National Lipstick Day!

A year or two ago I was ranting and raving in a fit of confusion over National Broccoli.  I had seen an exuberant instagram post that had a picture of dancing broccoli, hash tagged #nationalbroccoliday. National Broccoli Day?!  Why???  I was confused as to why there was a day that I had never heard of dedicated just to broccoli.  Then day by day I saw a stream of “holidays” pop up all over social media.  One day would be National Potato Chip Day.  The next, National Yarn Day.  It was perplexing.  Who determined what days of celebration fell on what days?  How did people find out when these days were occurring?  Why the heck was this seemingly happening all of a sudden?Why…why……WHY?!  Then someone shared a post with me for National Nachos Day, and my obsession with nachos instantly turned me into a person sharing a National Nachos Day photo.  So, yes.  Occasionally I will participate in these days of favorites.  And apparently, today is one of those days.  It’s National Lipstick Day!  At least that’s what a trending hashtag on Twitter told me, so it must be true!

There are so many wonderful lipsticks out there in the world.  And you don’t have to destroy your budget to get a perfect pucker.  Drugstore brands have really stepped up their game.  I’ve purchased a $3 lipstick at the drugstore that performed even better than a $24 lippie.  Recently I picked up two brands of matte liquid lipsticks at the drugstore that I had heard a lot of buzz about their quality.  Now these lippies have quickly become some of my new faves that I reach for on the regular.

Jordana Cosmetics Sweet Cream Matte Liquid Lipstick

While waiting for our favorite Indian restaurant to open for lunch recently, I was killing time at a drugstore across the street.  While aimlessly wandering through the makeup aisles, I spotted Jordana Cosmetics.  I had read a few reviews about their Sweet Cream Matte liquid lipsticks but hadn’t stumbled across the brand in any other stores.  Their display of liquid lipsticks was nearly sold out and three shades were left shoved in the back of the shelf.  I snatched the tubes before anyone else could get their paws on them.

As I unscrewed the cap and took a whiff, they smelled like super yummy vanilla frosting.  The applicator has a curved doe foot that is meant to hug the shape of your lip.

As I applied the product, it tasted like a sweet little cupcake.  Mmmmmmm!  I love a lippie thetis tasty!  More importantly, it applied evenly and smoothly.  The formula is opaque, consistent in coverage and dries to a complete matte, transfer-proof finish.  I had minimal drying to my lips with this formula and find it pretty comfortable.  However, I make sure to exfoliate my lips really well prior to application.  If you forget, refuse or protest lip exfoliation, your matte liquid lipsticks will be DOOMED.

My favorite shade of Jordana Sweet Cream Matte lipsticks is Pomegranate Pie.  It’s a vibrant electric pink shade that adds a uppercut punch of color to your lips.

Depending on where you purchase these lipsticks from, they will only cost you between $4.99 to $7.99.  Jordana Cosmetics is also cruelty-free which is at times challenging to find at the drugstore.

Here are some of the shades from their line that I was able to snag:

Wet n Wild MegaLast Catsuit Matte Lipstick

I’m old.  I recently had a birthday and now I feel ancient.  I’ve been wearing makeup for what feels like eons.  One of the first brands I ever tried was Wet n Wild.  Back in the day, Wet n Wild was the uber cheap brand at the drugstore that you could talk your parents into buying for you since it was so inexpensive.  In the vaults of my memory I recall all of their products costing 99 cents.  Because of this, Wet n Wild had a reputation of being crappy, cheap makeup.  But was it?  Was it considered subpar because of its price, yet was it producing decent formulas?  Fast forward to decades later and you will find hundreds of video reviews by famous YouTube beauty gurus about Wet n Wild hauls.  Some of the gurus tout various Wet n Wild products as their holy grail favorites.

Although Wet n Wild is no longer a 99 cent brand, their makeup is still affordable and many of their products’ quality far exceeds their affordable prices.  I was also surprised to hear that they were now cruelty-free.  If only all drugstore brands could forego animal testing (I’m side-eyeing you, Covergirl, L’Oreal, Revlon and Almay).  So when I heard about their Catsuit matte liquid lipstick being a fabulous formula for five bucks, I was all about giving it a whirl.

I grabbed two tubes of Catsuit for $4.99 a piece at the drugstore.  The packaging feels surprisingly more substantial for an affordable brand.  I didn’t smell a fragrance and the curved tip applicator is similar to Jordana’s.  The first time I applied it, I didn’t wipe the excess product from the applicator tip on the inside of the tube.  It applied a thick layer or product on my lip.  Because it was so thick, it started to crumble as soon as it dried.  Not so fabulous.  I took some coconut oil and wiped off the chunky mess.  Ok.  Second attempt.  This time I wiped the excess product off on the opening of the tube and applied a thin amount of product.  Ahhhhh.  Much, much better.  It applied much more smoothly and consistently.  This product has some serious grip.  It dried quickly down to a completely matte finish.  While it dried down matte, it had a very slight transfer.  But it’s such a small amount that it doesn’t irk me.  It’s very long lasting and pretty comfortable.  If you are wearing it for hours, you may want to toss on some chapstick before reapplication after eating.  I wore it one day and didn’t eat for hours and it began to slightly crack.  I tossed a lip balm on top and it made my lips smooth again.  This lipstick can be a little challenging to remove.  I use my old trusty coconut oil to get every last bit of lipstick off.

For 5 smackers, this is a fab lippie.  Plus, you can find Wet n Wild at most drugstores.

So there you have it!  I jumped on the National Lipstick Day bandwagon.  Truth be told, I may have already been writing this post on lipstick when it coincidentally fell on National Lipstick Day.  Either way, enjoy!