Heyya Everyone!
I love a good lipstick, whether it’s for cosplay or just out and about everyday. And I really love a bold coloured lipstick, especially blues, purples and reds – but I’ve always wanted to try a black lipstick. Sadly my experience with them doesn’t go much further than those terrible ones you get in kits around Halloween. You know the ones, those cheap things that need about 10 layers to get anywhere near opaque coverage, and that go all over your teeth as soon as you try and speak – not a good look!
Going to Comic Conventions, events or even just doing a days hard shopping, I want a lipstick that has a nice opaque coverage, and that has long lasting wear, something I don’t need to keep reapplying after I eat, drink, kiss or talk. Not too much to ask is it? 😉
After having a look through my current favourite brands of lipsticks and lip liquids, I found that some of them did indeed sell a form of black lipstick! I ordered all the ones I could that were in stock and this is how they faired!
The ones I ordered were, ‘Pristine’ by Illamasqua, ‘Wierdo’ by Jeffree Star, ‘Venom’ by LaSplash Cosmetics, ‘Raven’ by LA Girl Cosmetics, and ‘Borneo’ by Gerard Cosmetics.
I had a few shipped over from the USA as they were out of stock here in the UK, so after an age of waiting for delivery I finally had them all and couldn’t wait to get on to test them!
—————–
After stripping them all out there packing this is what they looked like:-
L-R: Pristine, Wierdo, Venom, Raven, Borneo.
Already I love the style of the Jeffree Star and LASplash lip liquids, the containers are quite heavy and sturdy and feel really high quality. I first swatched them on my forearm to get a feel for there consistency and to see how opaque they really were. The top image is using indoor light, the bottom image is outside in natural daylight.
1) Pristine, 2) Wierdo, 3) Venom, 4) Raven, 5) Borneo
——
——
‘Pristine’ by Illamasqua:-
I’ve always been a big fan of Illamasqua’s lipsticks as they have such a wide range of colours, both generic and alternative, with such a creamy texture which makes them glide on beautifully. This lipstick is no different, it applies beautifully, with a lovely semi-matte finish. However I would describe the colour as semi-opaque, if applied in just one layer it can still be seen through, however it can be built up to a deep black. In indoor light it looks very nice and even, however when photographed with a flash or in natural light it can look a bit patchy. With the shape of the lipstick itself I found it tricky to apply straight from the stick, it was hard to get a crisp line – I would definitely recommend using a lip brush.
The top left picture was taken indoors under artificial lighting and it looks very opaque and even, however the others were taken outside in natural light, and you can see how it’s a bit patchy in places, and had already started wearing away at the sides. I think this lipstick should definitely be used with a lipstick sealant like LipKote, as it does smudge very quickly, due it’s creamy texture. Overall I think this lipstick is okay, although I would be careful where I wear it, to be sure I don’t wear it in situations where I would have to be eating! Due to it’s price however I would recommend either waiting for their sales, or signing up to an account with them, as you will get a 15% discount code e-mailed to you on your birthday.
“Wierdo” by Jeffree Star:-
This was one of my favourites from the second it arrived! I love the packaging it arrived in, it was packed in a pink box with gold stars, with the container itself being a heavy glass vial, candy pink lid with a thick doe foot applicator inside. I’ve always been sceptical of doe foot applicators as I find they pick up way too much product which becomes hard to apply evenly, however the little suction cup thingy on the inside of the vial stops a lot of the product from clinging to the wand, meaning just the right amount is dispensed to do the whole of your lips. The instructions say to shake the vial well for 5 seconds before applying, and to wait for 3-5 minutes after applying for it to dry fully. It applies smoothly, the wand is brilliant and gives a perfectly crisp line no matter what angle you hold it at, and dries to a matte finish which I LOVE! Also, it doesn’t  After I applied it I went shopping for the day with Emma to Bluewater, and it lasted through the whole day of talking, laughing and drinking- it only started to fade a little on the inner corners of my mouth after we had a TGI’s, as the mozzarella sticks were a bit oily, and the instructions state to avoid oily foods as it can remove the lipstick. Overall it has fantastic coverage from the first swipe, has a beautiful finishes and lasts all day depending on what you eat! Well worth the money, and I will be buying the rest of the collection soon!!
“Venom” by LASplash Cosmetics:-
LASplash is a company I have grown to love over the years, there great value for money and extremely high quality. This product is no different, it’s very opaque and has a beautiful matte finish, and is extremely long lasting – after a whole day of talking, eating and drinking it had only just started to fade on my inner corners and the inside middle of my bottom lip. The doe foot wand for this liquid lipstick is very long and thin, and covers the whole lip beautifully in one swipe, it even makes a beautifully sharp line on the cupids bow, no brushes needed! I’ve had a few LASplash liquid lipsticks in the past and thankfully have perfected the art of applying them, you need to scrape a lot of the product off the wand as it does pick up a lot, and then apply it neatly but quickly, as it sets very fast; and after giving it a few minutes to set, it is almost completely water and smudgeproof. This is one I would highly recommend!!
“Raven” by LA Girl Cometics:-Â
This was one of the cheapest ones I tested and you could definitely tell. The packaging was very basic and light, and the lipstick itself was quite dry and hard to apply. The product itself is not pointed like a normal lipstick, it’s a round shape which makes it impossible to get a nice sharp line around the lips without using a brush or a lip liner. In the picture I had applied 2 light layers of the lipstick, and you can see that it is still semi-opaque in some areas. It’s not a bad lipstick for the price, but it doesn’t last long so you would definitely need a lipstick sealer to stand any chance when wearing it.
“Borneo” by Gerard Cosmetics:-
As soon as this arrived I realised I had made a mistake with this product – it was a lipgloss and not a lipstick. It’s a heavily pigmented gloss, with a gold chrome lid and glass vial with a very thin doe foot wand inside; it also has a light inside the cap that turns on when the lid is unscrewed and a mirror on the side. Soon as I started applying this I took a dislike to it, it’s very sticky and very thick which meant it didn’t go on very well and looked very patchy. It also went on my teeth as soon as I opened my mouth, not a good look! It shifted and slid all over the place, and looked terrible after an hour or so. Personally I would never wear this on it’s own, however I would consider wearing it over one of the longer lasting matte ones to give it a nice shine.
——————
Overall the best black lipsticks were the liquid lipsticks from LASplash and Jeffree Star – both apply very smooth and opaque, highly pigmented but non staining, dry with a beautiful matte finish, and are smudgeproof.
Please note these reviews are my own opinion and products were all bought by me, I am not paid to test them (sadly!).
Hope this is useful for some of you, let me know if there are any brands you have tried and are good!
Much Love,
Sabrina xXx
BriiMassacre's Blog 