Was this yet ANOTHER year dedicated to liquid lipsticks?! I think it’s unquestionable and we as consumers cannot GET ENOUGH it seems. The trend that never seems to die down has flooded us with endless options of these long-wearing, full pigment and matte lips. A huge bonus of this is that pretty much all the budget / high street brands have their own take on a liquid lipstick which in turn, makes it available to all and you no longer have to seek out specialist brands anymore to get your fix of these vivid matte lip shades.
Not all brands have hit the nail-on-the-head in terms of formula though, and you have to shop around a bit to get one that won’t dry out your lips, peel or make your lips look patchy. I have tried and tested quite literally hundreds of formulas so I want to share with you my favourites over 4 varying budgets. I will be covering other shades and tones of red in a series of posts, but this is all about the most popular tone of red…..the ruby reds, the cooler tone and the very classic red ; The blue-reds !
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| These 4 shades range from £3.99 – £25 |
4 OF THE BEST BLUE-RED LIQUID LIPSTICKS.
Barry M Loud Mouth ‘DIVA’.
The most purse-friendly of my picks and coming in at just £3.99. This comes in a squeezy tube applicator so be careful when you apply that you don’t use too much, you only need a little, I swear it took me 5 attempts before I worked this out. This formula is slightly more forgiving and translucent than the rest so build it up to get full pigment. It applies actually like a thick gloss and takes a good few minutes to go slightly more matte but doesn’t go fully paint dry like the others.
Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Color ‘Passion’.
I think this is the star of the show for me based around price, formula and application. These are absolutely brilliant and I have a few shades of these and recommend these to all! They apply like silk, give a full opaque colour with one swipe, feel comfortable and non-drying AND this shade ‘Passion’ is the ultimate deep, pure, show-stopping, red carpet red! At £8.99 these are worth every penny. What’s there not to love?
MAC Lipmix ‘Crimson’.
One I have used in my pro makeup kit for MANY years. These are full-on shameless thick pigments of colour, that are designed to be used alone, mixed together or sheered down with lip balm or gloss. They aren’t particularly user-friendly with the pointed nib applicator so it’s hard to directly apply on the lips and if you use your finger, you are in for stained fingertips….which I think is why maybe these are best-loved and used by makeup artists. I have a range of these lip mix pigments and I often use them on my Crownbrush mixing palette to customise colours on clients and shoots. They cost £15 & last for 3 lifetimes.
Hourglass Opaque Rouge ‘Icon’.
An absolute classic red and I always like to pay homage to Hourglass in my mention of liquid lipsticks and this brand has been doing them for 5 years + ,pretty much before anyone else and this was the first liquid formula I personally tried. These saturate the lips with pigment and dry matte with a comfortable wear. The shade ‘Icon’ is up there with Ruby Woo for me – a truly stunning blue/red that looks great on all skin tones. A little pricier @ £25 but if you like your luxury makeup, then this is the true long-wearing red for you.
What is your favourite liquid lipstick brand? Have you hunted down your ultimate red shade yet?
