Kat Von D Coven Studded Lipstick Review, Photos, Swatches
Kat Von D Coven Studded Lipstick
Kat Von D Coven Studded Lipstick ($21.00 for 0.10 oz.) is described as a “matte lavender.” It’s a light-medium, cool-toned lavender purple with a matte finish. Melt Cosmetics By Starlight (P, $19.00) is much, much darker. MAC Dodgy Girl (LE, $16.00) is pinker. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Rollergirl (P, $18.00)
view dupes.
This shade was a lot less impressive compared to the other two shades I’ve reviewed so far. It was the first of the matte finish shades I tried, so fingers crossed some of the other hues are better quality! The consistency was dry and stiff, so the lipstick dragged and tugged on the lips during application, which led to a rather uneven appearance. Even on my arm, when I was swatching, it was difficult to drag across the skin, and it didn’t seem to like being layered, as the product would clump in places. I could easily see this catching on any dryness or imperfections on the lips, and it would be imperative to exfoliate prior to application as it is unforgiving. It lasted for six hours on me before it was noticeably faded in the center, and it was fairly drying over time. It’s far cry from “bold color, 10-hour wear, and luxe comfort,” as described. So far, I feel like there’s some variation in quality in the range, depending on color and finish, but I’ll keep working my way through ’em and posting reviews so we can find out together.
Coven
DCDiscontinued. $21.00.
Kat Von D Coven Studded Lipstick
Kat Von D Coven Studded Lipstick
Kat Von D Coven Studded Lipstick
Kat Von D Coven Studded Lipstick
Kat Von D Coven Studded Lipstick
Kat Von D Coven Studded Lipstick
Oh god, that looks awful. The colour is gorgeous but that formula looks awful.
Such a bummer! Could have been a really fun shade.
Seems like lavender lipsticks are starting to be made by more and more brands and that’s just awesome ! But i’m sad to hear that it was so dry and stiff because the color is beautiful. It looks patchy as well.
I agree! It is cool to see more coming out.
Wow! That is disappointing. I was going to buy this when it came back in stock… but this definitely makes me think twice!
Definitely try in store or just be willing to return, in case it is dry!
It’s a shame that this one didn’t perform very well! Pastel lips are not such a hard color to come by anymore, so you’d imagine that brands would be able to at least shell out “C” grade ones! Haha. Glad to see that such a color is in a permanent range regardless.
Hopefully we’ll see more lavenders done better this year.
So sad. 🙁 I know I can mis this shade in OOC but bang that dry looking.
Right? 🙁
Mix and Dang. lol
But yeah here I was complaining about MAC matte formula but this look like chalk on the lips
LOL! Ruby Woo is like paradise in comparison.
With some of the mattes (that I got…haven’t tried them all) I got a ring/lining around my lips which I had to smooth out. I also found that they applied better if I totally blotted my lips first then applied them very carefully. A pain…but when you have colors that are so different from natural lips I actually prefer the stiffer formula as it often gives more opaque coverage. But it takes work.
Skipped this one. Looking at the patchiness in the application on you I’m so glad I did!!!
Thanks for the review.
I always use a makeup remover, and then a clean towel, prior to applying lip colors (since I’m swatching, so that’s the best way to remove and start fresh!), but still didn’t have any luck with this particular shade, unfortunately!
I’ve definitely heard mixed things about this one. I usually put a balm under matte lipsticks so I’ve rarely had dryness problems, and this is what I really wanted Dodgy Girl to be so I’ll probably pick it up, but this is definitely a your-mileage-may-vary shade!
Hopefully it works out for you, Brandi!
I almost almost ordered this one and then when I went to put the pin in..it was sold out.. Phew! This didn’t translate the way I thought it would and so your review has saved me. I like the concept of the colour, but the finish would be even more disastrous on me, I suspect, as my lips probably run drier than yours. I picked up a couple of other shades instead just to test the water and see how these work out on me.
I was genuinely surprised it didn’t look WORSE applied, particularly in close-ups!
I love purple lipsticks and the packaging is so cute but it looks so dry and patchy and for $21 it should be pretty perfect imo. Really want to try By Starlight now lol!
Agree that at $21, there’s too much wrong with this one to make it worth the price tag.
I had a feeling this shade would end up being a bit streaky/patchy… Still, I think I’ll end up leaving it on my “list”, as I think it may work as a “layering” shade to mix with another color.
Maybe if it’s a gloss, but it’s hard to see this mixing with another lipstick, to be honest – it just doesn’t have any slip to help it mix or blend with anything.
I was thinking either an iridescent gloss, or even a sheer black one. Also, a balm underneath might help… At $21, it’ll be a while before I indulge, so perhaps some of the kinks will be worked out?
If they actually went and fixed it, it might be quite awhile, but I doubt they’ll change it. I’m cynical when it comes to that kind of thing, though.
Ouch, that looks dry. Hopefully the other mattes are better! I’m eyeing a few of the reds. Did you happen to buy any matte reds to review? 😀
Fingers crossed!
From swatches/reviews I’ve seen on other beauty blogs, the other mattes are ok. It seems to be just this shade that’s problematic.
Oh god.. the texture looks like chalk on your lips. Not a fun look to sport! Shame, because the colour is stunning. I’m quite surprised as Kat posted a picture of this on Instagram and it looked really creamy and nice. False marketing.
Maybe there’s a consistency problem with this particular shade? Or perhaps she applied with a lip brush, which would help a little!
I can even see the disgust over the product in your smile, Christine… yikes!
Oh, that’s a bummer!
What a dry, uneven mess 🙁
Sad times 🙁
Oh my….just BAD!
Indeed!
Aw man, I was really excited for this because I’ve been looking for a LimeCrime Chinchilla dupe that wasn’t so pink (like Posture and Dodgy Girl) or darker/lilac (like Kaoir Raquel and MyBeautyAddiction Exotic Orchid).
I had high hopes 🙁
Aw, sad, cuz I really wanted to get this one. 🙁
I wanted this one to work out, too 🙁
This reminds me of MAC hello kitty fashion mews more purple but just as pale and dry. So sad for such a great possible color to be so bad.
Honestly, Fashion Mews seemed way better to me than this (but it’s been years since I’ve tried Fashion Mews, so there’s that!).
How does this compare to Lime Crime’s D’LILAC and CHINCHILLA? Those seem a little similar.
Sorry, I didn’t keep any Lime Crime products, so I couldn’t compare!
I’ve heard talks of Coven being a major disappointment, but I didn’t realize it was this bad! It was one of the first colors to be sold out so I can only imagine that it might have spoiled the rest of the line for a lot of people.
It was one of those, “Why is this released?” kind of shades.
Let us have a moment of silence for a nice purple lipstick that suffered a horrible fate 🙁
…
I mean, I’m not really into either mattes or ‘white-based’ shades specifically, but this is kind of a disaster zone! This must have been so unpleasant to swatch.. :-S
It was one of those, “noooooooo! this isn’t going to go well” products from the get-go, and I was just sad about it the whole time.
I’m so glad it sucks, since I would HAVE to buy if it was awesome. Love the color 🙂
Yay for your wallet!
I had a similar experience with Motorhead…. Its awful… Love the color but can’t stand the formula.
Wonderchilde, on the other hand, is fabulous.
At least one worked out for you, lol!
That’s a relief! I ordered Wonderchilde on the strength of the positive reviews I’d been seeing here for the other shades. I would have been bummed if it turned out like this one instead.
The best word I can use to describe that shade is “corpse.” Eek!
I love the actual color, just not the execution!
That’s a shame! Looks like Nyx macaron in lavender may be the way to go for that color! Can’t go too wrong for $6
True!
I’m really sad now.
This and Poe were the ones I was planning on picking up.
I guess not lol.
Awww! 🙁
That actually looks really sore on your lips. Does your skin suffer from so much testing?
No, not usually.
Eeesh, that looks uncomfortable
I can confirm it wasn’t comfortable, haha!
Glad I already own NYX macaron lavender so no temptation here! 😉
Yay!
Darn. I was looking forward to this one. =( Like you say, hopefully the other matte’s will do better.
Fingers crossed…
I guess these pale pastel colors are just difficult to make. Plus they are not natural lip colors so it’s important to have nice and non-drying full coverage to get the right shade coz there’s simply not much room for mistake. These two factors might be the biggest obstacle here.
I’m also wondering if OCC lip tar has similar shades? They seem always deliver good job in pigmentation and texture.
Anyway, glad manufacturers are trying. It will get better.
I like that brands are experimenting, but if they can’t deliver a good product or if it’s not in line with the quality of their other products, I’d rather they go back to the drawing board and keep it in house – rather than charging $21 for an experiment!
true that. We don’t pay $21 for a chalky pastel.
This is one of those colors that I think is pretty but looks AWFUL on me. So far of the colors I’ve tried, most work better with a lip brush. Gothica is my favorite. I can’t wait to see you in that one 🙂
I can’t imagine it looking bad on you!
How does this compare to Melt Darling?? I was so excited for this shade, so bummed to see it doesn’t perform well /:
Not similar, IMO! http://www.temptalia.com/submit-dupe?sbs=1&pid=166895&dupe=169638
Darling is pink, warmer, brighter. It lacks a lot of the cooler, lavender tones of Coven.
Nooooooooo!! Just no!
Sad but true!
Oh my god, I’ve never been happier for a product to have been out of stock when I placed an order! As soon as this launched I knew I HAD to have it, but I’ve been trying to contain my spending lately. Well, then Givenchy launched their LE Fall products and I figured I’d throw this in, too . . . but it was sold out (the only shade sold out, in fact). I ended up getting Lovecraft instead since it seems to be another good MLBB shade, so I hope it fairs better when it arrives tomorrow!
I have a feeling that Sephora and KVD are going to have some majorly upset customers considering how quickly this shade sold out. Bummer.
I really, really wanted this to be AWESOME. I didn’t expect perfection, but I didn’t expect it to be this problematic.
Well on a good note, I received Lovecraft today (which is also the matte formula) and it is wonderful so far. Even application, no tugging, great pigmentation. I’m thinking that this may have been a single-shade instance that doesn’t apply to the formula as a whole.
I’m happy to hear that Lovecraft is working so well <3
Wow. This looks like chalk. Definitely wasn’t expecting this after seeing the other ones
Me neither!
This makes me so sad. I was really looking forward to this colour. 🙁 I almost don’t want to chance it now….
Another reader mentioned how hers was great, but her friend’s was horrible!
I had such high hopes for this shade!!! Bummer
You and me both, Alison!
I think it’s pretty close to being a dupe for Darling by Melt Cosmetics. I applied a Nyx Lip Primer pencil prior to applying Coven and had better luck with even pigmentation placement and no tugging, just decreased it’s wear time. Too bad, this color is beautiful.
They’re very different to me – http://www.temptalia.com/submit-dupe?sbs=1&pid=166895&dupe=169638
Darling is pink, warmer, brighter. It lacks a lot of the cooler, lavender tones of Coven.
The grade this got is so sad to me, I feel so disappointed in the quality of this lipstick. I had my hopes up so high for this one. My dreams feel crushed. It was such a unique colour too!
I’m sorry, Karen! 🙁
I was planning to buy this one. Bummer. Thanks for saving me the trouble
No prob!
That is bloody awful.
It was very disappointing.
Thank you
I really like lavender so I actually added this to my wish list. This review saved me.
Any good lavender lipstick (prefer cruelty free brands like too faced urbane decay etc.)
Melt Cosmetics Darling is the best I’ve come across that’s more lavender than not, but I’m not a huge fan of the formula.
I have this one and it works fantastically for me. My coworker also bought it and had similar problems to yours. It’s weird cause they’ve got to all be the same batch number.
You’re so lucky, Elspeth!
I’m surprised u didn’t compare this to darling by melt! That seems to be the closest, no? I love darling I red recommend that to anyone that likes the shade and def love for matte lips is needed.
They’re not similar, though! Darling is SO much pinker, so it appears warmer and brighter. http://www.temptalia.com/submit-dupe?sbs=1&pid=166895&dupe=169638
You can pull off almost any look, Christine. But, OMGee, that is spectacularly awful!
Sorry you didn’t like it!
Oh, too bad! I loved the color, even though I might not actually have the guts to wear it. I really wanted it! :/
Awww!
The colour is utter perfection, it’s such a shame about the formula! Lavender’s can be so varied, but this is the “perfect” one in my mind!
It’s a really fun shade – love that is cooler-toned!
What a shame 🙁 Looks very dry indeed.
SO dry!
Having looked close at the photos, I must say I don’t think anything could have saved this from the low grade. No balm would make it apply more evenly, nor would a lip brush. At least that is my experience with lipsticks that apply as unevenly as this.
It is an interesting colour, though, so hopefully they can get the formula better, or yours came out of a horribly bad batch.
A lip brush helps somewhat, but it doesn’t fix all of the problems for sure 🙁
I really wanted this to be amazing. So sad.
Me too, Erin 🙁
yikes!
🙁
Aw I wish it went on smoother and not looked so patchy
You & me both, Tiara!
Try Portland Black Lipstick’s The Purple Cloud. It’s the same colour, but all natural and non- drying!
Thanks for the rec!
Disappointed to read this review, as I own this shade and have no such problem with this lipstick at all. It does usually require building up, but didn’t tug at my lips and my result was nowhere near this bad. Strange.
You’re so lucky, Allison!
I bought a few of these and I actually really like this one. It’s definitely hard to get consistent coverage, but I love that color so much it’s worth the extra work! Mine didn’t end up looking that chalky, though. So sad, this color is just amazing.
I’m glad yours turned out better, Anne!
I tried my coven over a universal lip liner, which seemed to make it look much more flawless! Along with her other matte lipsticks.
Yay!