Essence & Catrice liquid lipsticks

Are you ready for liquid lipsticks review #211100? I feel like all brands are coming out with liquid lipsticks and after reviewing the Anastasia Liquid Lipstick and the MUA Velvet Lip Lacquers the turn is now for Essence and Catrice to show what they have in store.

Essence Liquid Lipstick 02 Beauty Secret, 05 Peach Party & 06 Make a Statement
Catrice Shine Appeal Fluid Lipstick 080 Rose, Would You…?

I picked up 4 liquid lipsticks when they were launched with the range change last August. I bought three by Essence and one by Catrice. I found the Essence ones to be more interesting and at almost €1.50 cheaper a pop, a much better deal to try out. The Essence liquid lipsticks cost €2.59 a pop. The Catrice ones cost €3.99. Both are very affordable and definitely not as pricey as the Anastasia Liquid Lipstick.

The shades of both lines were on the more neutral side of the spectrum when it comes to colors. There were testers in store for the Catrice one and I tried on of the darker shades, but that kind of separated after just a few seconds on the back of my hand. That’s why I went with a neutral shade from that line as I thought it would be less noticeable if all the shades did the same thing on the lips.

The packaging for both brands is plain and simple. The only difference is that Catrice has the brand name embossed on the outside. But in a way the packaging reminds me of the Dior fluid lipsticks which also have the transparent packaging with the color shaped as a lipstick inside. The Essence packaging feels a tad cheaper than the Catrice one: the latter feels heavier and sturdier.

As liquid lipsticks go, these also have a doe foot applicatore, much like a lipgloss. You can see the Essence one on top, the Catrice one at the bottom. The Essence applicator is a bit longer and has a tip, which I like because that way the application is very precise. Much more than with the Catrice applicator which is a lot shorter and stubbier with a rounded tip.

02 Beauty Secret, 05 Peach Party, 06 Make a Statement, 080 Rose, Would You…?

The swatches and here you can clearly see the difference between the two different brands. The Catrice Shine Appeal Fluid Lipstick is all the way on the right and it looks more like a gloss than a lipstick. It is very shiny and has a semi sheer coverage. The Essence Liquid Lipsticks on the other hand seem to be much more pigmented. They are still shiny, but then again, there is no claim anywhere that these are supposed to be matte. Time to see these babies on the lips.

My lips without product

I added a picture of my natural lips sans anything on it so you can easily see what kind of coverage these products give.

080 Rose, Would You…?, 05 Peach Party, 02 Beauty Secret, 06 Make a Statement

On the top left you can see Rose, Would You…? which I can already tell you is my least favorite of the four. It doesn’t cover up my lips and it also sort of separates and draws into the fine lines of my lips. Not a good look. Peach Party is on the bottom left and I like this shade as it is a vibrant peach which is a fun lip color to wear in spring summer. Beauty Secret is in the top right and this goes on a little bit patchy as well. This nude barely covers my natural lip shade, but it does give off this ‘my lips but better look’. Make a Statement is in the bottom right corner and I really like this shade. It is a brick red shade with a hint of brown that goes on smoothly.

Full Face
Rose Would You…? & Beauty Secret

The two nude shades are my least favorite two in the bunch. The reason why I think you can guess by looking at these pictures. They are too nude and do nothing for my already pale complexion. Rose Would You…? is especially hideous looking, but Beauty Secret also isn’t doing enough for me. If it would have had a bit more pink to it would have easily lifted my look to a new level. To be quite honest, I feel I could get this effect by putting on a clear lip balm or a sheer gloss.

Full Face
Peach Party & Make a Statement

On to my favorite two! Peach Party is nice and bright. I like how the shine of the liquid lipstick actually helps this color to be a bit more special and wearable. It makes for a healthy lip look without looking overdone or like you’re trying too hard. Make a Statement is my very favorite of the four. This is my kind of color! A little bit of red, a little bit of brown and together they make a shade that is flattering on my face and go well with many different looks.

From the four lipsticks I would not recommend buying the Catrice Shine Appeal Fluid Lipstick. The texture of this lipstick is quite funny on the lips and it is more like a gloss than a lipstick. I believe the shade name Rose Would You…? was also part of the lip gloss line that was replaced by these liquid lipsticks. The Essence Liquid Lipsticks I can recommend, provided there is a shade in the selection of 5 neutrals that suits you.

What liquid lipstick should I try next?