Shades pictured: Wet n' Wild Velvet Lip Color in Plumgenue; NYX Simply Vamp in Covet; NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm and Monte Carlo; NYX Simply Red in Leading Lady; NYX Matte Lipstick in Eden and Merlot.
I love lipstick. But it took me a long time to get it and truly fall in love. For a long time, lipstick was an aspirational beauty item -- the way some people aspire to better grows, longer lashes, or winged eyeliner without actually making an effort to learn the techniques to make it happen. I don't know when it started, but one day I decided to just, you know, buy a lipstick and go for it. That was three years ago, I think, and I've never looked back. My lipstick collection has grown to an embarrassing size and I can't really say I'm sorry about it.
Most of my lipsticks have been of the standard, cream variety: they require primer and a lot of upkeep throughout the day. I have a few tried-and-true favorites, like Urban Decay's Revolution lipstick (in Naked 2, a perfect YLBB shade) and Covergirl's Coral Crush. A few weeks ago, I decided to try a matte lipstick and... it was amazing. Perfect, really.
The first matte color I bought was NYC Simply Vamp in Covet; technically, it's not advertised as matte, but it is a matte-metallic shade in dark plum. I had loved plum shades from afar and decided an NYX variety would be easiest to learn the rights and wrongs. Well, Covet rapidly turned into one of my favorite lipsticks; it's an instant, easy way to add a little goth-y toughness to a look. And the thing I loved most about it was that it was matte and it stuck around all day long... and? It didn't rub off. It was the perfect thing.
After that, my collection rapidly expanded, mostly in the NYX brand line -- they make some of the best colors for matte lipsticks out there that are both affordable and opaque. I got NYX Simply Red in Leading Lady next, a beautiful, matte, long-lasting pink-red.
After this, I purchased my favorite matte shades so far: NYX Matte Lipstick in Eden (a bright red shade) and NYX Soft Matte Lip Stick in Stockholm (a nude-brown shade, similar to Rimmel's popular Kasbah). Before I got any more matte shades, I wanted to make sure I really liked them. Stockholm has rapidly become my go-to lip shade on lazy days. Eden is perfect for dressing up or days where I want to look more polished.
Matte lipsticks have a reputation for being drying, which they definitely can be. The secret is to start with moisturized, brushed lips (use an exfoliating brush or a baby toothbrush to clean them) and to skip primer. However, I've found myself not having very many issues with matte lipsticks; I mostly just love that they last all day with minimal upkeep. In general, I have never liked lips that look super goopy and wet.
I recently ordered NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Monte Carlo (a dark red, similar to Taylor Swift's go-to shade) and NYX Matte Lipstick in Merlot (a rich, dark berry shade); I love both of these as much as I love Stockholm and Eden. I especially like Monte Carlo, as I've been looking for a red that is neither too pink or too orange (I have a habit of picking pink-reds and being disappointed).
The same day I received these in the mail, I purchased a Wet n' Wild Velvet Matte lipstick in Plumgenue (from the Fergie line) for only $5; for the price, I just wanted to see how well they worked. The answer: it is much more sheer than I like, but I love the color of Plumgenue. It definitely feels velvety and smooth, but definitely is not as long-lasting as my other shades.
Matte lipsticks represent the perfect stepping stone for those who want to use lipstick, but find the upkeep and fussiness annoying. If you find the right formula and shade, they will last all day with minimal smudging and smearing.
Old habits die hard; I said I wouldn't write about beauty products anymore and yet, here I am, writing about matte lipstick. But sometimes, you just gotta shade what you love.