Continuing my liquid lipstick swatchfest, I am bringing you a review and swatches of select lip products from Kylie Cosmetics. These swatches will help anyone with the similar fair olive skin tone as me determine if they want to try the colors that I am showing.
I find that these Lip Kits look different online than on me. It’s a combination of how the colors sit on different people’s skin tones, the lighting and the Photoshop used to edit the photo. I’m not saying they’re trying to manipulate us, it’s just not in-person, in natural sunlight. From comments I’ve seen on their Instagram, other customers agree that the promotional photos don’t always match up to real life. That’s true with every online photo depiction, not just for Kylie’s brand. I think it’s definitely a combination of the three factors. So it’s important to see swatches on how they look in different lighting, and on different skin tones. Well, I only have the one skin tone, I do try and take photos in different lighting. So I am providing you with swatches indoors, and outdoors in full sun and in shade.
The majority of her lip kits look darker than on me than on the models. (I’m almost always paler than them.) I also find that her lip kits tend to lean warm on me. I tend to like cooler tones on myself because I think it brightens up my face. If you scroll through her site, well, a lot of them are brown. It’s the trend, a lot of people love wearing these colors. But if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you already know it’s been-there-done-that for me. Not my taste, but totally cool if it’s yours! (I have a lot of first time readers, so forgive me for repeating myself.)
I’d typically go for pinks, so you’d think a color like Posie K and High Maintenance would be good. It looks pink on Kylie and on other people with medium to deeper skin tones. Not on me! I don’t have any photos, but I did swatch it at the Pop Up shop, it was too brown on me. I do have High Maintenance to show you. It doesn’t look dark on me, but it does look very neutral. Not the light pink it appears on anyone else. Oh and how the fuck does Candy K even look pink on other people? I don’t even see any pink when it’s on me. Am I too grossly pale that these colors all look brown on me? I guess so!
Is it a bad thing that the colors don’t always work for me? No! Of course not! (Well, only financially!) There are people from all over the world with different shades, different undertones and everybody wants to feel confident and have colors that will flatter them. So while it may not look good on me (in my opinion), it’s of course a wonderful thing that there are people whom these colors will look fantastic on! My swatches should help people see what the colors look like on fair skin tones as I only come in the one shade. If I can get my friends to come over so I can smear lipstick on their arms, I would do that! So far I have one volunteer!
So no, I do not think cosmetic companies need to cater to me and my preferences or my fair skin tone. There are plenty of options out there! But since Kylie (used to be) an online only brand. It was difficult for people to determine if they would like a color based on the photos on their store website. I, for one, need to try colors in person instead of blindly buying online. I can definitely help the other fair skinned, NC15 makeup lovers out there with these swatches and shade reviews.
Also of note, the gloss versions of the colors will look different than the matte versions. Candy K, Posie, K, Koko K, etc. But I do not own the pairs, so I won’t be able to show you comparisons. But I can tell you from swatching them in-store that her original matte colors look brown on me.
Since Kylie Cosmetics is now sold at Ulta, you can swatch them in person and see if any of these colors are your cup of tea. Otherwise, I am here for the fair NC15 skin tones. I advise you to search for people similar to your own skin tone to see how they might look on you. Believe me, it probably won’t look the same on you as it does on me!
Shade Review
I am going to describe how the colors look on me. Not by the product descriptions or how they may look on others because you can just go to the official website and look on there! You may disagree with my shade descriptions, yeah… you aren’t wrong. Of course this nude will look pink on you! We look different!
Smile and High Maintenance – Nude with a touch of pink.
These are described as a cool toned pink, and looks like it on other people based on photos I Googled. On me, no. Definitely not. It does have a touch of that cool tone, but don’t think bubblegum. Maybe an eraser.
The matte liquid lipsticks look the same. If Smile is lighter, it’s only slightly. I think it’s the same exact color. You don’t need both, and thank goodness because Smile was limited edition. The lip pencils however are different. The High Maintenance pencil is brighter, however, the end result won’t matter once it’s on your lips.
Koko K Gloss- Nude.
It is described and looks light pink on other people. Not at all on me. It looks like a nude on me. It’s a color I reach for when my eye makeup is intense. It’s a touch warmer than Smile/High Maintenance. I am unsure if the matte version is the same.
Posie K Gloss- Medium brownish nude with a touch of a reddish tone
I know that the matte formula will look brown on me and I will hate it. But the gloss, I was willing to try. Looks pinker than I suspect the liquid lipstick will look on me. I see that there is a bit of pink in the medium nude color, but it looks way pinker on people that aren’t me. I think it’s supposed to be considered mauve. I just don’t see it.
I don’t hate the Posie K gloss, it works for looks that call for a slightly darker nude lip color. (Darker on me, which might not be dark at all on you.) I would totally hate the matte version! The gloss version is more forgiving and looks fine on me. But not very exciting.
Twenty One- Coral
It’s different than my usual colors and I need to stop wearing my signature colors cause people notice and I don’t like being pigeonholed into a certain look. Great for spring and summer!
Say No More- Hot Pink in a velvet finish.
I can tell you that Say No More works out great to my personal taste! If that hot pink turns out brown, there is evil sorcery involved! Super bright, super hot pink, vibrant with Barbie-vibes! Love this color!
I am actually glad this is not a matte finish! I can actually wear this! The velvet formula does not dry down and doesn’t dry out my lips. See more about what I think about the velvets in the formula review, it’s not wonderful, but I choose a lipstick that transfers over a lipstick that dries me out.
Tipsy– Berry
I see this as a mulberry shade. It’s not red and bright enough for me to consider it a raspberry. On me, it’s a good shade for the fall and winter, though it was a summer release. (You can wear whatever, whenever you want!)
June Bug and August Bug- A bright violet.
They are the same exact color. The only difference is the size. August Bug was included in a summer set of minis, so she renamed it for the set. I got it from the Kylie Pop Up Store in SF, they sold the minis individually for $5. It’s not a great value, but it came in handy for festivals where I can only take a tiny bag with me. So overall it was kinda worth it, even though you can get a full sized NYX product for the same price. But when you have a tiny bag, you have a tiny bag!
In With The New (Metallic)- Bronzy rose base with rainbow shimmers and a lavender flash. (It’s a complicated color.)
Because I couldn’t find very many swatches online, it was hard to determine how this color would look on me. When I swatched it on my hand I was pleasantly surprised. But when I put it on my face, I saw that it looks grayer than I anticipated. It’s not bad, I still like it but I don’t love it. I think it will look great layered over another color.
The lip liner however, I love! It’s a lavender color.
Dancer (Metallic)- Deep burgundy with a gold flash.
I thought it would look burgundy on me, it leans so dark on me that it looks like a metallic brown. Everything looks brown on me, I give up!
Wicked is a deep purple that leans cool. While I don’t have the liquid lipstick swatch, I do have the lip pencil. I was determined to collect the lip pencils cause I think they’re the best on the market! They really need to have the entire color collection sold as singles!
At the Kylie Pop Up a security guard picked out two colors for me, funnily enough, they were the two I already owned! But it was pretty funny how a security guard who probably has no interest in makeup could easily pick out my style! They were Say No More and June Bug. Daniel, who worked at the Pop Up Shop, picked Wicked for me. But after I bought it I thought my friend would enjoy it more, so I gave it to her.
I feel like the whole of Kylie’s line of lip colors doesn’t completely appeal to my personal taste. Most of them lean neutral or warm and dark on me and it’s not to my taste. That is fine! There are plenty of customers who the line does appeal to! I read a criticism on Instagram that she has too many pinks and reds. I’m looking around like WHERE? While I feel like her line is really diverse, with so many different colors, most of the pinks aren’t even pink pink. But you know what? That’s ok because other brands have my taste covered and it’s not like she’s even close to done releasing colors!
I considered Extraordinary, but I wanted to see actual swatches before making a purchase. I also had to remind myself that I don’t like the matte formula and to stop buying them! From what I can see it’s definitely not a bright pink and leans fairly red. To think an Instagram commenter commented it looked like a Pepto Bismol pink. What kind of rancid medicine is in her cabinet? Well, the photo online depicted something that looked very different to how it actually looks. It’s not manipulation, it’s just that photos posted online are not 100% accurate! Depending on your monitor settings, even my photos might not represent how they look in person.
Formula Review
Glosses
I knew I wouldn’t have liked Koko K and Posie K as mattes, but I wanted to see if I liked them as glosses. Glosses are way more forgiving, so it would be easier to pull off. They ended up working as nudes for me, and sometimes an eyeshadow look calls for a nude lip!
And Jeffree is right, the applicator is cheap. She already replaced them with new wands, but a doe foot applicator would have been a lot better than this plastic brush. The formula of the gloss itself is acceptable, it smells like cupcakes.
Metal Glosses
I love all four of these so much! They go in my purse! Not only do I love the super metallic and duo-chromatic finishes but all the colors are to my taste and they all get worn. I provided brief color descriptions of the ones from the summer collection in this post.
You can choose to apply them only to the center of the lip or cover the whole thing. They’re pretty and fun!
Matte Formula
This is one of the formulas of liquid lipstick that I complain about. It is very drying! If I wear them, I have to wear a lip balm and a gloss over it. Making no sense for a liquid lipstick, but it’s killing my lips! If I wear it alone, I find that I cannot stand it! If I allow it to stand alone and be dry, I fuss with my lips cause they’re drying out. This is a liquid lipstick that will definitely have my lips peeling the next day.
In the swatch photos you can see that they are cracky in the thick areas. That’s how they feel on my mouth. It’s just not comfortable on me and I have resolved to not buy anymore of the matte formula cause too drying for me.
Velvet Formula
It’s not long lasting like the matte formula, and it will smudge, get on your teeth, etc. It transfers a lot more easily than a standard cream lipstick because it’s a thinner consistency and because it’s not sticky like a gloss. I find pink blotches or streaks (from my hair) on my face. The best thing you can do is blot the excess off and use the finger trick so it doesn’t get on your teeth! But I don’t hate my life choices (or at least my lipstick choice) by the next day. This color can stain, but I actually like that if I have to blot it! I can only speak for Say No More since that’s the only one I have. Even though it can smudge and end up on my face, I still like it better than the matte.
Metal Formula
In With the New doesn’t completely dry down so it does transfer. I’m fine with that, normal lipsticks transfer. It doesn’t get messy like the velvet formula and I haven’t needed to blot the excess. But you should always make sure lipstick won’t get on your teeth, that’s a given.
Lip Pencils
These are my favorite lip pencils ever! They actually draw over lip balm! They are creamy and pigmented.
As far as the lip balms, I am using them over, I wear thick ones like Sara Happ Lip Slip and Laniege Sleeping Lip Mask. So they’d have to be really creamy and pigmented to draw over those! I am so impressed with these!
I actually bought a Colourpop lip liner to see how it compares. I heard a rumor that Kylie and Colourpop are made by the same factory. However, the lip liners are not the same at all. Kylie’s is a superior lip pencil formula. The Colourpop ones don’t penetrate the layer of lip balm I have on. But they’re $5, so get ’em anyway.
While I know I should stop buying the matte liquid lipsticks, the liners have me reconsidering. Okay, back to reality, $29 is not worth it! Which is why I think they should release the liquid lipsticks and liners separately too!(It’s not profitable for them, but as a consumer, that’s what I’d like.)
One thing I wish they did, was make the ends of the pencils for the 21st Birthday collection the actual color instead of hot pink. It makes it a lot easier for me it find it amongst my pencils and I think I see Say No More or I try to find Tipsy but instead get a coral. As if I am going to read the tiny print of the shade names.
I’ve read an IG comment that, one customer would like the lip pencils to be darker than the lipstick. For me, it’s fine as it is. It depends on what you’re going for. Honestly, we don’t really need lip liners with matte liquid lipsticks, not unless you’re not precise and need to sharpen up your lines. I just like the liners themselves and use them with other lipsticks and glosses.
Value-
A Lip Kit is $29, which is quite pricey. However, you are paying for two products, but $29 plus shipping is still a lot to shell out. But the individual prices are less scary:
The lip liner itself is $12.
The matte liquid lipstick single is $17, which is $1-3 cheaper than other brands.
Having them sold separately would definitely help with anyone wanting to budget their money! Unfortunately not everything is sold in singles.
I think the next product I want to try are the High Glosses. I haven’t tried them, but looking at photos of them, it seems like it’s a thicker gloss, and ultra moisturizing. Maybe similar to the Lime Crime Wet Cherry line? Don’t quote me on that, I’ve never touched them before.
Kylie Cosmetics is the last of my controversial brands I am covering for the liquid lipstick swatchfest. Next are brands that haven’t gotten into hot water. While her brand isn’t as controversial as Lime Crime or Jeffree Star, there has been accusations about the conditions of the factory where the cosmetics are made. You’ll have to do your research if you are interested in that. I am not even sure if the news source is even accurate since it is a click bait drama source. Of course there are people that plain hate her for her fame/family and have to let you know by commenting negative comments on your page as if you needed to know this information. Thanks random person for letting me know you which celebrities you hate, I’ll be sure to open with a list of people who dislike her on my next blog post so everyone else is informed too. Honestly, who gives a shit? I don’t watch their reality shows but they also don’t bother me. And I don’t discriminate against makeup.
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. I’m not on any PR list and nobody pays me to write about their products. I bought everything myself. There are no affiliate links.
