Hey gorgeous gals,
After reviewing the shades “Some Nerve” and “Girl Gang” from the Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipsticks earlier, I have two more shades up for review today. These would be from the “hatke” category of shades. Let us see how these performed.
Product Description:
What it is:
An eight-hour, liquid matte lipstick that’s specifically formulated to be comfortable and not dry out your lips.
What it does:
Give lips bold, lightweight color with a liquid matte finish. Formulated with Advanced Polymer Technology, it ensures that your lip color last up to eight hours, and it won’t smudge, budge, or feather. It’s infused with Primer Oil complex to condition lips, and it features a range of vibrant, highly pigmented shades, and a precision tip applicator that perfectly lines and fills in lip color.
What it is formulated without parabens, pthalates.
Ingredients:
*Isododecane, Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Polybutene, Petrolatum, Cyclohexasiloxane, Kaolin, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Beeswax, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Propylene Carbonate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Simmondsia Chinesis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Cyclopentasiloxane, Flavor, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Carmine (CI 75470), Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Mica, Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Red 22 Lake (CI 45380), Red 28 (CI 45410), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Red 30 (CI 73360), Red 30 Lake (CI 73360), Red 33 Lake (CI 17200), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15895).
Price:
US $24/INR 2050 for 3.84ml – which is on the lower end of the spectrum – compared to the other liquid lipsticks like Kat Von D (6.6ml) and Huda Beauty (5ml). This does make it an expensive lipstick in its league.
My Experience with Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick – True Grit and Chill Zone:
Packaging: The Smashbox lipsticks come packaged in a cuboid clear tube with a black cap. The clear tube makes it very convenient for one to identify the colour of the product. The outside packaging consists of a black cardboard cover with a colour-coded stripe on it.
The beauty of the packaging lies in 3 things. One, is the distinct cuboid design with just the brand name emblazoned on it. And two, the applicator, which is tear-dropped shape with a small well/dip in the center. While the well allows you to pick up sufficient product for both lips – without having to dip the wand again; the sharp end of the applicator allows you to line your lips with precision. This really helps you to get clean and clear lines.
Also, the applicator spreads the product evenly on the lips. Since the size of the tube is small, the length of the wand is also small. This too, allows one, more precise application. Three, the neck of the tube is fitted with a silicone stopper which ensures that the applicator does not get loaded with too much product. It wipes the applicator as you pull it out, ensuring that there is just about the right amount of product on the wand to allow for a clean application.
The two shades that I am reviewing today are – “True Grit” and “Chill Zone.”
True Grit: The shade is described by the brand as a “deep warm brown” which is fairly apt. The shade is really deep dark brown, even darker than the coffee bean brown which used to be extremely popular in the 1990s. I still remember being so inspired by Aishwarya Rai’s look with the coffee bean brown lipstick and getting myself a Lakme lipstick in that shade. I used to wear it constantly. And if I am not mistaken, I even finished one and repurchased!! It never occurred to me that I am no Aishawarya Rai and I probably should look at more flattering tones than a deep dark brown! My first gift from my then boyfriend (now husband) was a Revlon lipstick in a pretty wine shade! Who knew the obsession would continue – for the man and the wine!! 😉
Back to the shade in hand, as I mentioned in my review of the shade Some Nerve and Girl Gang, the lipstick turns a shade o two darker post drying. So, when you try it for the first time, it may seem like a deep chocolatey brown but once dry – it looks more like a roasted coffee bean brown; it’s not an everyday color. It’s more like a statement shade. If it had more red in it or was chocolate-y – it would have probably been more wear-able. On its own – it’s a unique shade.
You need confidence to carry it off. It could work well with a more colourful eye look. Even with the simple look in the FOTD, I feel it really stands out. To get more wear out of it, one could use this in the inner corners of the lip with maybe Out Loud or Miss Conduct on rest of the lip…like a lip contour shade.
Chill Zone: Described by the brand as a “deep cool grey,” which again is quite apt. It is a medium, cool-toned grey with just a hint of lavender. Very very unusual shade, no doubt! I quite enjoy wearing it – if nothing else, just for the shock value of it! 😉 Like wearing this and waiting for my husband to ask me – when are you flying off on your broom! ☺ ☺ It is interesting to see unique shades popping up in the more established brands and not being restricted to just Indie brands. I do understand that all said and done, the beauty industry and society – in India – is still fairly conservative in its approach to colors and makeup. Don’t believe me? Try wearing a blue lipstick and walk through a mall and see how many “stares” you get!! Anyway, back to the shade in hand. So, this is a medium, cool-toned grey which again is not gonna be an everyday colour. The cool tone and the hint of lavender makes it a shade which might be more easy to be pulled off by someone who is on the fair to light side and cool toned. This is definitely a “try-before-you” buy type of shade.
Texture: This is the funny bit – the texture on these two shades is even better than the ones I reviewed earlier – Some Nerve and Girl Gang. These are made in Italy. The texture of these is lightly creamy, slightly mousse-y. They aren’t thick, but aren’t as liquid as Lime Crime or as lightweight as Huda Beauty either. The creaminess makes you feel that they may be heavy on the lips – but they aren’t. The texture is fairly lightweight, but not entirely weightless. Once applied, it dries down fairly quickly, and gets totally budge-proof and transfer-proof. With these, I did not feel any pull, any feeling of dryness – not even a hint. They were quite comfortable to wear. There is no deathly drying phase. It does not dry out your lips, nor does it hydrate. They didn’t even make my lips feel dry with prolonged wear time.
Pigmentation: Pigmentation for both shades is bang on. Both shades have good pigmentation – covering the lips with opaque, even colour. I didn’t need to build up either shades. As mentioned earlier, do take into account that the shades dry down darker than when they first apply. So, when checking for colours in the store, do let the shade dry down completely before you decide to decide on the shade because it can go one or even two shades deeper post drying.
Lasting Power: Both shades gave me about 6 – 6.5 hours of wear time. Honestly, I would probably get longer than 8 hours (as claimed by the brand) if I were not to eat in between. But, let’s be real! I can’t go without food for 8 hours! I feel faint if I don’t eat for 15 minutes!! 😉 So basically, a lot depends on what you eat. The formula of these two shades tends to break down more easily with oil. So, if you are just sipping and nibbling, this may stay put, but even slightly greasy food will start breaking this up very quickly – making it disappear from the inner portion of the lips (not really the whole lip). Neither of the shades leave a stain – which I guess is a good thing – considering what shades these are! Having said that, the breakdown of the shades does not look appealing. There is no stain and the shades themselves are so distinct that when they do disappear from the inner portion of the lips – it is all too obvious. So, you will need to go in for a re-application post meals. The good part is that it is easy to re-apply. The fresh coat merges seamlessly with the existing coat and you do not need to take it all off before re-application.
Fragrance: There is a slight sweet fragrance. I did not feel its presence while using the lipsticks. I obviously smelled them up close while penning this review. #lifeofabeautyblogger So, while there is a fragrance, it is very subtle and should not be a bother.
To sum this up for you:
Pros of Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick – True Grit and Chill Zone:
- Extremely unique shades.
- Lightweight texture.
- Good pigmentation.
- Both shades were very comfortable to wear and they didn’t even create any dry patches post prolonged wear.
- Very easy to apply with the applicator to get clean, crisp lines.
- It applies smoothly and evenly.
- No feathering or bleeding.
- Decent packaging.
- Easy to identify colour from the tube itself.
- Does not flake away.
Cons of Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick – True Grit and Chill Zone:
- Decent wear time but does not live upto the claims made by the brand of 8 hours of wear – unless the brand expects you to not eat for 8 hours.
- The quantity is almost half/less than half of other comparable brands in the market, in the same price range.
IMBB Rating:
A 4.5/5 product.
Overall Thoughts – The textural quality of these two shades was even better than the shades Some Nerve and Girl Gang. However, I do understand that these shades are not up everyone’s alley. if someone does feel experimental – I would suggest them to definitely check these out.
Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick – Some Nerve and Girl Gang
Smashbox Out Loud Always On Matte Liquid Lipstick
Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick Bawse
Smashbox Blast Off Always On Liquid Lipstick
Smashbox Bang Bang Always On Liquid Lipstick
Sugar 04 Plum Yum Smudge Me Not Liquid Lipstick
Anastasia Liquid Lipstick Ashton
Chambor Extreme Wear 406 Transferproof Liquid Lipstick
Lime Crime Polly Velvetines Matte Liquid Lipstick
