[sample/affiliate] Honestly, it’s a relief to talk about lipsticks that don’t tip your bank balance into the red – they’re £8.99 each and the Color Riche Mattes at the bottom of the post are the same price. All are on a 3-for-2 at Boots or you can shop around on-line and find them individually for a little less.
These are amongst very few ‘plumping’ lipsticks where I actually noticed a plumping effect. Your lips won’t go into overdrive (although you do get a minty tingle) but there was something about the combined effect of a juicy sheen and the tingle that made my lips look fuller than usual. In colour, you get a gloss effect style finish that’s not highly pigmented but definitely enough that you couldn’t call it a tint but a proper shade. My natural choice is the orange toned colour called Nectarine Plump. I’m linking to Boots who unhelpfully have used shade numbers instead of shade names and the shade numbers aren’t actually on the lipstick labels so I’m using my best guess to guide you! Nectarine Plump is 101, Wild Fig Plump (dark pink) is 108 and Litchi Plump (clear frosted sheen) is 103. They’re HERE.
My lips are not made for matte, particularly not ‘ultra’ matte but if you prefer a non-shine finish, these will probably tempt you. I don’t think it’s my imagination that they smell rosy and sweet – it’s not horrible and I feel its an amplified version of how lipsticks used to smell back in the day.
In texture, they’re light on the lip but as you’d imagine are a very flat matte. I gave mine a couple of hours wear before I couldn’t bear it any longer and while I don’t think I could say they’re drying exactly, they just feel too dry for me! The pigment is mid level – a couple of swipes and you have full colour but they’re not in the one-swipe-saturation league. This doesn’t bother me at all given the price and they’re certainly not under-performing, just not going over and above on initial impact. They’re HERE.
The pointy nature of the Ultra Matte bullets don’t make for a tidy swatch, but bottom to top: No Obstacles, No Hesitation and No Prejudice, followed by Nectarine Plump and Wild Fig Plump – I didn’t swatch Litchi Plump because I didn’t think it would show up. Non affiliate HERE. If you’re in a new lipstick mood and don’t want to spend the best part of £30 I’d really recommend these.
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