Nothing good has ever happened to me at Victoria's Secret.
Whether it's being sized incorrectly in their stores, or made to feel bad about my body by their advertising, I avoid Vicky and her secrets whenever possible.
So when I heard the lingerie giant had expanded its beauty line to include matte liquid lipsticks that were actually good, I was… well, after my last Victoria's Secret experience, I was prepared to be unimpressed.
But readers, I was wrong. Because these lipsticks are FANTASTIC.
These are the Velvet Matte Cream Lip Stains from Victoria's Secret.
There are eight shades in the line and I purchased seven of them. From L-R: Adored, Wanted, Tempting, Desire, Obsessed, Scandalous, and Drama. ($14 each, Victoria's Secret)
UPDATE: VS now carries 12 Velvet Matte shades!
The applicator is surprisingly great — it's a narrow doe's foot with a rounded tip and a slight curve to one side.
You can obviously use the applicator however you want, but the angled "foot" is supposed to go against your mouth, providing extra control for the liquid formula.
OK, let's get to the swatches. I was genuinely SHOCKED by how amazing these lip colors went on: the formula was rich and pigmented, with practically no streaking.
These swatches were done quickly, with a single swipe from each applicator. I pressed a little harder than I should have, but you can see how BRIGHT and BOLD these shades are. I was genuinely impressed; even more so when I was able to remove them from my arm with a makeup wipe quickly and easily.
The only thing I didn't like was the smell; all the shades in this line have a really intense chemical-y candy smell, somewhere between fake vanilla and fake fruit punch. It dissipates when the color is n your lips, but it's off-putting when you open the tube. Fair warning.
The first shade I tried was Adored, a soft pinky-beige.
I'll be real: I don't always LOVE a "sexy nude" — but I loved Adored ($14, Victoria's Secret). Once I got past the smell, I thought this was the perfect, flattering "my lips but better" shade, and I was really impressed that it was opaque without being streaky in a single swipe.
Wanted is a medium chestnut brown with gold undertones.
While I didn't love Wanted ($14, Victoria's Secret) on me, I continued to be impressed by the formula of these lipsticks. They have a great, slightly clay-like consistency as you apply them, but they don't FEEL dry on your lips — and they don't dry them out. That's essential in winter.
(Brittany ended up taking this color, btw, and it looks AMAZING on her. Just an FYI for my olive-skinned babes looking for a '90s brown that doesn't make them look sick.)
Tempting was the most surprising shade — a NEON pink-coral.
Cameras actually cannot do Tempting ($14, Victoria's Secret) justice — this color is so bright, it was BLINDING. I am obsessed with it; it's the perfect springtime pastel turned up to eleven.
One thing I did notice about these lipsticks is that they never dry down to an absolute matte; they have a slightly satin finish. This is fine for me, but if you're someone who NEEDS a flat finish, you'll have to add some translucent powder overtop.
Desire is a classic, Old Hollywood red.
Desire ($14, Victoria's Secret) has a little bit of a warm tone to it, but goddamn, it's beautiful. It applies so evenly, it's like a creamy crimson dream. The applicator really shined with this color; reds need to have a really precise perimeter, and the round-tipped doe's foot allows you to create the ideal lip shape. No liner required.
Obsessed is a bold fuchsia.
I love a good pink lipstick, and I LOVE Obsessed ($14, Victoria's Secret). It's bright, cool-toned without being purple, and definitely gets attention. I ate quinoa salad in this lipstick, and it wore down a little, but didn't vanish — which is impressive. All the VS matte lipsticks tend to stick around until you want them gone, and then they're really easy to wipe off — no staining, despite the whole "Cream Stain" thing in the name.
It's the dream.
Scandalous is a really beautiful cool orchid — the color I've been waiting for my entire life.
Purples like this seem to be REALLY hard to make in lipstick-world — they're almost always streaky or gather too much in the lines of your lips. Not Scandalous ($14, Victoria's Secret), which is the orchid-purple lipstick I have been waiting for my entire life. It's a great color in the perfect formula, and because the applicator is so good, I don't have to waste money trying to match this unique color to a liner. *high-fives a million angels*
Finally, Drama is a very deep wine-red.
In natural light, Drama ($14, Victoria's Secret) is actually much darker than it looks here — it is a deep wine, almost blood-red. I adore it, obviously; especially because, as with all the other shades, it applied streak-free in a single coat, wore beautifully, and didn't stain my face when I wiped it off.
That's unheard of in a dark liquid lipstick.
Overall, these matte lipsticks from Victoria's Secret are AMAZING. I am shocked and impressed!
I still don't love the smell, but that's a very small con against a massive list of pros: they're comfortable to wear, easy to apply, incredibly long-lasting, not streaky, easy to remove, don't stain your lips, and are super-bright.
Best of all, these lipsticks are accessible. $14 isn't dirt cheap, but it is on par with a lot of the better drugstore liquid lipsticks. And if you have a VS store that carries beauty products near you, you can get these lipsticks quickly and easily.
It's awesome that Victoria's Secret has started making the amazing makeup that all women deserve.
After all, who doesn't want to feel like an angel?
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