Rant & Rave: Lip Sets
Tell us what you love and hate about...
Lip Sets
Rave: In general, mostly raves from me — they’re often a great way to get a good variety of color/finish in a formula one enjoys without paying full price. In fact, a lot of them are travel-sized, which is still plenty of product, and I’d rather spend less upfront and replace if and when I ever need to! Rant: Sometimes they’re TOO small and can easily break at the base, and then other times sets feel redundant – like a beige, red, etc.
— Christine
The size of them is upsetting b/c they break. I would prefer them to be squatty and thick like the Chubby Sticks from Clinique. They can still have the same amount of product but it would be less breakable. I always feel like I have to be uber careful and sometimes I am and sometimes I am not which causes heartbreak. But I do enjoy trying the formula in a variety of colors without having to commit to the amount of product in 1 full size shade.
I like the idea of them but almost invariably they contain shades I don’t like and would never wear along with the ones I do like so they don’t really represent good value if I will never use 2 of the 5 or 6 shades.
I don’t like mini lip sets that have limited edition shades because if I like a shade, I am reluctant to use it because I don’t want to use it up. I still have my MAC mini Matte versions of the normally Retro Matte shades Flat Out Fabulous and Ruby Woo, which I never use for exactly that reason. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. (Come on, MAC, release these shades as full size Mattes!)
I do, however, like being able to try out permanent collection shades in a mini version before spending money on the full size versions.
I especially like when I have friends who want to go in on a mini lip set with me, so I don’t wind up with shades I’ll never use.
As far as full size sets are concerned, I only own one set. It’s a NARS set with two Velvet Lip Glides and two Powermattes. This was a great value and I got to try two different formulas and a variety of shades.
I’m not a fan of mini bullet sets, it seems like I push too hard while applying and the lipstick gets out of alignment then gets wrecked. I do like full size sets, I bought a duo of Pat McGrath lipsticks around Christmas of last year. I wanted both of them and it did save a little bit of money.
I do love mini liquid lipstick or gloss sets. I can’t use up that much of either one of them, and I get to try a bunch of different products!
Ugh, I’ve never found a lip set I like. The worst is when M.A.C. or Kat Von D do their little duos, like “here’s one REALLY pale pink and one WAY TOO DARK brown, and neither one flatters most people!”
But the bigger sets are also obnoxious because of just what you said, “here’s a brown, an orange, a red, and a pink. You’ll probably like two of these, and the other two will never get used.”
I almost enjoy the little Nars Powermatte duos- same color in two undertones. It’s more something a pro would use, but it’s getting closer to what I want. What I ~want~ is a set of, say fuchsia done four ways- here’s an opaque matte, a metallic, a sheer, and a cream all in the same color. I’d buy that in a second.
I really don’t have a lot to rave about except if the set has colours I would wear, then it is usually good value for money and offers the opportunity to try a lot of colours and potentially, several finishes. My issue is that rarely are these criteria met so I don’t find myself buying them. There always seem to be shades I wouldn’t wear, finishes I don’t like or they are too small and invariably get broken. I did purchase a set of lip pencils from Bite that were shades curated by Beauty Influencer’s and honestly, there wasn’t a single shade that I could wear. I also picked up a small set of Nars Lip Pencils, whatever they are called, and I found all of those shades wearable. Mostly, I stick to purchasing one at a time!
I haven’t bought a lip set myself because so often the shades are not to my liking, or maybe one colour is and the rest aren’t. So I guess that is a rant.
However I do think they are a good way to try out a brand’s products at a deal, and perhaps share the shades that are not to your taste with family or friends.
I like them because it gives me a chance to really try out colours I might not normally choose for myself. I would never have bought myself a full sized purple lipstick, but after trying it in a set, I loved it! Because of my phobia of germs and bacteria, I would never use a tester in a store, so this is the only way I’d try something different.
I don’t like lip sets or palettes. I want exactly the shade I want and nothing else. I’m just one person who has quirky taste and my particular coloring, so the odds of a set being only things I want is vanishingly small.
When I was just starting out, it was an awesome way to get a variety of shades and try out lots of formulas quickly. It’s also a great value because I’m unlikely to finish a single lipstick (I only have a select few that might make it to pan). I’ve also never had one break on me, personally.
Downsides? Well, with the shade variety I have now, I really don’t need to have more repeats. That’s the main reason I don’t tend to buy sets anymore. I also have a better understanding of what I like and don’t like and have clutter from old sets that I just don’t reach for.
Ultimately though, I love that they’re offered, even if they’re not what I’m looking for in my collection anymore. I still have tons of minis that I love and reach for enough that I don’t feel like wasting them! I love my Marc Jacobs and Bite Beauty minis best. The ones that I have lots of but don’t use much anymore? Buxom and Tarte.