Archived Post

Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro Review, Photos, Swatches

Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro
Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro

Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro ($32.00 for 0.22 fl. oz.) is a bright, orange-toned red with a semi-matte finish. Guerlain Genna has a satin finish. Hourglass Raven is matte and a bit brighter. MAC Ruffian Red isn’t as orange. Clarins Red Prodige is sheerer. MAC Strut Your Stuff is slightly shimmery. OCC Stalker is a touch darker.

I love Giorgio Armani’s Lip Maestro; it’s so comfortable but incredibly long-wearing. The texture is a mix of gel and velvet, and it definitely feels like there are silicones in it (and there are), so it sits well on the lips without settling, and the lip color applies evenly and smoothly. It’s fully opaque in color, and it takes very little product to get there. This shade lasted eight hours on me, and it did leave a light stain behind. Even over an eight hour period, my lips never felt dry and at the end, they felt lightly hydrated still. It has a light, natural sheen initially, but it fades after an hour and settles into a matte finish that’s modern.

Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro
Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro

Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro
Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro

Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro
Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro

Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro
Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro

Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro
Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro

Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro
Giorgio Armani #402 (Chinese Lacquer) Lip Maestro

43 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
MANDY Avatar

Christine, I’m actually curious as to what you would recommend for the best liquid lipstick out there! Also anything you recommend that is long wear and transfer resistant? Have you tried MUFE’s Aqua rouge? or even matte lipsticks??

Sasha Avatar

I might have to check this out, guerlain genna is my perfect red. I’d be interested to see this once it becomes matte too, the only lacquer type products I’ve tried stay sticky like lipgloss and my hair gets plastered to my lips.

miss understood Avatar

I am on my third tube of this and i will go on.I wear it every single day, i always get compliments and everyone asks me what lipstick am i wearing.Let me tell you that it looks smoking hot on you, you can definitely pull off such a bold beautiful colour.

NeenaJ Avatar

Do you mind me asking, do you get a lot of transference with this? I wore 400 one day and must have touched my lips inadvertently and found red fingerprints on my office door, keyboard… You get the idea. Should I set it with something? Please help as I love the color.

miss understood Avatar

You can put on a first coat then blot lightly with a paper tissue and then aply a second coat.Try to use as little product as possible and blend well cause it is super pigmented and you don’t need a lot of product to achieve opacity.You should notice that even if you touch yours lips it doesn’t leave patches of no colour on the lips.

cydoniac Avatar

I actually bought this today!!!!! what a nice coincidence!! I already had 503 so I was familiar with the formula and today I opted for this beauty! I love that you gave it A+ !!!!! the only thing is that I compared it to Lady Danger by MAC and they look quite similar, finish aside…but Lip Maestros are much more comfortable to wear…

cydoniac Avatar

hello Lolly, to me,they look quite similar in colour, as I said…Lady Danger is just a touch more orange…the finish is definitely different, though…

miss understood Avatar

I don’t think so.I have lady danger too and they do not compare. GA lip maestro in 402 is a medium true warm red with satin finish where lady danger is light reddish orange with matte finish.Lady danger is more similar in color to GA lip maestro in 401 tibetan orange which is clearly an orange leaning red.

Elizabeth Avatar

I don’t know what is going on with the labels, I checked my tube again, it says 402, but it is an orange red, maybe the labels are different? you could be right, but my 402 is almost exactly like Lady danger…maybe it is a mistake in labeling…anyway, i didn’t want to mislead anyone, I am writing what I see.

Laura Tinapay Avatar

I need help with how to make this product work on me. It’s messy (feathers, smears and transfers a lot) and drying. I exfoliate, put lip liner, use mac prep and prime lip, wear lip balm underneath.

Maggie Avatar

I have to go try this on now….it’s funny though, whenever I do that after one of your lippie reviews it looks 100% different on me 😛 not really surprising (I’m realllllyyy pale), but it’s always still a shock to see the complete color difference in store…

Vanessa Avatar

Hey Christine!

I’m wondering what this looks like with its more matte finish that you get after one hour of wear (I think I read that right…). Any chances for a photo? 🙂

Becca @ The Beauty Sample Avatar

This has to be the shiniest, most pigmented liquid lipstick I’ve seen. I’ve said it before–I don’t wear opaque lipstick at all, but even I am tempted to go out and buy a bunch of different shades of this. It’s just soo beautiful and bold and sexy!

Melanie T Avatar

I loved the swatches of this but when I got it, mine was not orange toned at all and left behind a bright pink stain. At first I thought I was sent the wrong color but it is labeled as 402. Mislabled maybe? It looks like the swatches of 400 instead of 402. I love the formula but I only look good in orange toned reds so this one will be going back.

IreneA Avatar

You know it’s funny, I bought 401 and actually I think your 402 photos look as orange as 401, but when I tried out 402 it was more like a neutral red

Sarah Avatar

Thank you all for your comments & talking me off the cliff of driving to the mall & purchasing this NOW. It’s so beautiful & I would love to wear it on my vacation…but I have plenty of other lippies to wear, this is just stunning though. argh!

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!