Your best bet in trying out new colors is to look at cheaper brands. Brands like Wet N Wild, Jordana, Elf, Kleancolor and LA Colors retail in drugstores and dollar stores from $0.99 to $2.49. These are great deals for these lipsticks. Wet N Wild Megalast lipsticks is a personal favorite particularly for people starting out, but even beloved by makeup veterans because there is great color pay off and their colors have frequently been compared to MAC. There megalast brand has a semi-matte finish, which is a slightly drier, flatter appearance to tone down sheen.
However, I am more of a fan of Jordana and LA Colors. I find that LA Colors is superior for a cheap brand, but I find Jordana to be superior just for any type of brand. It must be noted that I have only tried LA Colors lip gloss and moisturizing lipsticks and I love, love, love them. My favorite LA Colors color is Frozen Berries, a deep, rich "royal" purple color. It's hard to find but it's a great find! What most people don't like, and I am shocked that I do like, is that these moisturizing lipsticks are a bit sheer. But yet it still has excellent color pay off. It glides on so smoothly and you have never been moisturized by a lipstick the way you will be moisturized by these lipsticks! Amazing! Other favorites of mine in the moisturizing lipstick collection for LA Colors is Luscious Wine (deep red), Dusty Rose (frosty light pink) and Cocoa Shimmer (dark brown with gold flecks). Adorbs.
Jordana lipsticks are just...yaaass. The exceptional texture, look, make, formula, range of color, color pay off, application, wear, variety, versatility...all for an amazing price. They retail between $1.49-$2.49. They have regular lipsticks, matter lipsticks and modern matte lipsticks (their newest collection). When I say these lipsticks are superior, I *mean* they are superior. If you order on jordanacosmetics.com, you get free shipping after $25 but you will pay like $7 otherwise for taxes,shipping and handling. Better to order them from beautyjoint.com that only has $2.37 for shipping and handling. And you may find a better availability of the colors. Some fan favorites are Matte Rouge, Geranium, Pink Passion, Plum Obsession and Lavendar Lady. (Also, the new modern matte collection is especially popular). There are tons of youtube videos on these lipsticks. I have only tried Matte Rouge out of these fan favorites, and I am in love. While it's not MAC, it's my back up for my Ruby Woo. I have purchased literally 30 or more of Jordana lipsticks and there are still colors I am dying to try. They have that much range on colors, it's ridiculous. And majority of the colors excite me especially because I know their lipstick formula feels comfortable, goes on excellently and looks amazing. The colors are vibrant and yet natural. I am a huge fan of the modern Matte It Girl, a purple color. I also adore Pink Showstopper (light pink matte) and Poppy Pink (bright pink matte). I am waiting on some nude colors and more purple colors from their website. Excitement!
I am personally not as much a fan of Wet N Wild, although I find their Cherry bomb (brownish red), Sugar Plum Fairy (deep purple), Don't Blink Pink (bright pink), and Stoplight Red (bright blue-toned red) quite superior colors. I do not like the application because some of the colors get thick and clumpy as you apply. And while you get lots of color for each swipe (color pay off), I do not get too many colors that flatter my skin tone in this line. They are way too bright for my complexion. The four colors that I mentioned, with the exception of Don't Blink Pink, are darker bluer-toned or deep purple-toned lipsticks that are excellent on me.
Moreover, I do not like Elf lipsticks at all. While I can appreciate their colors and color range, the application and wear pretty much sucksss. Yes, sucks with three s's, or four if you count the first s. It's streaky. It bleeds. It clumps. It sits in the creases of my lips. It makes the skin of my lips peel. Even if a color is flattering on me (like the beautiful red color Fearless in their $0.99 collection), these lipsticks have the potential to ruin the texture of my lipsticks so bad that any lipstick that try on immediately afterwards, go on similarly. Fail.
Kleancolor is in-between for me. I pick up their products for $1 on shopmissa.com (a new favorite website of my mine). This brand has an exceptional application. It literally glides on to your lips. I place this application even superior to MAC application. It's good if you are into nudes, pinks, reds and purples. But I have only tried their Everlasting lipstick brand. I did not try their Femme lipstick brand (with blues and yellows), which has mixed reviews online. What I wish is that their everlasting brand came matte. I love their red Garnet color but it has a bit of a sheen. I don't mind sheen-y lipsticks but I would love that color in matte. The only issue with Kleancolor for me is that I am not a huge fan of their colors. Garnet is their most in-your-face color, and these are the type of colors I like. Super vibrant. Dark, deep or rich. Blue-toned. I am sure it's great for others who enjoy more toned down colors.
I can't speak too much to how long this wear unfortunately because I am doing a lot of this underground for now until I am ready to sprout like a flower. I wear my lipsticks out here and there and I am outside for maybe a couple hours. Of course after 2 hours, they all are still pretty much on your lips. But in a while I will be out and about longer and I will update on wear.
Alternatively new lipstick lovers can go to the MAC stores, where lipsticks go for $16 per bottle. You can sample different colors of lipsticks there at the store. Or you can splurge on a $60 lip palette with your choice of colors. Online they are currently doing free shipping on all orders. So I psyche myself out and tell myself "Oh, this is not *really* a $16 bottle; I am just paying $10 bucks for an excellent lipstick and $6 bucks for 'free shipping'"! Honestly, there is no lipstick brand better than MAC. Yes, the love for MAc is cultish. But it is sincerely well-deserved. There may be more colors somewhere else, maybe a single solitary better color somewhere else, or even a nicer, smoother application or wear somewhere else, but no brand has the magic that solidifies everything that a lipstick should be in all their products consistently. The best-selling red lipstick is MAC's Ruby Woo. And Russian Red is another fan favorite. Ruby Woo is a retro matte, which is especially drying, but looks absolutely fantastic on any skin complexion--a perfect finish. I am waiting on Flat out Fabulous!
Go and try on jewelry for your lips!
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