ColourPop Succulent & Mars Ultra Matte Liquid Lipsticks Reviews, Photos, Swatches
ColourPop Succulent Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Succulent Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick ($6.00 for 0.11 fl. oz.) is a vibrant, tomato red with warm, orange undertones and a very matte finish. It had nice color coverage that applied fairly evenly, though it is slightly thinner and dries down quickly, there is enough payoff that the streaking is very subtle (but there’s some on my upper lip, as working around the curves of the upper lip takes a little more time than the lower lip for me). The color wore for ten hours before I took it off, and it was fairly intact but had some fading from the center after a meal and loses a lot of its transfer-resistant quality as soon as you eat/drink (even just coffee). Tom Ford Beauty Flame (06) (P, $50.00) is lighter, brighter, glossier. Maybelline Craving Coral (P, $7.99) is lighter, glossier. Kat Von D Countess (P, $21.00) is warmer, glossier. MAC Mangrove (LE, $16.00) is glossier. MAC Scarlet Ibis (LE, $16.00) is glossier. MAC Dangerous (P, $16.00) is warmer, glossier. MAC Lady Danger (P, $16.00) is lighter, warmer, glossier. Hourglass Raven (P, $28.00) is glossier. Anastasia American Doll (P, $20.00) is better quality, more muted, warmer. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.
ColourPop Mars Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick ($6.00 for 0.11 fl. oz.) is a brightened, medium-dark fuchsia-red with warm undertones and a very flat, matte finish. It had rich color coverage, and the texture wasn’t too thin or too thick, so it applied smoothly and evenly without streaking. There is very subtle flaking initially that I don’t even notice unless I’m looking for it, and a little color will rub off if you pat your lips with your fingertip, but after an hour, it seems to stop. On me, it lasted for ten hours with fading that began closer to the center of the mouth but wasn’t too apparent as it left a stain as it faded, which camouflaged some of it breaking down over time. It was lightly drying after six hours of wear and was more noticeably drying after eight hours. MAC Moxie (LE, $16.00) is cooler. ColourPop Toucan (P, $5.00) is warmer, glossier. MAC All Fired Up (P, $16.00) is glossier. MAC Pleasure Bomb (LE, $16.00) is glossier. Kat Von D Berlin (P, $19.00) is lighter, warmer. Maybelline All Fired Up (P, $7.99) is warmer, glossier. ColourPop Cougar (LE, $5.00) is glossier. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.
Formula Summary: ColourPop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick ($6.00 for 0.11 fl. oz.) is a long-wearing, pigmented lipstick that starts off glossy and dries down quickly to that super flat matte finish. They have minimal transfer with some of the lighter shades having almost none for the first few hours of wear, but any time you’ve had a meal, they lose that transfer-resistant quality to a noticeable degree. They tend to wear anywhere from six to ten hours with darker shades maintaining better color coverage and wear over a longer period of time. Some shades get a little drying about two-thirds to three-fourths through the wear, while a few shades have been fairly non-drying even many hours into wear. They fade away evenly with most color loss occurring from the center of the lips if eating a more oil-based meal but the majority of color survives a meal. Reapplication has been hit or miss and tends to depend on how well it wore away and how easily the shade applies normally, but reapplication tends to emphasize the lip’s natural texture significantly compared to initial application and gives lips a very wrinkled, dried-up look. I’ve layered gloss on top of some shades with moderate success, though it will obviously lose the matte finish and will transfer and I’ll get tiny flakes where the matte lip color has lifted by mixing with gloss but has been pretty minimal. The formula had no discernible taste or scent. After playing with the packaging and the tubes, it appears that about 16 of the 25 shades I received were significantly overfilled and had regular overflow of liquid lipstick coming out of them for about 15 open-and-closes where I needed to use a makeup removing wipe to clean the rim of the tube prior to closing or else the lipstick would ooze out of the closing. I have not had this issue with any of my other liquid lipsticks (Anastasia, Hourglass, Kat Von D, Make Up For Ever, Stila) personally, though readers reported experiencing similar issues with Anastasia and the previous Kat Von D packaging.
Succulent
LELimited Edition. $6.50.
Mars
DCDiscontinued. $6.50.
See more photos & swatches!
ColourPop Succulent Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Succulent Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Succulent Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Succulent Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Succulent Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Succulent Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Mars Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Mars Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Mars Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Mars Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Mars Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
ColourPop Mars Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick
Hi Christine, do you think NARS’ Velvet Lip Pencil in Red Square might be a good dupe for Succulent? Maybe it’s slightly more red?
I don’t think I have that! 🙁 I googled but couldn’t find anything from me!
Hopefully these come back in stock soon! Kept trying to put an order in last night and wasn’t going through, and they’re all out of stock this morning. I suppose that is probably a good thing, gives me more time to distance myself from impulse purchases, ha.
WOW! That’s nuts!!
Yeah, the release did not go well. I was sort of anticipating something like this happening as ColourPop gets more and more attention/hype so I wasn’t too disappointed but I am sorry for everyone who tried for as long as they could. I tried a bit and figured it wasn’t happening but I know lots of folks spent hours trying to purchase. I managed to get a couple in my cart but never got further than that as the error kept popping up. Hopefully the restock happens fairly quickly. But at least it gives us more time to think on shades and curate our orders better with the avoidance of impulse purchases, as you said 🙂
The same thing happened to me, Ashleigh. At least this way, we get to see more of Christine’s reviews first. 🙂
Can you use a lip pencil under these, or around the edges to sharpen the line? Or dab a lip brush against the applicator and then even out the edges? I’m a practiced lipstick wearer but it even takes me a little while to get the shape right, primarily because my lips are pale and my lip line kind of disappears in the corners.
You could use a lip pencil under, I think! The ones with a slightly longer dry down seem to be OK if you go over the edges again, but there’s definitely a fine line between good and over-applying.
According to ColourPop you can use a lip pencil with them, they suggest it, and a brush. It’s listed on all of the shades in Application Tips. 🙂 They had a video on Instagram of Ellarie applying Trap with a brush and it came out nicely.
Thanks so much for the review! Do you have a favorite formula from all the matte liquid lipstick brands that you’ve tried? Which, in your experience, are the least drying?
Kat Von D
These colors are so beautiful and just look really velvety on your lips! I’m not so sure that I will go jumping on the liquid matte look though, only because I hate it when my lips are utterly DRY with not even a hint of balminess.
I’d probably try one if you happen to get the urge and see a really GREAT shade, but realistically, probably not an ideal formula for you. They don’t feel super clingy like a Retro Matte when they’re good, but they aren’t by any means a balm-like texture, lol!
These are both GORGEOUS and totally my kind of shades! Succulent is definitely going onto my wishlist. I think I’ll wait a week or two for the craze to die down/stuff to go back in stock, then try to make an order. I also want to see more reviews and swatches before I decide!
Good idea 🙂
And the dryness doesn’t bother me, because I wear a Retro Matte at least a few times a week (Relentlessly Red)!
I can’t pull off these bright neon matte colors (I have fuller lips and feel like the color just overwhelms my petite face), but they do look pretty
I totally understand! Brights do draw attention to wherever you put ’em!
I bought a few of the lippies and your swatches were very helpful as usual! I also bought the metamorphosis palette and cricket eyeshadow. My first Colourpop purchases… excited! =)
I hope you love your new goodies! Keep me posted, Annie 😀
I find that super matte finish so intriguing! I bet you will make a lot of heads turn wearing these colors.
Very true!
I absolutely can not wait to get my hands on these! Absolutely gorgeous! I have loved everything I’ve purchased from Colour Pop thus far!
Enjoy, Ashley!
Yowza, these are gorgeous! I know there are some slight issues with these lipsticks, but I’ve been waiting for a cheaper alternative to all the other liquid matte lipsticks that have been rolling out for months. As much as I wanted to buy these now, I’m happy to wait for the restock and will order as soon as I can!
Fingers crossed you enjoy ’em when the restock occurs!
I like both, I think these and Sundae have been my faves so far.
I wish they had more like Sundae!
Succulent is so beautiful! Wish they weren’t all sold out, but can’t say I’m surprised lol.
I’m surprised ALL sold out, lol!
The colors are gorgeous, these just look so tight and uncomfortable on the lips. I’m typically not a fan of super matte products.
I think they are more comfortable than they look (which is true for most of the liquid lipsticks), but they aren’t comfortable like a traditional lipstick, lol!
The wear time on these is insane! The formula doesn’t sound too bad either. I wish the launch wasn’t so hectic though. I’ll be patiently waiting for a restock!
I hear ya! Launch day was nuts.
Holy cats, their site was down all night yesterday and now they’re temporarily out of stock. I, too, will wait a couple weeks for them to get their first round of shipments out and get their stock back. Succulent is so pretty, they both look great on you, Christine! So summery~!
It’s crazy how fast everything sold!
Wow, I love Succulent. I wish it was just a regular lipstick. So, in your opinion,these are as drying as Kat Von D’s Or more drying? I’m reaching I know. I guess I’m wondering if someone may have created a non drying formula? Lol..I guess, Flame stays on my wishlist!
Kat Von D’s is less drying for me!
I think I’ll just skip these then. thanks!
Mars is calling my name. I really like succulent, too. They seem to have nailed the brights.
So far, so good!
Christine, Have you asked Colour Pop about the over fill issue? I wonder what their take on it is. Since it’s new packaging for them, I wonder if they just bungled the first fills.
They emailed me about which shades the day after I posted the sneak peek (Monday), which I replied to, but that’s all.
These shades are pretty (most of the shades in the line are). But honestly, I’m struggling to understand why that flat wall-paint finish is so wildly popular. I get that it’s a trend, and that it can certainly be attention-grabbing and sort of dramatic. But it’s like… lips don’t even look like actual LIPS any more. And I honestly think the people who can pull these off successfully are going to be a *tiny* minority (Christine, you’re definitely one of them!)… for most of us mortals, these are going to look harsh, aging, flaw-enhancing, and decidedly not cute.
I think people dig the way they end up looking – perhaps it is that it isn’t an easily achieved finish without these types of products? Maybe in the way that blue lipstick is popular with some but not the others. They take some prep, and I know a lot of people will put balm on first to help!
Hi Christine,
Out of the shades Mars and Succulent, which one do you think looks more of a strawberry coral/red?
Succulent is going to be closer, since it is a stronger red with stronger warm tones.