The Balm Meet Matt(e) Hughes liquid lipstick in ‘Adoring’
I’ve heard a lot of good things about The Balm liquid lipsticks. They seem to be a bit of a cult favourite. The Balm is a little tricky to get hold of in the UK, Superdrug used to stock them but they stopped, and so did Debenhams, but they’ve stopped too. I got this lipstick on sale when Superdrug were clearing out their old stock. So, would I pay full price for it? I’m going to annoy you by being all wishy-washy and saying –maybe?
The balm currently has 17 different shades of their liquid lipstick available, although I’ve only seen online UK stockists carry 10 or 12. Hopefully the rest of the shades will make their way across the pond too. The shade Adoring is the darkest of the bunch. On me it swatches a medium wine-red, and it looks a lot lighter on than it does in the tube. Other reviews I’ve read however have described it as swatching burgundy or almost brown-ish. On me it’s a gorgeous colour (not saying I look gorgeous-just the lipstick!), a very Hollywood red, and I’ve been reaching for it again and again since purchasing.
But it’s not without its drawbacks.
The tube is quite small and thin so I’m not sure how long this lipstick will last. This bothers me, even if I got it on sale I still like to get my monies worth! I also don’t like the applicator, it’s a standard doe-foot, but it’s fluffy and soft, which makes it hard to get a sharp line while applying. The actual formula smells of peppermint and vanilla which is nice. The first time I tried it, it tingled but this feeling lessened with subsequent applications. All the reviews I’ve read have said this lipstick lasts and lasts. True, like almost all liquid lipsticks, Adoring doesn’t move around or shift from your lips but the lipstick on the bottom lip wore away considerably while eating. Perhaps all the food I eat is too oily? It was fine through drinking though, both water and coffee. Thankfully it didn’t crumble or flake when reapplied. That said, it’s quite a soft formula, if you’re worried about liquid lipstick drying out your lips this might be one for you. The peppermint oil in it plumps up your lips so they don’t end up looking like little wrinkly raisins.
I’m in two minds about this lipstick, on one hand the colour is lovely, but the formula just doesn’t live up to the hype. If I find another colour on sale I might pick it up, but I probably wouldn’t pay full price.