On the scale of one to drunkenly dropping your slice of pizza on the pavement, how well has your best lipstick stuck with you through a night out? And by this I mean — one that doesn’t bleed out or melt into your glass, stays put through your fifth slice of pizza and is still easy enough to remove with one make-up wipe at 5 am; when you just cannot even?
Call it investigative journalism if you may, but I have tried and tested a ton of formulae, and this is the second annual installment of ‘Which iconic lipstick can handle me at my drunkest?’ Last year’s Pixie Approved Superstars were Kat Von D’s everlasting liquid lipstick formula and NYX’s soft matte creams; so this year comes with a few hits, a few misses and a few disastrous experiments; but more on that later.
I’ll start off with current cult favourite and something I can’t wait to get in literally every shade variant; Jeffrey Starr’s liquid matte. They don’t leave unseemly rings or settle into fine lines. You should worry about touching up only after easily four drinks and finger food. These are pretty smooch-proof too, so find your boyfriend/girlfriend/person and get experimenting!
Next up we have Stila’s Stay All Day which literally stays forever. It survives oil, which makes this a perfect dinner lipstick, feels super thin on the lips, and has close to no transfer. Best part is the little springy cap which makes it impossible to flatten the tip, much like Nars Velvet Matte range.
Another worth mentioning Guerlain’s KissKiss Matte cream, which has a super formula, beautiful packaging (I’m all about the packaging) and smells like vanilla! The stitch is that this comes in only nine colours, and doesn’t fade too evenly. I have mixed thoughts about Urban Decay’s VICE, which feels great when worn, and sticks around on your lips for a while too. It’s the applicator which has absolutely no angles at all, which means that it doesn’t fare well when I’m touching up later — because my skills will probably take a hit as the night progresses.
Honestly, all these are great. Other ‘Pixie Approved’ beauties are Maybelline’s Superstay Matte Ink formula, Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Lips (You must invest in her signature shade: Darling — which looks good on all skin tones!) and a Jane Iredale’s lip fixation. Jane’s variant is fabulous if you’re looking for a slight popsicle stain which won’t smudge at all. Stay tuned for more on the ultimate disaster lipstick next week!
Saumya R Chawla
@pixie.secrets
The writer loves to over-share, drink wine & watch period dramas