Silica, Water, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Alumina, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Phenoxyethanol, Barium Sulfate (CI 77120), Fragrance/Parfum, Hydroxycitronellal, Hexyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate.
MAY CONTAIN (+/-): Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 (CI 15850), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090).
Ingredients list: #Monte Carlo
Isohexadecane, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Dimethicone, Beeswax/Cera Alba/Cire d’Abeille, Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Talc, Propylene Carbonate, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Silica, Water, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Alumina, Aluminum Benzoate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Phenoxyethanol, Barium Sulfate (CI 77120), Fragrance/Parfum, Hydroxycitronellal, Hexyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate.
MAY CONTAIN (+/-): Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 (CI 15850), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090).
Ingredients list: #Transylvania
Isohexadecane, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Dimethicone, Beeswax/Cera Alba/Cire d’Abeille, Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Talc, Propylene Carbonate, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Silica, Water, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Alumina, Aluminum Benzoate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Phenoxyethanol, Barium Sulfate (CI 77120), Fragrance/Parfum, Hydroxycitronellal, Hexyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate.
MAY CONTAIN (+/-): Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 (CI 15850), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090).
PACKAGING
The lip product does not come in a box but the whole tube is sealed a in clear plastic casing with English ingredients list printed at the side of the tube for your reference.
There is a Barcode sticker on the cap with the Product Code printed at the top left corner and the Batch Code printed in light grey at the top right corner of the sticker.
There’s usually a small official distributor sticker on the plastic seal with the Manufacturing Date in the format of Month-Year but in case that is not available, you can simply punch the Batch Code number into a cosmetic analyser on the Internet. For example, MFS80W means Aug 2019.
This liquid lipstick can be used for up to 18 months once opened but as it only contains 8ml worth of product, I’m pretty sure I can finish it within several months if I were to use it everyday.
The tubes comes in the respective liquid lipstick colours although I have to point out that the colours on the tubes are not exactly true to the actual shades of the lip products; maybe 90% similar. But with the tubes being so opaque, I cannot tell how much product left in the tube.
There is a sticker with the product code and name at the bottom of the tubes for your convenience. For a few months, I have been placing these lip products horizontally in my acrylic drawers and I’m glad to report that I didn’t see any leaks whatsoever from the tubes which means it is tight enough to prevent oxidation, therefore a huge plus point for me.
Each of these plush matte lip colours comes with a doe-foot foam applicator that just glides on my lips smooth and easy on the wide surface. Twist it a little and you can line out your lip lines rather carefully which is something I love doing as I don’t like bringing separate lip liners or lip brush for neat application.
APPLICATION
All the lip colours here are quite pigmented and wearable for my medium skin tone; probably even for those with skin deeper than mine except maybe #Amsterdam that needs to be mixed with a darker colour to bring down the brightness a bit.
As for the pigmentation, you can almost apply on with the littlest amount of the liquid lipstick yet you can actually layer a couple times (let one layer dry and then swipe on another layer) for a much bolder look. All swatches on upper hand are made with one swipe from each colour.
THOUGHTS
I’d say there is a need to apply matching lip liners beforehand as the colours are not as pigmented as I hoped them to be. You can definitely use concealers or lip primers underneath to make the colour ‘pop out’ even more.
The finishes might seemed satiny at the beginning as that just gives you some time to properly blend with your choice tools; tip of my fingers for me so it’s easy to smooth over the lip lines but once it dries down, the finish will be properly matte and it is very much possible to layer another application of the lip product for a more intense look.
Both #Amsterdam and #Monte Carlo goes on nicely on lips but when it comes to #Transylvania, I’m going to admit that it goes on patchy and was quite hard to achieve a smooth and even finish.
Overall, 4/5. I love everything about these plush matte lip colours but it goes without saying that I just need to prep my oftenly dry lips properly by exfoliating them regularly and applying ample of lip balms prior. It is common for any liquid lipsticks to dry out the lips so make sure to prep well.
While these lip colours can stay on for many hours with minimum drinking and eating, I still find myself reapplying them throughout the day.
To remove these lip colours, I’d say any lip makeup remover will do including one that I have reviewed previously but you can simply remove them with any oil-based cleanser at one go along with the rest of your makeup at the end of the day.
