Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Matte Lipsticks

I'm not sure when Rimmel launched the Kate Lastinging Finish line of matte lipsticks, but I saw the display in my CVS in early January 2013.  I have several of the regular Rimmel Kate lipsticks and I really like them, plus I tend to love matte lipsticks, so I was very excited to try these out.

I picked up four shades, 101, 104, 109 and 111.  I have absolutely no idea why #111 is the only one of the bunch that has a name, Kiss of Life.

All of the lipsticks were opaque with one swipe and they all seemed to stain to some degree, though obviously, 111 stained a lot more than 101.  As far as matte lipsticks, I didn't like this formula as much as the MAC matte formula (which I actually really like).

This formula wasn't terribly uncomfortable to wear, it just wasn't great.  The wear time was good, which you'd expect from a matte lipstick that stains.  The texture also isn't the greatest, but I'm not particularly sensitive to that.  If you are, you may want to skip this line as it can feel a little gritty.

• 101 - bright neutral (maybe slightly blue based) pink
• 104 - pinky brown with berry undertones
• 109 - mostly neutral coral pink-red.  Color swatches is very true to the bullet.
• 111 - bright red with slightly orange undertones, though less orange than MAC Ruffian Red or NYX True Red (have I seriously not posted that review).

The lipsticks each contain 4 grams of product.  These lipsticks are available wherever Rimmel is sold for around $6.

Overall:  7/10

Flower Beauty Kiss Stick Lipsticks

Flower Beauty is the new cosmetics line from Drew Barrymore and the Maesa manufacturing group.  It is sold exclusively through Wal-Mart stores and Walmart.com.  The line launched in January 2013 and currently has 181 offerings ranging in price from $4.98 to $13.98.  The category breakdowns are:

• Face - 70 items
• Lips - 51 items
• Eyes - 44 items
• Nails - 16 items

For this post, I'm concentrating on the lips.  The lip line includes:

• Kiss Stick - Velvet Lip Color (matte lipstick)
• Kiss Stick - High Shine Lip Color
• Lip Service - Lip Butter
• Shine On - Lip Gloss Wand
• Sheer Up - Lip Tint (gloss stick)
• Line & Shine - Lip Liner
• Petite Fleurs - Lip Pocket Trios (3 lipsticks)

(L-R; Petunia Petals, Tender Tuberose, Sweet Peony, So Gladiola)

I picked up 4 of the Kiss Sticks (5 actually, but one will be a later post) which retails for $6.98 each.  They each contain 3.5 grams of product.

• Velvet Lip Color in So Gladiola
• Velvet Lip Color in Tender Tuberose
• High Shine Lip Color in Petunia Petals
• High Shine Lip Color in Sweet Peony

(Petunia Petals, Tender Tuberose)

(Sweet Peony, So Gladiola)

(Sunlight, Daylight Bulbs)

• LS 16 - Petunia Petals is a High Shine lipstick.  It is a bright blue-based berry pink.  The color is very similar to MAC Moxie, but the finish is very different.  It applied evenly and smoothly, but it took a couple of passes for it to be opaque.  The formula is lightweight and moisturizing.  It didn't stay shiny for me for very long, maybe an hour.  I needed to re-apply after 3 hours.
• LS 12 - Sweet Peony is a High Shine lipstick.  It is a neutral peachy pink.  Like the other high shine lipstick, it applied evenly and smoothly, but took a couple of passes to be opaque.  It and was moisturizing and comfortable on the lips with a similar wear time to Petunia Petals.
• LS 7 - So Gladiola is a Velvet Lip Color.  It is a bright coral that leans very orange.  It is opaque in one swipe, though it did skip a bit during application.  It has a matte finish.  This was not my favorite matte finish by far.  I find both MAC and Rimmel's matte finishes to be easier to wear and less drying on my lips.  Being matte, it did have a good wear time, but it was not comfortable and I ended up putting something else on my lips far before this color had worn off.
• LS 3 - Tender Tuberose is a Velvet Lip Color.  It is a darkened pinky brown with a matte finish.  I found this formula to be even drier than So Gladiola.

(MAC Moxie vs. Flower Petunia Petals)

Overall, I really want to love this line.  I think the colors are fantastic.  I was thrilled to see they had matte lipsticks and so disappointed that they weren't easier for me to wear.  I think the price point is good.  I'm bummed that you can only get them through Wal-Mart.

Flower Beauty says they never test on animals, but I wouldn't vouch for them or their parent company being completely cruelty free.