Full sets are amazing (assuming there is some incentive for purchasing those colors altogether), and I like minis that aren’t too small. When they’re minis, I just don’t want them to be so small that the bullet easily breaks from the base.
— Christine
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Full sets often include shades I don’t want/can’t use and sometimes the discounted price doesn’t compensate for the wasted products. I dislike duo lip shades (one on each end) – they mess with the OCD part of me! I like the idea of lipstick-gloss sets and lipstick-polish sets but I have never bought any.
I don’t typically go for them, because more often than not, they’re a hodgepodge of colors that have no relation to one another. I prefer more muted, MLBB shades, vampy shades, and nudes, but inevitably, most sets consist of several brights. That said, I did buy a trio several years ago from Kat von D that consisted of Lolita, Homegirl, and a hideous bright orange (I can’t even recall the name…) that I found on clearance. I had Homegirl & Lolita on my radar, and even if it were full-price, I still would have gotten a great deal on those 2, as they were full-size. I find, more often than not, the pricepoint on sets doesn’t work out to be a good enough deal for me, and I’m better off purchasing individual shades, and in the case of DS brands, waiting for a sale/BOGO/coupon.
When my daughter is older, and gets into wearing makeup regularly, I may reconsider my approach, and split with her.
I hate minis (except for mini lipgloss or mini liquid lipsticks) because they break easily. Assuming size is good, I like lip sets but the issue I have is that there are always a few shades that aren’t wearable. I am medium toned, so a lot of the times the included nude is too light. Also, I have clear preferences about color and some are just too far outside my comfort zone, so even if flattering I just won’t wear them. So for me, the discount isn’t really worth it. And, unlike eyeshadow palettes, lip sets aren’t so steeply discounted that you are paying a tiny fraction of the retail price for each color. So for eyeshadow, a UD palette is $52 for 12 colors, which works out to a little over $4 a color, compared to around $20 for regular price. Lip sets don’t offer that type of value, so if I don’t like all the colors, then the value proposition disappears pretty quickly and I might as well pick up colors I know I will wear. That said, I have found sets I like – I’ve bought the Bite holiday tin two years running. But it is a rare set that includes colors I like and will wear and that are flattering.
I almost never finish a full sized lipstick since I have … way too many of them so I like lip sets to try different colors in a size that doesn’t take up too much space. at this point my biggest problem with lip sets is whether o not the colors will be unique enough that I don’t have dupes for most of them
I like mini sizes if I’m testing a new brand or formula, and if there’s a color or two that don’t work for me, it’s not a big loss. It can also be a good deal of you really want all of the colors included. I do think sets can sometimes feature too-similar shades, and now and then it seems like colors made just for an LE set are not always up to the brand’s true quality.
Rant: The quality of the product and packaging is not always the same as the full-sized. It’s annoying when some of the shades aren’t permanent.
Rave: They’re usually cheaper. They’re a great way to try out different shades without investing in full sizes.
Those sets always strike me as (yet another) example of brands not quite understanding how serious makeup lovers really shop. People who spend over $50 on a single lip color purchase are going to be fussy about undertones and shade variations,, and they aren’t going to be all starry-eyed over the notion of getting a weirdo batch of colors that were chosen because they look neat next to each other in the packaging. I’d love smaller, curated sets of “rose” or “berry” shades from within a bigger brand, or if brands would do something like, “pick 4 minis out of these shades for the promo price.” The way brands select and control the colors in these sets has always seemed weird to me.
I agree with a lot of what other ladies has previously stated. I love the concept of lipstick sets but rarely find sets that fully appeal to me. If there are colors I’m not going to use then it’s really just wasted money. It would be better to have a build your own mini lipstick set.
Literally just had this happen with one of my KVD minis. Bahau5, to be exact, which was a shade I got with a nailpolish, and would like the full-sized shade of. I went to put it on, and suddenly, PLUNK, it was in the sink, and I was left holding an empty tube. Now I’m contemplating buying a lip brush just to avoid any further mishaps.
I’ve liked the smaller “Sephora Favorites” lip sets that have come out. They typically have 5-6 minis and I find I like nearly all of them. It’s been effective too, I’ve gone back to purchase full size UD and Too Faced items after using up my minis.
I’m not all that interested in a sampler lip set from any one brand, however. I’d rather just try one full size in a color I’ve selected myself.
Rant – Often contain colours that I don’t like – pinks, purples and oranges. I think they are also lipsticks that the brand can’t sell…..
Rave – if you like the colours, it is a bargain.
I didn’t think I would be the type, til I bought a huge lippie set from bite beauty during holiday 2014. It was perfect–had all sorts of bright minis that I love to wear but can’t wear everyday BC of work. None of the minis were so small that they broke off. Now I fell like I have a nice lip wardrobe without taking up too much space.
I like sets like the Sephora Give Me More Lip as they allow me to try out a lot of formulas for a fraction of the price, even if some of the shades aren’t going to be a good match (though usually it’s only 2-3 of them). I also was super lucky this year because one of the lip glosses came completely dried out, and they ended up just giving me a complete refund so technically I got it for free.
I also find they make good gifts for someone whose taste you’re not 100% certain of, as they’ll definitely like SOME of them. I got my sister the same set the year before I got mine and she loved it.
I also really liked the Bite Beauty Mix’n’Mingle ones (I got mine 2 holiday seasons ago, not this year) as that was the first time I’d tried out Bite Beauty, so I was able to check out a couple of shades for cheap, and quite frankly it takes forever to use a lipstick up, so I’d rather have the smaller size and pay less anyways, instead of wasting product if it goes off down the line. I usually hate the dual-ended ones though, so that was an exception.
I dislike when sets give you the “same” product that is obviously a lower quality, or crappy packaging. There is no excuse for that. I also wouldn’t buy them all the time as that would clutter things up quite fast. I think to date those are the only two sets I’ve gotten, though I would have loved the nude lip set they did a few months back. I’m still kicking myself as I passed up buying the last one they had at my local Sephora when it was already sold out online.
I adore the concept of a lipstick set but I would only buy one if it had full size tubes in colors I actually want to wear. I really don’t care for minis at all.
The only “rave” I personally have is that it enables me to try out something that’s perhaps outside my comfort zone. But as of now, I’ve only bought lip gloss sets, as in holiday sets by Stila or MAC.
My rant goes to the fact that mini lipsticks can be so freakn’ fragile! Plus, my lips being on the full side means they’re going to use up a nice little bit of lipstick to cover them! Additionally, price per amount may not be a true bargain, either.
I have so many lippies now that I’m trying to add only unique shades to my collection, and most sets have some weird or repeat colors that don’t make it worthwhile for me. . But I’ve been really pleased with the NARS and BITE holiday pencil sets I’ve picked up, both in terms of quality/colors/ value and there were even a few colors that I didn’t think would work, but they end up looking better than I thought, so they push me out of my comfort zone into new looks.
I like mini lipsticks, as long as they’re easy to use/don’t break. A set of minis can be a great way to try new colors or colors I wouldn’t usually try. The main reason why I purchase so few lipstick sets is that they seem to concentrate a lot on colors that are invariably unflattering on me — warm nudes, peaches, light colors. If there’s more than one color that’s probably going to look awful on me, I’ll pass on the set. If it’s just one that I know won’t work, I don’t mind giving that to a friend and enjoying the rest of the set.
As long as the formula is good and I will use all the colors I’m down. It’s rare though.
I’ve never being wowed by any lipstick set, even TF.
I have already too much lipsticks, I don’t want to add a lot at once ! Also cause there are always colours that i’d never use in the set. I don’t feel ok to spend money on cream products that I’ll never use.
Dark colours age me, brown base colours make me look dead, too light colours look frosty and weird on me… Actually most of time I love to wear coral/peachy colours on lips, and occasionally reds.
It would be nice if you have a sister or a friend who can take the colour that you don’t like, but I’ve never being wowed by some one wearing dark, brown, or too light lips except on editorial pictures, cause those colours may look gorgeous in the tube, but once on lips turn actually unflattering in real life.
So Lipstick sets, no thanks for me.
Cons: They seem to always contain shades that aren’t suited for my coloring, or they contain shades that are in the correct color range but are either too boring or too “out there”.
Pros: You get a variety of lipsticks to try at (usually) a lower price. Also, you can take the colors that aren’t right for your skin tone and mix them with other lipsticks to create new, unique shades. I just created two lip palettes this past weekend using shades I couldn’t wear on their own! I mixed them with some highly pigmented shades that I can wear and balanced out the color enough so I can wear it.
I like the small size and value but I’m very picky with my colors so I can rarely find a set where I like all the colors! And if I only like one or two colors, I may as well just buy the full-size and not waste my money on colors I’ll never wear. If only there was an option to build-your-own value set! I would be all over it.
“Hate” is a strong word, but I dislike that there are always colors I don’t want.
I love them! I don’t think I have ever used up an entire lipstick so I really can’t justify buying a full-size lipstick that’s more expensive than Mac. It’s a great way to try a formula without the commitment, and you get more colors (assuming you like most/all)! It’s usually a pretty great value. I do tend to worry whether or not the quality is consistent with the full-size, though, but that’s never been an actual issue in my experience.
I have a lot of Tarte Lipsurgence minis and Kat Von D Studded Kiss minis.