What are your deal-breakers when it comes to lipstick?
Barring being at a conference or having to talk all day (and not being able to touch-up), I would not wear a formula that was drying often, if at all. I would rather re-apply than have something that lasts eight hours but dries my lips out over time. No matter how lovely a formula is, I find it hard to wear lipsticks that have noticeable tastes to them (beyond mild sweetness, e.g. if it tastes like a floral perfume).
— Christine
Just no to:
Liquid lipsticks
Drying lipsticks
Metallic lipsticks
Waxy textured lipsticks
Everything else, I’m up for.|
Price point, scent/taste, swatches not matching up to real life colour (happens a lot with Asian lip products in particular), texture (has to be light/balmy).
I’ll never ever wear a lipstick that’s drying because that’s absolutely pointless, so that doesn’t even factor in.
Matte or drying… Which often go together.
I can’t wear anything that is difficult to apply, which for me rules out almost all liquid lipsticks. I prefer either a my lips but better stain or a very sheer formula and reapply often. Anything but a bullet, sqeezy tube or doe foot is a deal breaker (no crayons or thin twist up tubes, pots, lip pallets, gloss shaped like little eggs, etc. ). Yes I am fun at parties ?
1.) Splotchy uneven coverage.
2.) Super drying formulas, ie; liquid dry-down lipsticks.
3.) “Old Lady” fragrance! ?
4.) Wears off too quickly, as in only 2 hours or less of wear.
Gloppy. Bad (or really almost any) taste. Scented. Migrates. Drying. The problems that are on me: unflattering color, a last gasp attempt at a texture I should know better than to try again (glitter, very metallic).
Matte lipsticks – for how they look (dry and desiccated lips isn’t my idiom) and how they feel. Anything too smeary that travels around and won’t stay where I put it. And a lipstick that fades unevenly and unattractively (I’m sort of okay with fading so long as it’s fairly even and leaves an okay-looking stain behind – the old VIB Rouge lipstick from BITE was fantastic for this – it looked great when applied but also faded away nicely.
Super dry formula or bleeds outside my lip line. I don’t use lip liners (too much work and product on my lips) so I like lipsticks that will stay where I put them.
Five dealbreakers that immediately come to mind:
1. Lipstick that feathers outside my lips’ borders.
2. Glitter.
3. If it has a scent I don’t like or that’s too strong.
4. Makes my lips look more wrinkled than they are.
5. Costs more than $39.
Same!
Dryness! I have super dry lips and I can’t stand anything that makes it worse. Other than that, I’m not picky.
Drying lipsticks or ones with a bad or strong taste are no-gos for me. Other things like ease of application, texture or formula I judge on a per lipstick basis.
Creamy formulas that move around or smudge easily, that feather into fine lines and are hard to wear without a lip liner or primer are my deal breaker. Off course, anything frost or glossy is a no for me.
I’m a person with lots of expressivity and facial movement, that doesn’t want to touch up and sips water all day. I love matte and satins that stain the lips slightly and wear all day; there are many comfortable matte formulas nowadays.
For lipsticks, my preferences is for creamy, hydrating lipsticks like the CP Lux lipstick range with a satin or glossier finish. I quite like metallic finishes too. Luckily you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a good lipstick.
Deal breakers to me are:
Liquid lipsticks
Lip glosses
Lip stains
Matte finishes
Lipsticks with a perfume or scent
1. Price too high (depends on quality and uniqueness of product.
2. Unpleasant fragrance: Chemical; floral; and cheap artificial cherry, grape, orange, or cotton candy.
3. Mattes that are dry and hard to put on. No, I don’t want to warm it up on my hand first (*cough* Melt *cough*).
4. Poor formula: Too emollient, too waxy, too dry, or patchy.
5. Really short wear time. I want it to last at least a couple hours.
6. Lids that don’t stay on.
7. “Concealer lips” shades. They don’t look good on me.
8. Sheer with little pigmentation. What’s the point?
9. Bleeding or smears too easily
10. Liquid lipsticks that are drying, crack, or peel.
“Lids that don’t stay on…” I have a Givenchy lipstick with this problem. Gorgeous case, but the lid keeps falling off. My favorites are magnetic caps, like Estée Lauder, or caps that click closed, like Chanel’s Coco Rouge.
God, yes. It should be law that all lipsticks have magnetic caps.
Yes to all!
I first thought I only had one or two deal-breakers, turns out I have 10.
As always so well thought out, Rachel.
Cannot do any mattes or drying formula. And anything from YSL, their scent and taste is just obnoxious to me. I normally don’t mind any scents (love the ones from Dior) but I just can’t with YSL.
Deal breakers for lipsticks.?.
Heavy fake perfumes , ( I don’t mind vanilla cone scent ,) blotchy
Drying , seeping into lip lines , flat unflattering finishes .
Nothing overly dry or overly pale. I’ll sometimes wear a sheer finish, but usually combined with another lip product rather than alone.
Lipstick that shifts around over time and won’t stop getting on my teeth. Bleeding. Lipstick that fades off the middle of my lower lip as soon as I press my lips together.
Also, lipstick that settles into lip creases!
Lipstick with white base.
Lipstick that smells baaaad (Covergirl).