Rant & Rave: Sheer Lipstick

Tell us what you love and hate about...

Sheer Lipstick

Rave: I like that sheerer lipsticks tend to be creamier, more hydrating, and have a smoother finish on my lips. Semi-rant: I personally prefer my formulas to be more buildable–I don’t need full-on opacity but need closer to medium coverage or else they just run together and look a bit too much like lip balm (and in that case, I’d rather just wear lip balm!). The other downside is some of those formulas can last 2-3 hours and need so much reapplication!

— Christine

12 Comments

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Lauren Avatar

I am 100% ok with reapplying every couple hours (if I wasn’t I’d go for the discomfort of a liquid lip or matte lip and deal with my lips not feeling good), I think I look best with a sheer wash of color vs a completely opaque color (other than for schmancy events), and love the feeling of a balm. I suppose my qualms would be a “sheer” color that provides absolutely no color (pointless imo) or one that dries out the lips but feels balmy. Overall though I love sheer and then a touch of gloss on top. They discontinued my favorite sheer colors from the UD Vice line and I’m trying to find a good replacement.

Seraphine Avatar

I love sheer lipsticks! They’re generally more hydrating and look great when I’m going for a more colorful eye look in the daytime. My biggest complaint is that most of them creep into the tiny lines that extend out from my lips, even with lip liner.

Rachel R. Avatar

RAVE: I think they can be really pretty. I find bright sheers handy for when I have a bold eye look that I want to be the focus of my face, but nude or lighter colored lipsticks don’t look quite right. They’re great for layering, especially shimmery ones. They’re nice for summer because they’re usually more hydrating and lightweight.

RANT: They’re more prone to bleeding and sinking into the lip lines. I hate when they have next to no pigment. If I buy a color option, I want it to look different than all the other colors in the collection! I also hate when the applied color is totally different than it appears in the bullet (reds that end up looking pink; purples that end up looking fuchsia or berry; etc.). Some have no staying power. I don’t mind touching up/reapplying every couple hours, but if I have to more often than that, it’s annoying.

Ana Maria Avatar

Sheer lipsticks are not for me… if I bother to put something colored on my lips, it has to be pigmented.
I simply do not feel the need for a sheer formula. I can get natural looks with opaque lipsticks in a color similar to my lips. There are also many matte/satin lipstick formulas that are hydrating and comfortable to wear all day. If I `really` want a sheer color look, I can mix a lipstick with a lip balm to create the effect.

woodstock_schulz Avatar

I agree with you, I love the balmy consistency of sheerer lipsticks and they tend to look more “natural” for an everyday look. I also wish they would be closer to a medium coverage so I look more put together than just putting on some generic lip-balm.

Deborah S. Avatar

I don’t mind a sheer lipstick if the formula is right and the shade is one that is flattering because I have pigmented lips so trying to put a sheer nude, coral or pink on my lips just makes them look weird. It isn’t attractive. I don’t have horrible lip lines in my lips but I have both upper lip and lower lip lines plus the loss of lip margins means that a lot of sheer formula’s travel in my lines. It is frustrating because my daughter is forever telling me that I have something on my upper lip and she reaches out to wipe it away and it is lipstick, balm, whatever that has migrated. Then I get it all over my upper lip!! Clearing that up means I disturb my base and it is a vicious circle! I think I have convinced her to let me do it myself but frankly, since we went to Europe and she got use to “taking care” of me, she feels like she should just correct anything that is wrong, LOL. If the formula is one that doesn’t migrate on me then I love a nice wash of colour and if they are hydrating, all the better. I love pretty much all of the L’Oreal Colour Riche Shine lips that I have. I did pick up a coral colour but it is too light. I saw the post on the new Bite release and am anxious to try one or two of those.

Sarah Avatar

Major rave…I love the subtle look of a sheer lip. They’re so easy to pair with any look and also easy to apply. I can pretty much apply them the same way I would a balm, rather than having to be super precise like I would be with a pigmented matte lip.

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