Rimmel Stay Matte liquid lipsticks

The drugstore has finally jumped on the liquid lipstick band wagon. And how! First Maybelline released their Superstay Lip Inks, which made it to my 2017 favorites list and now Rimmel is following suit with their new Stay Matte lip. Will this formula be as wonderful as the Maybelline one?

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lip Colour
200 Pink Blink, 700 Be My Baby
500 Fire Starter, 830 Blue Iris

These lipsticks have at least one thing going for them: their price point. At just €6.99, these do not break the bank to begin with and Rimmel is often available on sale. I got this foursome on a buy one get one free deal, so that was pretty sweet. And Rimmel is available in many different countries where it is often a little bit cheaper than it is here. So if you’re in the UK or US, you may be able to find these for less.

The Packaging

The packaging is really nothing too special. I prefer the Maybelline packaging: a lot more sleek. This is simple, but functional though. What it’s all about for me with liquid lipsticks is the applicator. The applicator is very long and narrow. The skinny wand ends in a pointy tip, which looks promising in terms of ease of application.

Pink Blink

What this line excels at is its range of nudes. There are many different nude toned lipsticks in this line which is a plus. That is why I opted for trying two different ones. This one, Pink Blink, is a dusty rose shade that I think can be very flattering on.

Be My Baby

Be My Baby is a beige toned nude. While this is always a very popular shade for the masses, they are usually not my faves. They can make me look dead and washed out. But I don’t give up and keep trying a few here and there. This looks like it has a hint of pink to it, which is why I wanted to try it.

Fire Starter

I love a red lipstick and Rimmel does reds very well in my opinion. So when I spotted a classic red in this lipstick range I knew I had to try it. Fire Starter is a very middle of the ground red. It doesn’t pull to warm (orange), nor too blue (cool toned), which means this can be flattering on nearly everyone.

Blue Iris

If you’ve been following this space, then you know that I like reviewing the crazy colors as well if a line of lipstick comes with them. And Rimmel delivers! This range contains a midnight blue, a deep blackened plum and charcoal grey. I decided to try the midnight blue shade for kicks. They can be patchy though, so I was hoping this would prove my expectations wrong.

The Swatches

The first thing I noticed when I swatched the new Rimmel Stay Matte lipsticks was the thick texture. The formula is quite thick and moussy. If you’ve tried Anastasia liquid lipstick formula before: that is thick and moussy, but this takes the cake. It is much thicker I find than that. However, once applied it’s not too noticeable, especially after the product dries down.

Unfortunately, it did cause problems with application. With the neutral shades that isn’t much of a problem, but I had trouble applying these neatly along my lip line. They also went on quite patchy, especially Be My Baby and Blue Iris. The applicator was a little flimsy too once I started applying them, which didn’t help the situation.

The Application

These lipsticks seriously made me rethink my lipstick application skills. I am usually pretty good at it and feel no need to use a lip line, even with a darker shade. But these were a nightmare to apply. I had to reapply the red as it looked horrid and I was planning to wear that out and about that day. Let’s not talk about that blue shade! That was a horrendous lipstick to apply: alas my fears for the blue were right. The formula is patchy, blotchy and was difficult to apply evenly.

What caused me most trouble wasn’t necessarily the formula, nor the wand, but the amount of product on said wand. I felt I didn’t have enough to cover my top and bottom lip without a redip into the product. And when I did take out more product there would be so much more product that it started going everywhere. I’d say you can get a 1.5 lip application with these, which is a shame.

Wear Time

But is it all bad then, I hear you think? No it’s not! As I said I wanted to wear the red for the rest of the day. See the picture above: these were my lips after 10+ hours of wear. 10+ hours in which I ate and drank as normal and even had some greasy fries for dinner. And this lipstick even survived that. Once the Rimmel Stay Matte lipsticks are on, they’re on and they’re in it for the long run. This didn’t fade, feather, nor did my lips become super dry. The lipstick was very comfortable indeed.

Shade Match

On me, both the nudes I picked up looks good. I was surprised at how well of a match Be My Baby was despite it being a beige toned nude. That hint of pink definitely helped it along. Pink Blink was as expected a great shade for me and it has to be one of my favorites here.

I love wearing red lipsticks as they make me feel more confident. Case in point, this gorgeous colour. If it weren’t so difficult to apply, I would definitely bust this out more often. The blue was a bit of a dud for me. While it pulled a tad more purple on my lips, it didn’t look to bad shade wise, but that shoddy formula makes this a completely unwearable lipstick.

The Conclusion

The Rimmel Stay Matte lipsticks have their pros and cons. The shade selection is great if you’re looking for a nude and the wear time is amazing. Unfortunately, the formula is quite thick and the application is difficult to say the least. If you stick with a nude in this line there really isn’t much of a problem. If you want to go with a brighter or darker shade, just know you will need a steady hand and lots of patience.

What do you think of the Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lip Colour?