For starters, I want you to hop into your time machine, travel back in time to 2016 and slap yourself across the face. *that escalated quickly*
I distinctly remember the craze that ensued 2015 when the first wave of liquid lipsticks broke the shore of the land now known as “what the hell were we thinking”… Full coverage matte foundation (no matter your skin type and/or needs), sharp and (too) dark contour ’cause you needed to ‘carve’ your face like a pumpkin on Halloween, a cut-crease WITH glitter accompanied by an abnormally large wing & a criminally huge fake lash, the uncomfortable but really long-wear liquid lipstick that birthed the abomination of a phrase ‘butthole lips’ and last but certainly not least, the brows that need no explanation (just reputation).
The sad part of this narrative is that we were all together in this lunacy, so there was nobody available to organize an intervention other than our mothers, who, if you’re a poor unfortunate millenial soul like myself, had lost their last drop of credibility when they handed us the tweezers-of-doom that lead us to the reputation brows.
*cue the music* You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me… *cut the music*
Lookin at it now, the only survivor of the time capsule of shame today is the liquid lipstick and for good reason. Longevity is always a fair point when we talk about lip products, because unlike face makeup, lips require touch-ups since you talk, eat, drink, kiss and do whatever else you want to with your mouth (this is a family page, get your mind out the gutter).
BUT, the real MVPs that have been following makeup channels and pages know that the really hydrating lipstick predated the matte liquid lipstick and still lives to tell the tale. Who remembers the YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Collection videos on youtube (click here for a blast from the past). Everyone was losing their minds over how you could make a YSL ring out of the middle part of the case. Wild.
So, as always, it was a matter of time before juicy lips made a comeback. But, did they ever really go out of style?
The ‘it’ girls of today value a clean makeup aesthetic, with radiant glass skin, neutral tones, naturally flushed cheeks and a plump glossy pout. The latter can be achieved through a variety of techniques, utilizing mostly lip pencils along with lip balms / lip gloss / lip oils. Thus, the need for a semi-sheer, high-gloss hydrating lipstick was born.
And boy, what an avalanche that created! Ready for it?
Tarte with their Maracuja Lip Plumps, MAC with their Squirt Plumping Gloss Sticks (that proved that bad publicity is still publicity, well-played) and Clinique with their infamous Almost Lipstick in Black Honey finally gained momentum.
TikTok drove everyone into full rabid-raccoon-mode on the Revlon Super Lustrous Glass Shine lipsticks and made them sold out everywhere. That damn Rum Raisin…
YSL seemed like they were waiting for this moment forever so they dropped their Loveshine Wet Shine (or Candy Glaze if you’re in the US) Lipsticks.
SheGlam followed suit with their Pout-Perfect Shine Lip Plumper and their Mirror Kiss High-Shine Lipstick and BadGalRiri finally dropped the Fenty Gloss Bomb Stix (instead of an album).
So we can all agree that the trend of the season is gloss in a stick form because ain’t nobody got time for crusty-ass lips. Ok, great. Which one is the best though?
Even though judging makeup is difficult, since personal preference plays an integral role, there are some points of contention that need to be addressed.
Let’s start comparing the items in bold in terms of packaging, overall feel, price, color payoff, color range available and longevity. I am intentionally leaving YSL out because there is not a single thing that a lipstick can offer that should convince you to drop 46,95€ in this economy.
Revlon Super Lustrous Glass Shine : the shiny sister of the Super Lustrous Lipstick. A very comfortable creamy lipstick with a medium color payoff that wears beautifully. Not as shiny as the rest of the gang, but very easy to work with, almost fool-proof. A wide selection of 25 colors to choose from, ranging from sparkly clear to deep burgundy plum. Please note that all the shades have a fine shimmer, that, worry not, most of the time is undetectable on the lips. Lightly scented with sweet vanilla, that you cannot smell once applied, only when smelling the lipstick bullet itself.
The component is…ok. Not my favorite. It’s sleek, but kinda boring. I managed to chip the gold part in a day. Make of that what you will.
You can see the color and name of the lipstick on a (non-vinyl) sticker on the bottom, that will most definitely disintegrate with time having you panicking “WHICH ONE IS THIS?!”. Also, it does not come with a box. And the sticker does not have the batch code on, so…It’s good enough for drugstore makeup, I guess. (not)
For the (US) price of $11,79 (or $9,99 on Amazon) you can have an amazing alternative to the YSL Rouge Volupte Shine.
Overall rating : 8,5 / 10
Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Stix : the latest addition to the Fenty Beauty line, launched on July 12th going hand-in-hand with their most requested item, lipliners.
This is by far the most beautiful out of the bunch. Custom made component with their signature polygonal shape, custom mold with their FB logo on the lipstick itself, packaging color unique to each of the 10 shades, very easy to navigate through if you were to buy more than one.
It screams Rihanna. It’s contemporary, it’s trendy, it’s one of a kind.
The formula itself is more pigmented than the rest in this category and is quite liberally scented with their distinct lipgloss scent of peach-vanilla. It loses points because it is too sticky for my liking, but I can understand why. They created a lipstick that will be shiny, will have a good color payoff and will not immediately vanish on the lips. Hitting those 3 requirements, it’s very difficult, if not impossible to make it non-sticky as well.
It retails for 24,95€ on the Sephora website, and for that price, honestly, I would go for something else.
Overall rating : 7 / 10
SheGlam Mirror Kiss High-Shine Lipstick : who would have thought that the makeup brand of Shein, with all their controversies and whatnot, would bless us with such gems that even high end makeup companies could not compete with.
Take a look at this masterpiece. Amazing ombre effect case, in a truly unique irregular shape. Customized completely with 3D raised matte letters to highlight the brand name as well as the brand logo on the top.
Take notes, because that’s how you establish your presence in a market that is so oversaturated it gives every makeup addict a migraine. The same component in different colors is used for their collections (the black and red for their Passion Valentines was EVERYTHING) and they just launched their Skin Magnet Stick Foundation in a bigger skin-tone version of this exact case.
The only two drawbacks are :
a) there is only one correct way to close it and
b) you cannot see the color of the lipstick anywhere, but there is a good quality sticker with all the information you need. The rest can be found on the gorgeous holographic box, where the color of the lipstick along with the shade name is printed on top.
As far as the formula is concerned, I wanna cry. I love it, and it’s ruining my [professional] life! This is the most plump, the most juicy, THE most comfortable lipstick I have ever used. Hands down. It is in fact as shiny as a mirror, coating all the little lines on the lips. It is not the tiniest bit sticky, it honestly feels like you have a really high quality lip balm on. Color payoff is medium plus and there is a very faint scent, close to nothing.
Is it super long-wear? No. Could it be with those aforementioned characteristics? Also no.
The shade range is decent, consisting of 12 different colors, one of which is definitely going to catch your eye. ‘Own your Shine’ a super sparkly lipstick with a clear base that can be used as a topper to any lipliner or lipstick. This shade is healing my inner child that never got over the loss of my life, the Maybelline Water Shine Diamonds.
For the outrageously low price of 6,49€ (stackable coupons are always available on the Shein website or app so you will most likely get it for around 4) this is a no-brainer for me. Get every shade. Get enough to get you through an apocalypse. Hoard them in case they get discontinued like everything else I like.
China, much like Blair Waldorf, saw everyone struggling and said “Once again, the world has proven that anything you can do, I can do better.” Touché, Shein, touché.
Overall rating : 9,5 / 10
Before you go out and buy any of these, hear me out. This type of formula is, by nature, very melty. For the love of God, do not leave them in the car, or the sun, or even near a heater at home. They will turn into a puddlle.
You should also be mindful while applying them as well. Twist up slightly so that the appropriate amount comes out every time you need to use the lipstick. Twisting all the way up will most definitely cause the lipstick bullet to break once you press it on your lips.
Other than that, go nuts.
xoxo,
Macy
p.s. Let’s play a game. Re-read the article and take a shot every time a Taylor Swift lyric comes up. It will give you just the right buzz to get you through the week or get you to the hospital on sick leave. 😉
