The new-look essence 8H Matte Liquid Lipsticks are making quite the splash – and for good reasons. Now available in a transparent bottle, there are nine colour-rich shades available, each one boasting a highly pigmented formula that offers a matte finish without drying out your lips.
These lippies have a creamy liquid texture and promise long-lasting colour and a fast-drying formula with instant colour payoff. They promise to be smudge-proof, water-proof and kiss-proof. The reason they don’t leave your lips dry and cracked? Because they’re free from the drying ingredients usually present in matte lippies (think alcohol, acetone, parabens and preservatives).
Sounds fantastic, right? We believe the proof is in the pudding, so our editor put these new lippies to the test to see if they lived up to their promises. Here’s what she thought:
“I’m a big fan of matte lip colours as I absolutely adore the way they look, especially in winter when most of us are wearing muted and deeper tones. Despite being a big fan, I seldom wear matte lippies, simply because I usually find them extremely drying.
My lips are prone to dryness all year round, but especially so in winter. I have to be diligent about exfoliating and moisturising with a lip balm, and even then I’m prone to dryness. Matte lipsticks tend to make this dryness worse, and then look awful when applied over dry, almost-cracking lips as they emphasize every line and dry patch.
When I heard about the new essence 8H Matte Liquid Lipsticks I got quite excited. They claim to have a long-lasting formula with high colour payoff and a creamy liquid texture that transforms into a matte finish when dry. But most importantly, they promise not to dry lips out, which is my number one requirement.
There are nine shades available, ranging from nudes, to pinks, to classic reds. I put a few of the colours to the test over the period of a week to see how they fared under different circumstances, hoping I’d finally find a matte product my lips can handle.
I’ve always loved essence lip products and every time I’m in need of a new or specific colour that’s not in my kit, they’re the brand I turn to. I’m really happy to report that the new 8H Matte Liquid Lipsticks did not disappoint!
Because of my extreme lip dryness, I made a point of gently exfoliating my lips in the morning and then applying a nourishing lip balm before I applied the lip colour. It’s a really easy product to use: It has a creamy texture that glides across the lips with ease (I love the shape of the built-in applicator) and I applied no more than two layers, but could probably have gotten away with one.
Within seconds the creamy texture dries to a matte finish. They weren’t joking when they said it has high colour payoff! The colour lasted for several hours, which impressed me. It doesn’t budge after a cup of coffee, a snack or even a kiss. I applied it in the morning and only had to touch up or reapply after lunch, which is fantastic.
The big test was to see whether it dried my lips, and I was completely surprised to discover that it didn’t. Provided I applied a lip balm first (which I do anyway, regardless of the type of lipstick I wear), these lippies did not have a drying effect on my lips at all. On the contrary, my lips felt soft and velvety and the product is so light on the skin that I mostly didn’t notice I had it on.
What a treat it was to discover a new matte lipstick that doesn’t have a drying effect, offers long-lasting colour and looks fab on one’s skin. I was also happy to learn that these lippies are vegan-friendly and gluten-free. My favourite shades are 04 Rosy Nude for every day, and 07 Classic Red for a night out.
Like all essence products these lipsticks are very well priced. I can’t believe that they retail for only R81.95, as the quality is exceptional and I would have expected this calibre of lippie to go for a lot more.
I’m a big fan and will happily recommend this to anyone who loves a matte lip but cannot put up with the drying effect of matte lipsticks. What a winner!”
Anien, Editor
essence 8H Matte Liquid Lipsticks are available in 9 luxurious shades for just R81.95, both online and in-store, at the following retailers: Ackermans Woman, Clicks, Dis-Chem, Edgars, Foschini, Legit, MediRite, SkinMiles, Superbalist, Takealot, Woolworths and www.houseofcosmetics.co.za.
