Review: Maybelline Bold Matte Lipsticks

In this post I review 5 colours from the Colour Sensational Bold Matte Lipsticks from Maybelline! It's a long one so please bear with me.


Chemist Warehouse recently had their 50% off all make-up brands sale, and these are just some of the things I picked up. The colours in order are: Peach, Light Red, Red, Deep Red and Nude.

(side note: MAT2 and 3 weren't in store and aren't displayed on the Maybelline Australian website so i'm taking a stab in the dark and saying we won't be getting these (which is a shame because the colours look so beautiful))

Price: $16.95 (full price)

Claims:
Maybelline claims that lips can now "kiss flat matte goodbye" as its powderless formula delivers the most vibrant matte shades with a smooth, moisturised finish. It's enriched with honey nectar for visibly moisturised lips with an incredibly smooth touch. A more vivid colour, packed with brighter matte pigments to infuse the most luminous shades without drying your lips.

In other words, the range is meant to be full of vivid coloured lippies that are matte but also keep the lips looking hydrated and moisturised.

Now that those claims are out of the way, lets get to the fun part - swatches!

This is my first time swatching on my arm, trying to take a photo and getting it in focus all in one. Totally underestimated this.
I only did one stroke of each colour and each was with a light hand. I have no idea whether i'm doing this right or not but can a girl get some slack? The colours are in the same order as previously stated above.
Let's move onto the individual swatches and reviews shall we?


MAT1 - Peach

Being the absolute noob I am, I can't seem to capture the true colour for this one. This is far from what it looks like in real life but I guess it'll have to do *sighs*

I have no idea why they decided to name this colour Peach because as soon as I swatched it I knew it was going to be a neon pink, and guess what? It is. I would say this colour is very very similar to my Lime Crime Velvetine in Pink Velvet. It even shows all the cracks in my lips like the velvetine does (cue sad music).
The colour pay-off is great however, I  only used one stroke and it was really close to being opaque. The only issue i'd have to bring up is that your lips will look dry as hell, and if you're starting with dry cracked lips (like me) oh honey, this is not forgiving at all.

I'm a huge sucker for pinks so I don't mind how bright it is at all, but if you're one that's not comfortable with bright lip colours then i'd suggest you give this one a miss.



MAT4 - Light Red

Straight away I noticed this was really sheer compared to MAT1, it's buildable but it did take me more than a few coats to get it to this colour - which still isn't opaque. The colour name is right this time, and i'd say it's a really warm orange based red. I think this would be a perfect shade if you needed a stepping stone into the bold orange lips, or just prefer a very subtle orange.

In terms of how matte it is, I would say that's a miss as well. It feels way more moisturised and hydrated then the MAT1 (and way more forgiving on my dry lips), which is why I think this colour doesn't come off as a matte. I would compare this to Revlons Lip Butter formula but without the all the sparkles.

Overall a lovely colour and I think this would become one of my most reached for light red.



MAT5 - Red

To me this is just like the light red except it's a cool, blue based red. When I first applied it, it was sheer like the previous colour - which i'm not very happy about. After applying 3-4 coats I guess it does come off as a vivid, bold colour but I would've expected it to be like this in the first two coats at least. Especially for a basic red, I think it's a real shame that it come out sheer.

Again, it's not as matte as i'd like but it is hydrating and very forgiving on my lips.



MAT6 - Deep Red

I would say this colour is perfect for winter as it's a deep wine red. It looks really vampy and sultry. The colour in the photo (like all the other ones) isn't showing up correctly - here it looks like a normal red but in reality it's really deep and winey.

Out of all the reds this one was better in terms of how bold it applied on. Only needed 1 and a half coats and it got me to this opaque red. It feels moisturised and it's more matte compared to the others but it still has a subtle sheen to it.



MAT7 - Nude

In my whole collection of lip products I only have two that's nude.  This one, and another which was gifted to me so really - only one by choice. I am not a nude fan at all because I feel like on me, it just makes my face look dull and lifeless. However after receiving my first nude colour I realised it's actually not that bad.
My lips are pretty pigmented on their own and I found that this turns it down a couple notches without making me look like I'm severely dehydrated/ sick or that my lipstick is actually just foundation. I think it's really important that girls understand a nude lip isn't one that makes your lips disappear or blend in with their face- but is one that is an exact replica of your own lip colour (or at least really similar to it). There is nothing (NOTHING) worse than seeing someone with no lips

This colour is probably the most matte out of them all, and the colour pay-off is really strong. I only needed one coat and it was already opaque. I would suggest using a lip liner with this particular colour though as your lips kind of lose definition (well at least mine did)


Overall Rating: 3.5/5
I'm giving this a 3.5 because the colours are great - they all have the potential to be bold and vivid. However it's losing points because only 2 out of 5 colours are matte, and another two are very sheer and require a couple more coats than the others.
The formula is great, it glides on easy and it's very smooth. Feels very hydrating on the lips and besides MAT1 and MAT7, all the colours are very forgiving on my dry cracked lips.

Would I recommend this?
 Yes. June is around the corner and I think these lippies are perfect for winter because they're very moisturising. If you're just after a good matte lipstick I would suggest you look elsewhere because these don't do a very good job.
Like i've mentioned the colour pay-offs are great so that is another bonus.

Hope you've enjoyed this post and I hope it helped you in more ways than one! I've recently bought a stack of more beauty products so look forward to seeing more reviews from me.

Until then,