I love lipstick, and I’m always incredibly envious of people who really know what they’re doing with it. I wish I could afford to spend money investing in lipsticks that will stay all day, survive meals, and look good in the process, but that simply isn’t the case.
But for us poor girls, maybe we’re spending even more money on lipstick than we need to, because the cheaper brands receive so little scrutiny, and we end up having to buy more and more just to find something decent? So to help a sister (or brother) out, I’ve chosen 5 lipsticks costing £3 or less from Superdrug.
Why Superdrug? They do student discount (10%!), they have a rewards card, and they’re the closest to where I live.
My lips before makeup (and my awful jaggedy teeth, which I implore you to ignore).
Disclaimer – I have acne, a moustache, chipped teeth, AND I’m crap at applying lipstick (if there is a god, he’s not my biggest fan. Nor are my ovaries.) A lot of the pictures you’ll see are photoshopped – albeit poorly. Let’s just ignore my skin, teeth, and the poor blurring job I’ve done, and focus on the lipstick.
My natural lips are a pale pink. Which would be nice if my skin wasn’t almost paper white. If I apply foundation, eye makeup, etc. without lipstick, I end up looking washed out and horrid, so I’ve been sampling a lot of products recently, trying to find something affordable that works for me.
1. B. Vibrant, 2. Collection, 3. MUA, 4. Makeup Revolution, 5. Freedom
As its almost Halloween, I went for orange-y reds, dark purples, and anything with ‘Vamp’ in the title. It’s not so much the colour I’m testing, but the vibrancy, texture, staying power and value of the products. But I hope you like the colours I’ve chosen and find the reviews helpful.
1. B. Vibrant | Lip & Cheek Colour in 153 – Orient
Price: £1.50, reduced from £4.99
They weren’t lying about the vibrancy – it’s a strong, easy to apply colour. It has a modest shine to it, but it may be erring on the greasy side (my lips feel slightly slippery, but not uncomfortably so).
Boyfriend Test
Spectacular failure. Went all over his face. Funny though.
Meal Test
Pretty much all wiped off. Can you expect anything else from a burrito? I don’t know.
Pros
Smooth and vibrant.
Cons
Not amazing at staying on. Bit slippery feeling.
Final Verdict
3.5/5 – sort of ok, hard to forget you’re wearing it, but it looks good.
2. Collection Matt Lip Butter in Crimson Velvet 3
Price: £2.99
Butter was a good name for this product. You know how lovely body butter feels on your skin? This is that, but not greasy, and on your lips. The creamy crayon was easy to apply, even for a novice like me, and felt good in the process. It’s not dry, it’s not sticky, it’s not greasy, the texture is perfect.
Boyfriend Test
I didn’t get to boyfriend test this lipstick as he was unfortunately not present at time of testing. I did, however, conduct a Brief Scientific Sleep Test (I took a nap). It stayed very well.
Meal Test
A lot of the lipstick rubbed off – but to be fair I was eating tacos. Tacos are not a lipstick friendly food.
Pros
Amazing texture – lips feel smooth and moisturised, without feeling greasy, oily or sticky. Good colour.
Cons
Wiped off fairly easily.
Final Verdict
4/5 – The nice texture and colour makes the multiple trips to the ladies room to top up this lipstick worth it.
3. MUA LUXE Velvet Lip Lacquer in Kooky
Price: £3.00
Matt, dark, yet vibrant, and in a cool frosty tube? It was already ticking a lot of boxes for me. Not to mention I couldn’t get the small tester smear off my hand with all of the tissues in Subway.
The staying power of this lipstick should not be underestimated. Unfortunately that also means it’s quite hard to apply – one wrong stroke and that’s it – that blob might as well be tattooed on your upper lip for life.
The lip lacquer dries quickly, leaving a fierce, matt finish, but it is very, very, very, very, dry on the lips. I wasn’t sure if it was cheating applying some lip balm over the top, but after 45 minutes, I had to.
The other downside is that its very flaky. I was constantly finding little bits with my tongue, so although it stays very well, you do still have to worry about finding bits in your teeth.
Boyfriend Test
Dry and flaky. Probably not fun for him.
Meal Test
Felt very uncomfortable and like I was losing flakes everywhere, but on checking afterwards, it was 100% intact. Beginning to think the lipstick is indestructible and this is my life now.
Pros
Vibrant colour, long lasting, cute packaging, smells like berries!
Cons
Very dry. I’ve just removed it and I feel and look like my lips have been sandpapered. I’ve smothered myself in lip balm and I’m hoping for a speedy recovery.
Final Verdict
3/5 – do not underestimate the dryness here. Think Sahara. It’s uncomfortable. But at no point did it ever look as horrid as it felt. So if you’re willing to suffer for beauty (which I am not, else I’d exercise and be much thinner) this might be the one for you.
4. Makeup Revolution Vamp Collection Lipstick – Rebel with Cause
Price: £1.00
This is a beautiful plum shade with a bit of a shine to it.
The lipstick went on very easily – it needed two coats to fully cover my lips, but it doesn’t feel too thick. It’s neither greasy nor sticky – very happy so far!
Boyfriend Test
Stayed fairly well on me, but he did have a bit of a pink tinge after.
Meal Test
Lost more of the shine than the colour really. I wouldn’t say it was a flawless, meal proof lipstick, but it looks and feels good enough to make it worth topping up every now and again.
Pros
Lovely texture, long lasting, very cheap.
Cons
Colour feels sliiiightly transparent and needs quite a lot for coverage.
Final Verdict
4.5/5 – If I’d paid £5 for this lipstick, it’d be average/maybe just above that. But it was a pound. A POUND. I will be ordering plenty more of these.
I still haven’t 100% made my mind up about Makeup Revolution yet – I bought their concealer/corrector palette the other day, and the creams feel a bit smeary and again a bit transparent. But I think for someone on a budget they’re a fairly safe, if unexciting brand.
5. Freedom Pro Lipstick Kit – Vamp Collection
Price: £5 – Cheeky I know but they work out at £1 each!
Being the closet goth I am, I instantly chose to test the black (Noir) shade in this box. I figured the darkest colour would be the best way to test the ‘high intensity’ professionalism of the lipsticks.
The black certainly wasn’t coming through on the first application… Or the second… Or the third. In fact, it never really reached a point I can reasonably describe as black. I suppose I have quite pale lips but even still, I expected more.
The lipstick was quite greasy as I applied it, and smeared easily. Although surprisingly it did stay vaguely on my lips and dry a bit.
Boyfriend Test
Went all over the place. He looked very funny with dark pink lips.
Meal Test
All wiped off. Only a slight discolouring left that left me looking like I was very cold.
Pros
Very, very cheap. And at least it’s not sticky?
Cons
Greasy, hard to apply, doesn’t stay, and was not the advertised colour.
Final Verdict
1.5/5 – maybe the other colours will be better.
In case the Noir disappointment was an anomaly I tried another colour from the set – Dark Paradise, unfortunately it was also greasy, smeary and hard to apply.
So – it’s very hard to find a decent lipstick for under £3, but if you’re short for cash, your best bet is a Makeup Revolution Vamp Collection/Amazing Lipstick for £1 .
University drop-out, pretend artist, makeup enthusiast. Uses too many brackets when writing. Can’t be stopped.
