I did not have faith that Essence is capable of doing such a great liquid lipstick, so when these launched I didn't even properly look at them. To be fair their Colour Boost Vinlyliscious glosses that were released in the previous update did not impress me and these come in the same packaging, plus our Müller still doesn't have testers for these, so they were easy to ignore. But then I saw that they are actually matte on a swatch Lana made and before I had a chance to buy one, I was lucky enough to receive one in a shade I planned to buy. It quickly became a favourite for both the formula and the shade.
Texture and finish: Formula is one of the thinnest such liquid lipsticks, but it's fully opaque with one coat and it sets properly matte in a minute, becoming completely transfer proof. It remind me Sleek Matte Me in terms of formula and the finish is also similar to Colourpop Ultra Mattes. It's less comfortable formula than for example Deborah Fluid Velvet Mat formula or Rimmel Stay All Day, but I can deal with it just fine, I'm merely warning the rest of you.
Shade: 05 Dangerously yours is a medium muted pink. It's pinker and darker than Deborah Fluid Velvet 02 and warmer than Maybelline 15 Lover. It's one of my favourite new shades, I just like how it works with my colouring because it's neither too cool like Maybelline and it's a good balance of warm tones. It's the type of shade that works a lot better when I want to shape my lips than similar such shades.
Staying power: This is where it shows we're still dealing with Essence. It's one of the rare matte lip creams that doesn't last amazingly well on me. It hardly survives eating, though drinking is mostly fine. Still compared to most Essence lip products the staying power is significantly better.
Scent: It's got a sweet candy-vanilla scent that's not too strong.
Packaging: It comes in a matte paint-like squeeze tube with a doe foot applicator. It's the same packaging as of Colour Boosts that have a vinyl finish. The applicator has a subtle hourglass shape and I'd maybe prefer something with a less rounded edge for more precision, but it's not a big deal.
Price and availability: These are sold in drugstores for 2.99 €
This was a pleasant surprise. I love the perfectly matte, opaque formula and this shade is so pretty, but I need to knock off one point for the typical Essence poorer staying power. Due to a thinner formula, it dries a bit tighter on the lips that some other such formulas, but if you can deal with for example Sleek, these are just fine.
Have a great day!
*PR product
