BARGAIN!!! $3 MODE MATTE LIP CREAMS! REVIEW

Hiya!!! So I found something the other day which made me pretty excited. As I was shopping at Coles, blowing my money on unnecessary food, I came across a new display in the makeup section. They had added two brands, Australis and Mode. Most people know of Australis but I'd never seen Mode before. Turns out they are both owned by Heritage Brands. Anyways every item in the Mode range are priced at $3 each! Yes, $3 AUD. Normally when I see prices like that, I assume they probably won't be of decent quality, I'm sure I'm not the only Aussie girl who thinks this. And it's simply because makeup in Aus is never that cheap, unless it's from the cheap shop/dollar store. They have a range of things; foundation, powder, bronzer, blush, eyeliner, lipliner, lipstick and.......... Matte lip creams!!! 

Since I was a bit iffy about their quality, I just grabbed one, shade 'hottie'. I also bought an Australis primer and the newly formulated Maybelline Super Stay Foundation in 003. 

Anyways first impression was pretty darn good. Pigmented, yes. No weird smell? Check. Did it feel bad on my lips? Not at all. I would explain this shade as a red with a berry tone. You can thin the shade out to be more berry coloured. 

I was so impressed that I went back the next day and got the other 4 colours available: Sleeping Beauty, Jadore, Exotic Jewel, Russian Skies and Hottie on the end. 

The packaging is simple. A reasonably hard plastic tube with minimal detail printed on the outside. I like the packaging, especially for $3, plus you buy something for the product, not the packaging. 

All of these matte lip creams are very pigmented, apply smoothly and best of all, that sry completely matte. They won't transfer or smudge and they don't make your lips look dry and powdery. 

They have a doe foot applicator, which could be better by making it smaller and flexible, but its definitely not a deal breaker. The other downside is they take a long time to dry. I would have to walk around with my mouth open, BUT once they're dry, they're amazing. I have tried Colourpop, Kylie Cosmetics, The Balm, NYX, Chi Chi, Australis and Sleek liquid lipsticks/lip creams, and these are definitely one of the best so far. 

I would recommend these to everyone. They're $3 each, you can't go wrong. Give them a try and let me know if you like them! P.S Heritage Brands has an online site where you can shop all their brands, however, the matte lip creams are not available online at the moment. 

Thanks! Kellyyyyy. 

Sleek Makeup - Matte Me Liquid Lipsticks!

Sleek Matte Me Ultra Smooth Matte Lip Cream - REVIEW

So today, I got my hair done (just the regrowth - being blonde is hard work, sort of) and as always I do a bit of shopping afterwards. I had seen Chi Chi's new Soft Matte Lip Cream Collection on their Instagram page for $25, knowing Target always had a sale on, I waited to purchase it. Anyways, while I was there I became soooo excited when I saw that Target now sells theBalm & Sleek Makeup!!!!! I probably looked a little crazy in the store because I was so excited. theBalm isn't sold in stores anywhere near me, and I have never seen Sleek Makeup in any Australian stores. 

Onto the Matte Me Liquid Lipsticks, I'd briefly heard about them but wasn't sure if they would be decent, so I swatched them on my hand while I was browsing. They dried so quickly and were super pigmented so I bought 5 of the 6 shades. I didn't get the purple shade, fandango purple, as I would never wear it although it was beautiful and super pigmented also. I got Brink Pink 432, Rioja Red 433, Party Pink 434, Petal 435 & Birthday Suit 436, as shown below in order from left to right. 

I personally really like this packaging. Trademark Sleek design, as with all their products, it has a black matte lid with Sleek Makeup in a sheen. The tube is a hard clear plastic, the product looks exactly the same as when it's applied. Doesn't feel cheap, very simple pretty packaging. They have a long thin doe foot applicator.

BRINK PINK 432

Brink Pink is a super bright hot pink colour. It is absolutely gorgeous. Not something I would wear normally, however it was so pretty and vibrant, I had to get it. It's probably something I'd use just for pictures or when I'm going out for the night. 

RIOJA RED 433

Rioja Red (not sure how to pronounce that) is probably the most stunning red lipstick I've ever owned/tested. Red's can often be a little low on pigments and require a few coats, however this one definitely does not need that. As state previously, all off these are very pigmented. This colour didn't make my teeth look yellow either. 

PARTY PINK 434

This colour is more a red to me than a pink. It's sort of like, a fluoro red, if that makes sense. Has a tinge of orange to it, but I would say it's easily noticeable. Part Pink is another colour that I wouldn't wear often - and more of an event/photo lipstick. 

PETAL 435

Petal is a light pink, but not like a milky light pink, it's name suits it quite well. It is a nice light pretty pink but not too bright. My lips are naturally dark but this covered it pretty well. This one may require two coats depending on your lip colour, although when I tested this, I did it in my car in a car park - not the best lighting. This colour actually really suited my super pale skin. 

BIRTHDAY SUIT 436

Birthday Suit is a nude beige kind of colour. Very popular colour at the moment and it's very pretty. I haven't tested this on my lips yet, but I think it will be a lipstick I could wear whenever as it's not too bright, or too light for my lips.

L-R; Brink Pink, Rioja Red, Party Pink, Petal & Birthday Suite.

FORMULA, PIGMENTATION, LONGEVITY, PROS + CONS

This is one of the only matte liquid lipsticks available in stores, I guess in the "drugstore" bracket, although we don't use that slang in Aus. Now that these are available in stores, makes them even better! So many people have probably never heard of Sleek Makeup, but they're an awesome brand. These retail for $14.95 at Target. They contain 6ml / 0.21floz.

They dry completely matte within about 30 - 60 seconds, depending on how many layers/how thick it is of course. And they will not move. These are quite a liquidy thin consistency, which I actually really like as opposed to the Nyx Soft Matte Lip Creams. The pigmentation in these is INSANE. as you can see from the swatches, just one quick swipe and they are completely opaque. These are also a little difficult to remove, an oil based makeup remover is advised, otherwise you may lose the skin off your lips hahaha not really. I don't think they're overly drying at all, they are matte so they do show the lines in your lips as expected.

The downside to these is that as soon as you start to eat & drink, as with most lip products, they wear off quickly, especially on my bottom lip. I found my top lip didn't wear off much. When they wear off, they do flake, I wouldn't say it's too bad though. However I think that's something they could improve. 

But all in all, for $14.95 each, these are definitely worth trying and purchasing! And I hope they bring out more colours, 6 is totally not enough. 

Thanks for reading!! 

Kelly, x.