The Beauty Diary by Rebekah Scanlan: Lipsticks that are actually smudge-proof
Beauty fans everywhere strive to find this Holy Grail item — but an Australian brand has just dropped the most reliable product for just $23.
My love of a bright lip is real. I can’t get enough of one particular tone of fluoro pink, a love that dates way back to my obsession with Baby Spice in the ’90s and to this day, I never go anywhere without my trusty fave, M. A. C’s Candy Yum Yum in my handbag.
While bright poppin’ lip colours aren’t for everyone, no matter your preferred shade — whether that’s a classic red or a natural nude — one thing we all want from our lippie is for it to stay put.
Sounds simple. But if I did a poll right now and asked how many of us have suffered an awkward lipstick fail, chances are most of us would raise our hands.
From transferring to our teeth to bleeding outside our lip line and the ultimate no, no — going everywhere during a pash sesh. Sorry boys!
Seriously — who else is over our lipsticks letting us down? Because I most definitely am.
All we want is to wear our chosen shades without fear of it ending up everywhere but our pout.
There are a few golden options out there though, ones that will stay put no matter what you chuck at it. So no matter if you go big with your lipstick shade or you’re more a fan of an everyday tone, these babies will not disappoint you.
NUDE BY NATURE CREAMY MATTE LIPSTICK
Price: $22.95
Available at Big W, Chemist Warehouse, Myer, Priceline and nudebynature.com.au
Trust me when I say you wanna snag one of these delights, pronto. They’re a limited edition release to celebrate the Aussie brand’s 10th birthday and boy are they good. They glide on with a creamy texture and are so reliable, once you’ve applied you forget you’re actually wearing anything. While there’s no super bright shade in this range (why?) they are so wearable day-to-day, I’m hooked.
I’ve been using Blush Nude during the day and switching to one of the brighter colours if I go out in the evening. Cerise is a delicious plumb tint while Sunset is a beautiful burnt orange. There’s also a lip primer in the range that I’m obsessed with too. A quick slick before applying your colour helps it stay put longer and keeps those puckers nice and moisturised too.
BITE BEAUTY OUTBURST LONGWEAR LIP-STAIN
Price: $37
Available at Sephora
If you’re looking for long-lasting, look no further. There’s only three shades of these lip stains but they get my stamp of approval for being so trust-worthy. I applied a lick of the Strawberry Froze when I went for dinner and drinks recently, and was pretty chuffed when I finished eating my ramen and found it hadn’t budged.
It also gets bonus points for the fact the colour was right up my street — a gorgeous hue of pink that didn’t overtake my face but still demanded attention. This Canadian brand recently arrived in Australia and has a huge following thanks to its “good enough to eat” all-natural ingredient products. I’m hoping they bring out more of these.
KYLIE JENNER MATTE LIQUID LIPSTICK
Price: $US29 ($AU41.50)
Available at kyliejennercosmetics.com
When Kylie first bought out her lip kits there were just three shades. Now there’s pretty much every colour imaginable — from daring black to bright blues and purples as well as a lolly shop variety of nudes, plums and pinks.
But whether you love or hate the Kardashian-Jenner clan, there’s no denying the popularity around the product comes from the fact the 21-year-old has created something that just doesn’t move — no matter what you get up to.
It’s the ultimate long-lasting lipstick and even though I only have one, a pinky-purply colour Posie K bought on a whim a few years back when she had a free international shipping deal on, it is definitely one of my faves because I can put it on before a night out or even a date and know it will stay put.
FENTY POUTSICLE JUICY SATIN LIPSTICK
Price: $32
Available at sephora.com.au and fentybeauty.com
Rhianna has done it again — this time sending beauty fans wild with these limited edition bold lip colours. There’s not a single shade of snooze in this line-up, with colours such as a bright violet called Purpsicle and a pretty pink named Tropic Tantrum.
My pick from the seven luscious colours is Hot Blooded — a deep red that glides onto your lips with a smooth, finish that will last you for hours. I’m obsessed with this shade because despite its name, it’s not blood red and has a beautiful fuchsia undertone to it. Best of all, it doesn’t dry your lips making it a perfect lippie for winter.
YSL ROUGE PUR COUTURE
Price: $57
Available at Mecca and David Jones
There are 17 beautiful shades of this delicious long-lasting lippie, and though I have a lot of time for Tropical Pink — a playful, fun and totally hard to resist colour — it’s the brand’s natural Rose Dahlia I can’t get enough of.
As well as being a gorgeous light colour that you can wear from a 9am meeting to cocktails with the girls after work, the formula of the lipstick is to die for. It’s super pigmented meaning a little goes a long way. Just one swipe covers the lips with the beautiful layer of colour. So while it’s a little more on the exxy side, it will last you yonks.
REVLON ULTRA HD MATTE LIP HYPER MOUSSE
Price: $24.95
Available at Priceline, Woolworths, Chemist Warehouse and Myer
There’s so much to love about this lippie I don’t even know where to begin — and judging from the reaction to the new “hyper matte” formula of this already popular Revlon product, I am not alone with my affections.
People are going nuts for these babies on social media and I have to confess, I’ve joined them. It’s one of the easiest lip products to apply thanks to the soft, pillowy wand. The mousse also has a delicious vanilla fragrance that will leave you wanting to lick your lips.
There’s eight shades in the affordable make-up giant’s vivid lip colour range and despite being intense — they’re definitely not too much. I’ve added Desert Sand to my handbag recently, which has a very on trend dark purple tone to it. I’m obsessed.
M. A. C Matt Lipstick
Price: $36
Available at David Jones, Myer, Mecca and www.maccosmetics.com.au
I’ve loved this shade since forever. Back when I used to scrape together money to buy my fave M. A. C goodies, this lippie was always top of my list. I definitely still rock this fluoro-inspired pink on a regular basis, but I also love to wear some of the nuder tones M. A. C offers in this classic lipstick range.
Honestly, it stays on for ages and I’ve lost count of the number of times women have stopped me in the bathroom to ask me what lipstick I’m wearing when I’ve got this on. It’s a must-have in my eyes, even though I still rely on the old finger trick my mum taught me — you know the one, apply the colour then put your finger in your mouth and pull it out to remove the excess lipstick — to stop the colour transferring to your teeth? Well worth the effort in my humble opinion.
INNISFREE VIVID COTTON INK
Price: $15
Available at Innisfree stores and www.innisfree.com/au.en
It seems Aussies can’t get enough of this Korean beauty brand since it arrived Down Under.
But while I usually love most of the products Innisfree offer — these lippies are the exception. There are 13 promising shades in the range, the most recent of which launched in March and caused chaos in the Sydney and Melbourne stores, with all five of the colurs selling out immediately.
However, I found the formula a bit sticky and they bled outside of my lip line almost immediately. There’s also the fact the tubes were covered in stickers, translating the ingredients and product information into English, which when peeled off, left an annoying residue all over them.
I love that they’re budget friendly and come in a variety of fun colours and have a fruity aroma to them too — but I don’t think they’ve scored a home run here.
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