Catrice Ultimate Matt lipsticks

Finally! Catrice released some matte lipsticks. They have had different formulas over the years, some of which boast being matte, but those usually came in a different shape than a traditional lipstick. So it was about time that Catrice translated their popular Ultimate… formula into a matte. Catrice is one of my favorite drugstore brands for lipsticks and so I was very curious to try these.  

Catrice Ultimate Matt lipsticks
050 Taupeless in Love
020 From Rose with Love…
040 Dramatic Lilatic

In this review, I will be reviewing 3 of the 6 available shades of this new lipstick line. These lipsticks retail for €3.99 each, as do all Catrice lipstick with an Ultimate… label. There are also the Ultimate Colour and Ultimate Shine ranges of which I also own a few shades. I did a Catrice lipswatch video last April, so if you want to see what other Catrice lipsticks I own, then please view that here.

The Packaging

These lipsticks look like all other Catrice lipsticks, but with a twist. As the Ultimate Colour lipsticks the tubes are black with the brand name embossed on the edge. The only difference between the two is that the Ultimate Matt lipstick tubes are matte. Unfortunately that does make for a messy look as they are very prone to finger prints. No matter how hard I tried, the smudges wouldn’t come off, not even with a makeup wipe. So that’s a bit of a bummer.

050 Taupeless in Love

The new range boasts some interesting shades that are quite unusual for a drugstore lipstick color. I picked up this brownish nude as I don’t see many budget brands do a shade like this and I was curious to see how this would go.

020 From Rose with Love…

A more everyday shade is this pretty neutral rose. It isn’t a nude, but is more of a dusty rosy pink that packs a bit more of a punch than a nude, but it’s still very wearable. As you can see these lipsticks appear to have some texture to them: even the lipstick itself looks matte.

040 Dramatic Lilatic

The final shade I selected is the most daring shade in the range. This is a straight up deep purple. Again, not something that many drugstore brands do and a shade that is difficult to get right. In my experience purple lipsticks can be quite patchy.

The Swatches

050 Taupeless in Love | 020 From Rose with Love… |040 Dramatic Lilatic

I very consciously did not select a red to try out. I already have so many matte red shades that I love that the competition would just be too steep. So I opted for slightly different shades. The lipsticks slide on smoothly and do not tug like some matte lipsticks can do. They seem to have a bit of a sheen though and therefore I think these are more of a satin matte than a full on hardcore matte like MAC’s Matte and Retro Matte finishes.

The Application

050 Taupeless in Love

As I predicted Taupless in Love pulls more brown than taupe. This reminds me of MAC’s Whirl, but it is less neutral. On my lips, this gets a very reddish undertone and it also pulled towards the edges of my lips and accentuated dry patches. The shade is still stunning though, but I this isn’t truly a matte.

020 From Rose with Love…

The rosy shade had less sheen to it, but still applied as smoothly as the other two shades. This went on opaque with one swipe and I love the feel of the creamy texture. Unfortunately that does mean that these don’t last very long. After about 4 hours the lipstick is gone as there is quite a bit of transfer and these do not leave a stain.

040 Dramatic Lilatic

With the purple lipstick I was just curious to see how it would look. As with the taupe shade, this isn’t fully matte, but it has less shine than that. It does also accentuate dry patches and pulls into the lines a bit and this does have a tendency to bleed a little bit and feather outside the lip line as it doesn’t fully set.

The Conclusion

Are these good lipsticks? Yes they are, but how matte these are differs from color to color. The creamy formula affects the wear time of these lipsticks and with some of the bolder colors this could be problematic. However, if you are looking for a drugstore lipstick that comes in a shade that is not your usual red, pink and nude, then the Catrice Ultimate Matt lipsticks definitely tick that box.

Do you wear purple lipsticks?