I think they’re a great way to try more shades while spending less money, though sometimes I feel like brands release the same type of shades!
— Christine
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I pretty much never use up an entire lipstick so I like that sets of minis give me the chance to get several colors for the price of one. The minis can also be pretty travel-friendly! I do also find that the color selection is often a little boring and I wish brands would throw in a “fun” or “unusual” color more often, the sort of thing you might want to try but not get to wear often — or even do an entire set of minis of really bold “statement lip” colors!
The other thing I dislike is if the minis are poorly made and don’t hold up well, or if they’re so small that they make it difficult to apply properly.
I loooooove mini sets because they look so cute and adorable but in reality, they’re usually poor value (a set of 5 MAC minis is about $100 here!) – I hate it when brands make the packaging cheap and flimsy. I prefer full size sets to get more bang for your bucks.
However, I’m very particular about my shades and I won’t get anything that has colours that are too light, too dark or completely the wrong tone – shades that pass as MLBB or neutral mauves, roses, corals and pinks are worth considering but they seem to be few and far between…
I have a set of four Clinique Pop lipsticks. they’re all great quality and I like the different assortment of colors!
Dislike: Nearly all of the lipsticks in sets are those that don’t work for me. Also I have a feeling that brands use the sets to get rid of lipsticks they can’t sell.
Like: Sometimes, when the shades are right, the sets are a good way to try the brand’s products. The mini sizes can be useful when travelling.
I prefer lipgloss sets instead of lipsticks. Lipgloss is easier to wear. The lipstick sets always have at least one color I cannot do anything with. I am an woman of color with medium dark skin and sets tend to not work out for me
I like them if they are shades that I will use and if they are small that’s great because I very rarely use up a whole lipstick but that’s probably my own fault because of my huge collection.
Lipstick sets are great in theory — I like mini sizes, as I have never finished up an entire full-sized lipstick. But… they invariably contain either (warm) nudes, peaches or corals, none of which I would wear. I’m also fussy about cool reds (no warm reds for me), and don’t wear them very often. So most sets are at least half unusable for me. If I could find a high quality set of mid-toned plums, berries and cool pinks, I’d be all over it!
I wish they would group cool toned lipsticks and warm toned lipsticks together in a pack. I also hate the random ‘nude’ throw in. I recall looking at a Sephora lippie pack and half of it was nude lipsticks I would never wear but the reds/plums I would.
Also, big fan of mini sets. I ordered one from Besame years ago and it helped me try out each shade before going for a larger size.
I love mini lipstick sets to try out new shades and especially ones I wouldn’t want to invest in the full size because I would wear it just occasionally. But many of the sets do tend to have the same colors – a couple nudes, a rose, a classic red, and a dark berry. I’m pretty much loaded up on those colors, so right now I’m not buying any lipstick sets unless the colors have something special going on. Someone said they wished for cool sets and warm sets, or a set with just plums – I totally support that idea!
Love the variety and small sizes (I’ve only finished up a few lipsticks in my whole makeup life), but there’s always at least one color I won’t wear. Not being in to pinks, mauves, purples, or oranges doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for colors with mass appeal.
Another vote for mini sets organized by undertone., Otherwise they’re not very economical for me – at least half won’t be useable. Gloss sets work better imo, since the sheerness lets my coloring show through enough to work most of the time.
What I don’t like about lipstick sets is that it is rare that I will love more than one or two shades in the set with the rest going in the trash. In fact, I can think of only one time in my decades of buying makeup when I purchased a full size after trying a set of minis, and that was Clinique Black Honey.