Lipsticks have always been one of my favorite go to makeup products because of how versatile they can be in terms of a simple shade of lipstick being able to transform your look in countless ways. Liquid lipsticks however, I hadn't been too familiar with until early last year when Huda Kattan launched her range of matte liquid lipsticks and ever since my first purchase of "Spice Girl" they have become honorary members in my makeup collection. I've since then purchased 3 more lipsticks and would honestly love to expand my sad excuse of a collection. Firstly the packaging is iconic! I'm pretty sure you'd be able to spot these smackers a mile away because of the unique design and Huda's signature lips plastered on the front in whatever shade you're purchasing. Secondly the formula is incredible, it glides on generously using the doe foot applicator at the bottom of a wand that pops out damn near perfectly clean ensuring that no product is going to waste.
What also makes this formula so unique is the fact that it is super long wearing and is almost completely opaque with just a single coat (although I prefer it completely opaque and so usually go in with a 2nd coat). The liquid lipsticks dry fully matte which is a quality worth dying for as I am not much a fan of glosses or the glossy type of look in general spthats is a huge thumbs up on my end. I also love the fact that although they dry super matte they ironically enough are pretty hydrating compared to some of the other matte liquid lipsticks I've tried and so they're great for those whose lips tend to dry off with these types of lipsticks.
With this being said, it really wouldn't be much of a review if I didn't give my 2 cents so here it is. Although they are hydrating, these liquid lipsticks don't apply well on dry lips in my opinion. I recommend exfoliating your lips and even applying a lip balm as a base during your skincare pre makeup prep (I'm a huge fan of the LUSH 'Popcorn Lip Scrub' as my exfoliant and the Beesline 'Lip Care Flavor Free' or EOS) and then applying the liquid lipstick once your lips are moisturized.
Another downside is that some of the darker shades of the liquid lipsticks tend to become a little patchy once you try and apply 2 or 3 coats of product which really looks gross and seems as though your lips might have an uneven skin tone look to them, such as the shade 'Material Girl', which I feel gets very patchy after a second coat and also starts to crumble a bit after a couple hours.
Yet another issue which isn't really a major deal but does occur is that some of the darker shades like 'Vixen' tend to bleed out the perimeter of the lips, but this is totally avoidable if you line your lips with a lip liner (you can try the Huda Lip Contour kit) which keeps the product at bay. One more thing that I really can't turn a blind eye to is the fact that the advertising on Huda's website (Shop Huda Beauty) and Sephora claim that these are transfer proof lipsticks although I beg to differ. The formula seems to transfer to anything your lips come into contact with, which is kind of disappointing because it means you've got to apply product continuously.
Even with all of this being said I am still a huge fan of these lipsticks, and will continue to purchase them, they retail for $20 which is about R272 at Sephora (which is where I purchased mine from) and on Huda's website. I do believe you are getting value for you money, and the amount of product packaged does last for an extended amount of time, which is great. I honestly think they are worth investing in and cracking open that piggy bank for. Have fun mixing, matching and messing around with these babies. -courts xx
