First Impressions: Sleek Matte Me

Recently I've really been feeling like my photography is just unsatisfactory?! I mean, I have photographed these Sleek lip creams more than four times and each time I have hated the photos. I shouldn't even call this a 'First Impressions' as I have had these for over six months *hangs head in shame* I've finally just gone ahead and uploaded a version that I am marginally happy with. Important life lesson: everything can't be perfect! Next time I think I will just upload the post the first time round!  

The Product

Sleek Matte Me

Colour range: Birthday Suit, Petal, Brink Pick, Fandango Purple, Rioja Red and Party Pink 

Claims: 'Matte Me is a matte finish liquid lipstick that glides on in one smooth application, with no need for a second coat.'

Price: £4.99 each

Alongside the mass influx of highlighters to the beauty market is the barrage of liquid lipsticks. They are everywhere and, pretty much, every brand has it's own version of these stay in place matte beauties. With the most famous offerings being from high end companies like  Kat Von D, Anastasia Beverley Hills and LimeCrime, I was super excited to see an affordable version in Boots. Plus,  I have always preferred matte lips over glossy so I went ahead and picked up all the shades they had on offer in the store.

I picked up; Petal, a pale pastel pink, Rioja Red, a blue toned bright red, Birthday Suit, a brown based nude and Fandango Purple, a bright fuchsia. I was most excited about trying Rioja Red as I absolutely adore bold red lips!  The lip creams look really glossy on the applicator but once applied dry to a completely matte finish. I find it quite difficult to control the amount of product on the applicator as the opening of the tube is quite big. I have to scrape a lot of the excess on the side of the tube in order to be left with a manageable amount of product. 

In all honesty, the application is not as easy as I would have hoped for. I find that moisturising my lips with a lip balm, five minutes before application, helps the process. I find that I definitely need more than one swipe to reach full opacity and have to tidy up any mistakes before it dries. However, I really do like the finished result of some of the shades, once it dries it is completely matte so, for the price, I would say it is worth it if you can nail the application. 

Once applied, these offer quite good wear time (4-5 hours), however the formula is really quite drying and not the most comfortable to wear, it also tends to emphasise any cracks or deep lines you may have in your lips. I find that i need to remove it completely after a couple of hours and reapply it on top of a fresh layer of balm to stop my lips becoming too dry.  I normally just vigorously wipe it off but it is smarter to use an oil based makeup remover to avoid irritation. 

I have swatched all the shades without a lip liner so you can see the true colour, but I would not advise wearing Birthday Suit and Petal without one if you are of a deeper skin tone like myself.  I have sort of disowned Petal as I think it looks too pale and milky on me.  However, If you like this sort of shade, I would suggest pairing it with a dark berry liner, like MAC Nightmoth or NYX Deep Purple, and creating an ombre effect if you have a deeper skin tone. Alternatively, a brown lipliner like MAC Chesnut will mute it out a little. Weirdly, the darker colours - Rioja Red and Fandango Purple, were easier to apply than the lighter ones hence, these are my favourites. I also think the vibrancy suits me a lot more than the pinks. Rioja Red is definitely my favourite out of the four shades, it's a true red that's perfect if you love bold lips.

Rioja Red

Fandango Purple

Birthday Suit

Petal

Verdict

Overall, I really like the vibrancy and intensity of the shades. Once dry, the formula is completely matte and for the price, it is a good offering if you don't want to spend triple the price on high end versions. The formula is a little tricky to work with and definitely needs a couple of layers in order for it to be fully opaque. I would suggest going to swatch these in store( Boots or Superdrug) before you commit to buying them to see if you like the formula before you purchase!

As always, thank you for reading!!

'Be your own kind of beautiful'