I went to Walgreens yesterday only to find none of the colors that I wanted, but since they had a 3 for $4 deal, I couldn't resist so I settled for these shades. I've owned "Bare it All" for a few months now, but I waited until I got my hands on the other colors so I can review the collection as a whole. Read more for a detailed review on this product!
Overview
Description: "Lips take center stage! This 4-hour, longwearing lip color leaves a semi-matte, crème finish in one stroke."
902C Bare it All - tan nude
903C Just Peachy - muted coral, pale salmon
905D Smokin' Hot Pink - vibrant pink, almost magenta
918D Cherry Bomb - deep burgundy
Packaging
As many people complain about, the packaging looks just like what you paid for ($1.99 in most drugstores). It comes in a black retractable tube with a clear cap, which may be bothersome to certain people. Since the lipstick doesn't go all the way down, it easily gets on the see-through cap which can be messy, but if you don't care about cheap packaging, then there's not much to dislike about this product.
Formula
The description says that it's semi-matte with a velvety finish, but I find it to have a completely matte texture. It does glide on very smoothly though, which is great for application. It's hydrating at first but tends to become drying in a few hours, but that is unfortunately inevitable with matte lipsticks, so I wouldn't really consider that a downside. It's also highly pigmented which is always something I can appreciate. However, the smell is somewhat unpleasant, but it's fairly faint so it's not too much of a nuisance.
Color
Now let's get to the fun part: the color payoff. What I love about this collection is the vast variety of shade selection. I mean they literally have every possible color that's desirable for lip wear, at least in my opinion. However, what I really hate is that it's very difficult to get access on most of them. In every drugstore I've visited, they typically only have the bright pinks and neutrals. I've also searched everywhere online and I can never find the ones that retail for $1.99-$2.99, its original price. Even the Wet n Wild website doesn't have them! Anyway, that's probably my only complaint so far because I really wanted "Spiked With Rum" and "In the Flesh," which seem to be rare finds. Anyway, here are the swatches!
I wanted to show different kinds of lighting to give you an idea of how it photographs under various situations. As you can see above, they look completely matte in sunlight/window light and indoors. With flash and white fluorescent light, there seems to be a little bit of shine, which isn't all that bad.
The unlabeled top left picture is my natural lip color so you can get a sense of the differences, especially with the nude shades.
Lasting Power
The description says that it lasts for 4 hours, but mine surprisingly lasted for 8+ hours! Below is a swatch from when I first put on "Cherry Bomb" followed by the photo of after 8 hours without reapplication or touchups.
Pretty amazing, right? This is after eating light meals throughout the day so I'm not quite sure how it holds up with full meals. I do really like how it retained its original burgundy color. The second picture was taken under white fluorescent lighting, and as you can see from the arm swatches above, it appears brighter than the one with indoor lighting ("before" photo here), so I'm just letting you know that the color in fact didn't fade after 8 hours.
To be fair, I'm not sure if it will be like this with the rest of the colors since the only one I've tested throughout the day was "Cherry Bomb" which has a very dark pigment, so that might have been a factor to its persistent color. I'll test out the rest throughout the week though and keep you guys updated!
Quality
One thing I expected prior to trying out this product is that it would develop patches around my dry lips, but thankfully, it didn't. That's my biggest concern when it comes to finding the right lipstick, so this is definitely a major drugstore favorite because it stayed fully opaque and didn't settle in fine lines. I'd say that it has A+ quality especially for just $1.99.
Now onto quick comments on each color.
"Bare it All"
It's a very dull, almost brown color that doesn't look particularly flattering on my skin tone as it makes me look sickly. I did wear it for my senior prom though, but it looked somewhat alright then. I don't know why it looks much duller now. However, I'm sure it'll look great on brown-based skin tones.
"Just Peachy"
Now this one is more of the right shade of nude for me. It's a stunning muted coral that looks great on yellow skin tones. It has some pink undertones, but the best color I could describe it is pale salmon.
"Smokin' Hot Pink"
I didn't want this color at all because I typically don't go for vibrant pinks, but for the sake of getting 3 lipsticks for $4, I chose the most subtle pink available. It's actually not so bad and I actually find it to be the perfect spring lip color.
"Cherry Bomb"
Bottom line
These are hands down some of the best yet cheapest drugstore lipsticks out there. It has a bit of a drying formula, but it's nothing that chapstick can't fix. If you're looking for the perfect red lipstick, they have a wide variety of reds from bright to deep shades. They also have many pinks and neutrals to choose from. With a lasting power this long, I don't see why it's not worth it! I'm definitely buying more colors if I have any luck finding them.
P.S. You can purchase "Wine Room," "In the Flesh," and "Spiked with Rum" from my luvocracy account http://www.luvocracy.com/simplestylings with a free $10 credit!
I hope you found this review helpful! Part 2 can be found here.
xoxo,
What I learned here: Make certain that the cost is worthy of your expectations. Eesh. I hate most of my lippies. :3
ReplyDelete@Jeng Tolentino then you should definitely get these! :P
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