Nothing says "edgy" and a "cool" like a BOMB dark lipstick in a trusty formula. Finding one that lasts a decent chunk of the day, though? That's the real challenge.
I went on a hunt for the best dark matte lipsticks and put five to the greatest duration test there is: the butthole test!
Yes, butthole. Dark lipstick can take on a *certain look* when you pucker your lips and see way too much of your pink lip flesh at the center. That, friends, is a lipstick "butthole" — and putting dark lipsticks to the butthole test has become a major Instagram trend.
So I decided to try it. Here's the tea on five vampy shades and how they fared through the butthole test!
Aiming for a decent variety, I grabbed everything from drugstore brands to higher end holy grails.
The tea on each lipstick's formula is already being spilled in these these swatches. Be warned.
L to R: Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid Lip Color in Possessed Plum ($6.99, Target), Lime Crime's Blue Flame ($20, Ulta), Fenty Beauty's PMS Mattemoiselle ($18, Sephora), Sephora's #LipStories lip color in Woof ($8, Sephora), and Kat Von D's Studded Kiss lipstick in Nayeon ($18, Sephora).
First up was the Possessed Plum lipstick ($6.99, Target) from Maybelline's Vivid Mattes collection.
9am: The Possessed Plum "matte" looked like a GLOSS. Why? Please refer to the original swatch. I swiped 101 layers of the patchy mess to get full coverage. It turned out pretty latex-y and cute, but WHERE'S MY MATTE?
12pm: The lipstick looked more matte by lunch, but only because it was FADING and drying out like crazy. I could definitely see the "butthole" forming.
5pm: By the end, the deep dark color I loved was replaced by a faded red butthole.
Final Thoughts: Possessed Plum is a gorgeous color with a terrible formula. I bought a second tube to be sure the patchiness wasn't a glitch and, surprise, it wasn't.
I was REALLY excited to try the Blue Flame lipstick ($20, Ulta) from Lime Crime. It's just so pretty!
9am: The Blue Flame shade definitely failed the butthole test ($20, Ulta) with flying colors, just from application.
12pm: The color faded out a little, but the butthole didn't get worse.
5pm: By the end of the workday, my lipstick was pretty much still intact. If I had gone in and added more blue to my inner lip, I could have hidden the butthole — but I would have been risking butthole lips AND blue teeth. Nope!
Final Thoughts: At least Blue Flame was a consistent butthole…right???
On day 3, I tried a dark color I've been eyeing since Rihanna first announced it — the Fenty Beauty Mattemoiselle lipstick ($18, Sephora) in the PMS shade.
9am: I felt SO CUTE! I love how this lipstick matches my complexion.
12pm: The shade was still intact even after an entire bottle of apple juice.
5pm: What color? What butthole? What PMS? After quesadillas, Nutter Butter cookies, and popcorn, this shade ghosted me entirely.
Final Thoughts: PMS and I WILL meet again. Since the color is so close to my skin tone, the "butthole" didn't create as obvious a contrast and I loved flexing my complexion with this pretty brown.
The only con is even though PMS is meant to be a long-wearing matte, it's more of a cream and fades fast. I recommend at least 1 re-up throughout the day.
I made Kat Von D's Studded Kiss lipstick ($19, Sephora) my Thursday boo, and I was most surprised by the outcome of the Nayeon shade.
9am: I was SURE I was having the best lipstick day — Kat Von D lipsticks usually do it for me!
12pm: By the afternoon, my lips were feeling crazy dry.
5pm: At the day's end, I felt like I had the most cracked, dry lips in the history of ever. I desperately wanted to wipe it off and just put on some lip balm.
Final Thoughts: The butthole size pretty much stayed the same, at least — but this lipstick was very uncomfortable by the end of the day. I'd recommend you re-apply this pretty frequently or just go for another formula altogether so it doesn't dry your lips up.
On the last day, I tried a lipstick from Sephora's new #LipStories collection ($8, Sephora) in the shade Woof.
9am: CUTE! This was my favorite dark lipstick of the bunch. $8 well spent.
12pm: My lips still felt moisturized and there wasn't *too* much fading.
5pm: Sigh. Woof didn't survive my mac & cheese lunch.
Final Thoughts: I'm super glad I bought this one even though the color didn't make it to five. I wouldn't mind reapplying it at least once during the day. This matte also felt really comfortable.
This is the first black lipstick I've ever owned and I couldn't have made a better purchasing decision.
So what's my overall verdict on the lipstick buttholes?
Turns out putting lipsticks to the butthole test doesn't really test the longevity of products. The "butthole" that forms as a result of fading lipstick is a little unavoidable and mostly based on color contrasts, not lipstick endurance.
The closer a lipstick is to your skin tone, the less obvious the butthole will be. If you wear any lipstick all day and don't reapply it, it will probably fade a little.
If you notice from my pictures, when lipstick did fade, it was because it was fading everywhere — not just in the "butthole" area.
Darker lipsticks will inevitably have the most obvious "butthole" look because the contrast between the deep shade and the interior of your lips is so major.
Buttholes are the price we pay to serve vampy face and as long as you find a lipstick with a formula you adore — the "butthole" is always worth it.
RELATED: How to apply lipstick *perfectly* — Subscribe for more!
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