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Hit List: Most Drying Lipstick Formula
What’s the Most Drying Lipstick Formula you’ve tried?
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Kat Von D Liquid lipstick. It was horrible, never again will I buy any liquid lipsitcks of hers.
MAC! I love the color range, but the formula causes my lips to peel and crack 🙁
On me, YSL Rouge Volupte. Sucks every bit of moisture out of my lips, no matter how carefully I exfoliated and apply balm in advance. I think I must be allergic to on of the ingredients or something.
Same! I wanted to love these so much because everyone raves about them and the packaging if gorgeous. But I feel like my lips are chapped again in less than 30 minutes or so 🙁
Yeah I was going to say YSL Rouge Volupte. The packaging is beautiful but the product is weird. I don’t understand the hype. My lips dry out nearly immediately when I put it on.
Perhaps you are allergic to some ingredient. I have tried literally every lip color you can think of and the YSL one, does not present a problem.
Most ‘long lasting’ colors do make my lips dry, so I try and put a balm over them. Does not always work, however, as there is a Price to pay, for ‘long lasting’.
The long lasting Max Factor lipsticks – awfully drying.
Although I love that it wears like iron, MUFE’s Aqua Rouge pretty much instantly dries my lips.
Smashbox’s O-Gold gloss made my lips so dry, flaky, and red, I couldn’t tell if I was allergic or if it just killed my lips. That’s the worst I’ve tried!
kat von d painted love lipsticks-they have INCREDIBLE pigment/lasting power but they suck the moisture out of my lips within seconds of applying-and this is on top of freshly exfoliated/moisturized lips! yikes.
Hands down for me is the NYX matte lip creams. Yooza!
YES I totally agree! i hate wearing mine!
I agree
I too agree! Thought it was just me!
Mac Ruby Woo for sure. Worst formula ever. It’s so dry it drags on the lips. So many better dupes out there in the market. :/
Either MAC’s Matte lipsticks or Wet n Wild’s megalast lipsticks!
MAC!
Especially the matte formula… Simply the worst.
Basically any liquid matte lipstick, like MUFE’s Aqua Rouge & Kat Von D Everlasting Love. MAC Matte lipstick, like Ruby Woo, is also very dry.
For MAKE UP FOR EVER, the Aqua rouge lipsticks comes with a transparent side…it’s there to keep your lips wet… so you have to used it haha! AND don’t put too much of the color on you lips…it’s like an ink so you don’t need too much 🙂 Maybe those tips will help for the dryness
Revlon lip butter!!! I hate those.
I 2nd this. They are extremely drying.
I agree too.
NYX Black Label Lipstick in the colour India, which is such a pretty pastel coral pink but it dries my lips instantly.
For a lipgloss, the MAC Plushglasses irritate my lips to no end, causing a very dry, itchy and red rash.
strangely one specific color of Nars, can’t remember the color. They are hit and miss, Nars l/s’s imho.
YSL Rouge Volupte. I only tried one color (Sensual Silk) and it ended up with weeks of dry flaky lips. Never again.
That sounds like an allergic reaction…
I use the YSL volupte colors and have not found them to be any more drying than anything else. I do try to put some balm on well before I apply any lip color. That will help to keep your lips soft, but it does mean that you will have to apply color more often.
Kinda funny to see so many readers say MAC is the worst, yet it won reader’s choice best lipstick… Go figure, hahaha!
Two products come to mind when I think of drying: The Nicki Minaj Viva Glam lipstick and the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick… cracked lips anyone?! (although my all time power red it this in the shade Fiery, but have to start prepping my lips a day in advance, hehe)
Hahaha that’s so true! I think people vote for MAC simply because it’s MAC. That would certainly explain how they’ve been able to sell very poor products the last year or more!
I think some MAC lipsticks are so drying, particlarly the mattte formula.
Lime Crime’s D’Lilac is such a fantastic colour but I might as well scrub my lips with sandpaper.
Nars ” semi-matte ” lipsticks, gorgeous colours but highly drying formula in my experience.
Every lipstick formula I’ve tried from MAC dries out my lips terribly.
Same. The only lipsticks I used to own were MAC and then my lips were constantly dry and I could never reapply them.
For me too!! (however the pro longwear duos were not bad- especially for a long lasting one!)
Lime Crime, definitely! It’s very pigmented which is how it gets dry, but I continue to wear them because the lasting power of them is INSANE… I wore Retrofuturist on Christmas and it lasted me 10 hours without reapplying!
Love them but I have to say illamasqua….super pigmented, gorgeous shades but sadly they leave my lips unfathomly parched
I hate to say this because I love the company, the colors and pigment but OCC lip tars kill my lips and at the same time wear off in a strange fashion. It’s a serious Boo Hoo for me.
Mac matte lipsticks are really dry. Even though they wll say it will not. But prolong wear lipcremes are really good. Nice color pay off and matte finish too.
Yeah, OCC Lip Tars end up looking like I drank kool aid because they wear off quickly, dry out my lips and the color only stays around the outsides for me.
Yes! It wears this exact way on me! Falls off quickly in the middle
I haven’t had any luck with them either, but they get so many raves. I don’t get it!
Kryolan lipstick:( I received one in my Canada Glossybox and it so dry and hard to apply because of it.
MAC’s Paramount is virtually unwearable for me. It’s a very deep burgundy shade, satin finish. The problem is that since it’s so incredibly drying it looks awful since it’s a dark shade. I thought about throwing it away but I found that if I dab it over some lip balm it makes for a nice lip tint.
I’m thinking it’s just a lipstick that contains way too much pigment.
illuminaqua is drying
The most drying lipstick formula I’ve tried is the Balm Balm girl Lipstick in Anita Boytoy. Not even a half an hour into wearing it, I found myself reaching for lip balm!
Kat Von D’s Everlasting love. Love the color but hate the formula.
NYX soft matte lip cremes! They feel bad on your lips! And i was so excited for the concept but they didn’t end up working!
And the smell! I’m glad I only got one, I really wanted to like them but…so weird!
-Maybelline Super Stay 14HR lipstick in Ravish Rouge: To start off, it has a very weird application, after it sets it gets uneven and then it dries up my lips. Wonderful color though and I don’t regret the purchase because I got it 75% off lol
-NYX Eros: I wore it the other day, beautiful color, it cracked my lips :/
-MAC So Chaud Matte Lipstick: My first MAC lipstick, that color was meant to be just for me, and I used it like no other, until I realized how bad my lips where and now is so dry I can barely put it on!
-Makeup Geek Lipstick in Lavish: Dry formula, period. It dried out my lips like no other, period.
-Maybelline Color Whisper in Cherry on Top (50): Ok I didn’t want to get this one because I have tons of lip butters from Revlon and I love them but I finally broke down and got at least one. Well they have the worst staying power (not even an hour for me) they apply beautifully though and feel so light weight it remains me of Fresh Sugar lip treatments (and therefore the lack of staying power) BUT the product was not moisturizing at all. I guess I’m more team Revlon when it comes to the lip butters because these Whispers dried out my lips 🙁
MAC! No idea why people voted for them. Chanel and Guerlain lipsticks are waaay much better.
People voted for them because we all have different opinions. Yours is an opinion as well, not a fact. I for one cannot stand Guerlain lipsticks, but I completely understand their appeal for others.
MAC mattes are not the most drying. It’s usually a liquid lipstick that promises to be long wearing. They have pigment and ingredients which evaporate fast, but nothing emollient. I think it really depends on how well you care for your lips. Some days my lips get dry no matter what, and other days I can wear mattes all day.
I agree. the latest drugstore liquid lipstick I bought, and tried on in the car. it immediately sucked all the moisture from my lips and actually started to blister. it was the most horrible lipstick experience ever. I’m not normally overly sensitive to lip products but that scared me away from trying liquid lipsticks again. I normally wear Mac lipsticks and don’t have a huge problem with drying. I wear an overnight balm most nights though just to start out with a moisturized lip before I apply lipstick.
Armani Lip Maestro (the liquid one). My lips started peeling within minutes and kept peeling for days.
Diana, I wonder if you’re thinking of NARS Pigalle? It’s my all-time fave lipstick, but it’s so drying that I hardly wear it.
I love MAC to death, but I can’t wear their lipsticks (except a few) without putting at least a little bit of gloss over it to give it moisture. I’ll never give them up though 😉 Still my favorite.
CoverGirl Lipstick in 345 Everlasting. Dries out your lips and they crack, then the lipstick gets stuck in the cracks and is impossible to get out. Not a flattering colour either.
Wet n wild matte! Everyone loves them because they are cheap and pigmented, but they are so drying that I had to throw them out. Even if its $2, thats still money wasted.
I second that! I remember a while ago before they became so popular in blogs/youtube I had two of them and they were so dry and chalky I couldn’t even use them! Even in the tube they look so dry so I don’t understand how people can rave so much about them…
My lips are sensitive, so pretty much any formula is somewhat drying on me to start with. Even hydrating products like Revlon’s Lip Butters can require me to it wipe off, re-balm, and reapply every 3-4 hours or so. So with that in mind, the worst I’ve had to deal with is MAC’s Cremesheen formula, which is a shame because Innocence, Beware! is one of my favorite nude shades. It won’t stop me from wearing it, but I definitely have to carry balm with me and apply over it every two hours or so.
OMG me too! I tried to step out of my comfort zone of lip gloss and gave lipstick a go, but almost everyone I’ve tried has left my lips thirsty for moisture (and all of the ones I own claim to be moisturizing)! I don’t even dare to look at matte and satin formulas! Most of the ones I own and actually like are MAC’s Lustre formula, but I HAVE to wear gloss over them to keep my lips adequately moisturized so I don’t wear them on a regular basis. Because of the dry factor of most lipsticks, I opt instead for pigmented/opaque glosses. They give me the color, shine, and moisture I need in one step! 🙂
I love lipstick too much not to wear it, but I admit that when the worst of winter weather is afoot, I generally do have to wear gloss instead. My gloss collection is pretty much designed to dupe all of my lipstick shades for that very reason. 😛
I disagree with a lot of the ones people have said, I don’t find many lipsticks at all drying, I mean of course the matte ones are all going to be somewhat drying but that comes with the territory. The only thing I can really think of that was extremely noticeable was Revlon Ultimate Suede, it dried on my lips and was a super weird finish, very bad formula imo.
Agreed! I wanted to love the revlon ultimate suede but it was awful!
I would have to say the OCC lip tars I love them but they are drying to me. I have almost all of them and when I wear them I exfoliate my lips apply my balm then apply the primer for the occ lip tars then apply the lip tar the color will last almost all day for me but makes them look chapped and cracked. I just have to reapply but it helps to add a lip gloss or balm
OCC’s Lip Tars! They destroy my lips every time I try to wear them. The next day, they’ll be cracked and have rough patches if I wear one for an extended amount of time. I’ve just decided not to mess with them anymore.
It’s like I can feel the tingley mint eating away at my lips..
Yes! I’ve had the same trouble with these and now for a random obscure one- Joe Blasco… Gorgeous colors, unusable formula.
The lipsticks that I’ve tried that have a dry formula are Illamasqua and MUFE.
I don’t use any gloss or lipstick that has mineral oil as its base. I don’t look to lipsticks or glosses to moisturize my lips. I always put lip balm on before any other lip product and will put balm on top of a lip color.
NYC lipsticks
Cover Girl Outlast liquid lip color. When it comes with a gloss/balm stick, you know it’s drying!
ILLAMASQUA. I love their colors and I love the pigments but they are extremely drying on my lips.
1. Mac ruby woo
2. All of my five mufe rouge artist intense lipsticks ( 33, 37, 42, 38 &. 39 ). They are all ver drying. Nice colors but I seldom use them.
3 . Nars schiap
Dry lipstick formula for me:
Mac matte ( the old version ), their new ones are not drying anymore like pink pigeon and party parrot.
MUFE rouge artist intense
Nars semi-matte
MAC!! I only have 2 for that reason.
MAC Lustres! I returned my Lovelorn for that very reason.
I have extremely dry lips in general, and there are few lipsticks that I can wear without a layer of balm underneath. I find NARS semi-matte lipsticks to be especially bad. I’ve also had problems with YSL Rouge Pur Couture #8, but the color is so beautiful I just can’t return it. MAC’s Lustre formula isn’t great, either–I’ve never even tried MAC’s mattes because I know it would end in tragedy.
This thread is really helpful for me, by the way–now I know which formulas to avoid! Has anyone had any luck with NARS matte lip pencils?
I’m a huge fan of the matte lip pencils from NARS, but I don’t particularly have a problem with too many lipstick formulations despite having dehydrated lips. I do think the matte pencils are superior to the semi-matte formulation from NARS, though.
Good to know, thanks! I’ll try them out when I get a chance.
For me, the most drying formulas have come from Illamasqua and MUFE. I’ve had some misses with some Revlon, too. Many complain about MAC, but their lipsticks have never given me a problem.
I hate to say it because I love Mac lipsticks but their Cremeseen formula WRECKS my lips something awful, seriously even more so than the matte formula. After a day of wearing the Creamsheen formula I can pull patches of dry skin off my lips til they bleed. Does it stop me from using them? Nope. Sometimes beauty is pain, what can I say.
I find MAC Cremesheen finish lipstick particularly drying on me, that’s why I skip it even if I like the color. I do quite love the recent MAC matte formula (limited editions) that have been released in the past year or two. On my lips they are comfortable, a far cry from the Ruby Woo retro matte formula which I could not wear without Prep+Prime.
MAC Ruby Woo. I have to put lip balm on BEFORE and AFTER application or my lips will begin to flake even if I’ve exfoliated beforehand. But it is such a beautiful red that its almost worth the annoyance.
Revlon Really Red is a good dupe for Ruby Woo, AND it’s the only non-drying matte I’ve ever worn. Worth a try?
The only lipstick I can think of that is semi-drying is one color I have from NARS. I usually put a gloss over it because it drags a bit. I have to wear a mouth appliance at night so constantly use lip balm- usually AVEDA so my lips are usually in good shape.
I do have a problem with lipsticks lasting more than an hours or so, no matter how I apply them or what brand I use.
MAC Saint Germain I don’t remember the formula. I love this color but it dried my lips out so much!
MAC Satin and Illamasqua mattes… Myth, Obey are HORRIBLE!
Maybelline Super Stay 24. I liked that it was supposed to be long lasting and not transfer at all. But I put the color on, let it dry for a couple minutes before putting the balm on, and my lips felt tight and dry. I put the balm on and it was fine, but once the balm wore off (after about an hour) holy heck did my lips hurt!
Kat Von D lipstick (aurora EW)
and Illamasqua, after awhile these both caked and made me feel like i coated my lips in sand
Armani rouge I have it in 604 and its gorgeous but terribly, horribly during! I still use but not as often as I’d like to.
BTW Ruby woo is not drying on me:)Mufe and nars areok, not drying
guess it depends on your lips, and compatibility- incompatibility with certain brands
I can’t wear MAC’s Matte formula, its so harsh. Which is sad because I really like the look of Ruby Woo and Chili. 🙁
Revlon colorstay suede lipstick,loved the color i got (it girl) but it dried my lips out really bad. after an hour my lips were flakes and gross
Makeup Forever Aqua Rouge. I find them very uncomfortable. I lick my lips constantly when wearing one. I had to give them to my daughter…who absolutely loves them!
I’ve never had an awful experience with a recognizable brand, but I think that’s just because I use vitamin E cream on my face (and lips) and I rarely wear lipstick without gloss. But, reading all these stories I’ve been biting my lips, so I think I should go put some balm on…
I guess it’s a taste thing, but I’ve never seen the appeal of matte lipsticks, they seem designed to look dry.
The Body Shop Lipsticks . . . *shudder* . . . never again. They have no glide during application at all
Chanel Rouge Coco… how dreadful is that? My mum bought a tube for me in the loveliest colour for my birthday, and my lips absolutely shrivelled. Not to mention it felt oddly grainy when applying. Sigh. Suppose it’s lucky for my purse high end products don’t agree with me!
I agree. I had the same experience with this lipstick. The colors are so pretty though.
Pretty much any of the super long lasting liquid lipsticks that are a lipstick on one end with a topcoat on the other. The latest lip disaster was from one of the Maybelline 24 super-stay liquid lipcolors.
occ lip tar , if my lips aren’t exfoliated little cracks show up and you can see the dry skin peeling like hours later, which sucks i love their colors! but i’m now buying more expensive lipsticks like Guerlain and Lancome because they are super moisturizing and nice colors, and thy don’t dry my lips
I’ve never had an issue with *any* lipstick being too “drying”. The closest I’ve had that happen with was the original Revlon ColorStay lipstick back in the mid-90s, but even those weren’t too unbearable; they also stayed on all day, so it was worth it, especially because I was a waitress, LOL. I also had an adverse reaction to one from YSL, but I don’t know what caused it (it was used on a modelling assignment), and I’ve just stayed away from the brand altogether ever since, as it was likely a reaction to an ingredient.
As for MAC lipstick, although I don’t find them “drying”, I don’t particularly like the way they sit on my lips. I can tolerate them over a lip primer, but I don’t find most of them worth the effort.
Elf matte chubby lip pencils
awful!
I’ve had some issues with Revlon matte lipsticks (though I love them dearly!), nothing tops Sweetpea & Fay’s liquid lipsticks for drying out my lips. Which is a shame because they are affordable and have great colors. 🙁
Some of the MAC lipsticks in the matte formulas. However, wearing them with a primer counteracts this.
I suppose the OCC lip Tar is the most drying lip color in my makeup stash. I just love the color/formula though but dont reach for it as often because they do dry out my lips. I’m afraid to wear lipbalm or gloss under/over it because I’ve heard horror stories of them bleeding outside the lipline when you do that!
Matte lipsticks they’re so dryingggg
Inglots matte lipsticks! Oh my god!!!!
Mac’s Ruby Woo! The colour is absolutely lovely, and it lasts for the longest time… if you can stand how terribly dry it is! It’s ridiculously hard to even apply on the lips ):
Mattes are the worst! Nars Shiaparelli is especially bad, pity cos I love the color. Lip primer helps, so does a good pencil filled in, but it’s work to wear it.
Oddly- Ruby Woo is just fine. Only one I can wear easily. But I will never buy another matte.
I can’t do lipstains, at all.
Barry M Lip paint in Peachy pink. The color is gorgeous but I can’t wear it as much as I want to. It’s the worst. I don’t think anyone can find a lipstick drier than this. I always use lipgloss on top for it to not be patchy.
Sleek Makeup Matte ‘lip gloss’ ADORE the colour and the fact it does not budge but OMG soooooo drying!
Revlon Ultimate Suede = ultimate disaster – my lips looked like mud that has baked in the sun.
Maybelline Color sensational in coral gleam
Such a gorgeous color, but my lips start chapping 20min after wearing it.
Still looking for a dupe.
Revlon’s matte lipsticks. They dry my lips out horribly 🙁
The worst lipsticks I own are MAC’s cremesheen lipsticks. Usually I put on sheabutter before applying them- without I can pull flakes of skin from my lips. Other drying lipstick formulas: Wet’n’Wild matte, MAC matte, Rouge Terrybly, Kryolan. After wearing YSL’s Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain for about 30 minutes my lips start chapping but more in a reactive, allergic way. So I have to return it the next day.
Several years back, I had some shades of Estee Lauder Indelible Lipstick. Owwwwww…they certainly were very pigmented and stayed put for hours, but they were so drying. I had to put gloss on top to wear them.
It is interesting how many people have said MAC lipsticks, when they won the lipstick category in the readers choice awards. I find it really depends on the finish, and probably individual shades within finishes too. I don’t find any of MAC’s lipsticks hydrating, but I also don’t really find them drying either. Satin finishes are somewhat drying, or rather have a dry “look” on my lips, but don’t seem to actually dry out my lips. Mattes are actually quite good on me, and cremesheen and lustre finishes are dependent on the shade. Glaze and frost don’t appeal to me at all, I’ve never tried any. I’ve usually found amplified finishes to be on par with mattes. I’m a fan of MAC lipstick in general – I voted for them!
I actually find the Revlon Lip Butters drying! They’re ok when they’re on, not hydrating but not drying, but later that day when I’m taking them off or reapplying them, I find my lips are quite dry. Very odd for a formula touted as hydrating!