LIPLINERS - ARE WE OVERSPENDING?

Hey my lovelies! I hope you're doing well, I hope you're having the most wonderful day and I'm about to make your day ten times BETTER.

Today we're talking lipliners. More specifically, we're talking about the correlation between price & quality of lipliners. You see huns, I went to get a coffee on Thursday morning before heading to my studio and I stumbled into the beauty section in my local Primark (needed to stock up on cotton wool pads 90p for 100 pack just sayin) and whilst I was there I saw a lipliner shade that REALLY caught my eye I was like ok I need that. Next thing I know I've got about 7 in my hand, standard.

They we're all £1 each, not surprising from Primark but I thought...hmm - what if they're actually good? So I went straight back to my studio (I didn't even get a coffee) because I wanted to try these badboys out. Well, I just couldn't believe it. I swatched them all on my hands and lips, paired them with my favourite lipstick shades and glosses to see what goes with what and I was just BLOWN AWAY.

This got me thinking, hang on? Don't I have some lipliners in my kit that are over £15...that I never use? Why don't I use them? Why do I always reach for my affordable alternatives? 

Well that's because in the grand scheme of things, the longevity of lipliner doesn't really matter? All day with our mouths we eat, drink, talk, kiss the list goes on. If our lipstick & gloss comes off, why would we want our lipliner left on? Do you think that when you pay for a lipliner that's £19 it should last all day? Do you even need it to last all day? Even if it DID last all day, wouldn't you just apply said lipliner when you reapply everything else to blend your liner & lipstick together? 

 The longevity of your lipliner doesn't matter, you will probably apply it again anyway! What matters is quality & pigmentation. I CAN'T STAND those lipliners that are stiff & dry - you know the ones that hurt to apply? I live for the creamy pigmented 'glide on' lipliners. I looked in my kit, my creamy, pigmented lipliners - we're the affordable ones. The stiff & dry ones - were the expensive ones. Now I'm not saying that all high end lipliners are rubbish, because they're not. I'm saying - why are we paying over four times the price for a product that will perform almost the same and have the same lifespan in our makeup bags. 

If you're a makeup artist, you should be sharpening your lipliner between every single client - this is the best way to sanitise lipliners. How many clients do you have on a Saturday? 11? 13? Think how much that lipliner is going to SHRINK in a month. Think about the prices you pay and think about how many times your client has gone out with their fabulous makeup, but they only thing they have to reapply is their lip due to eating, drinking whatever. Why are you paying more for the same product performance?

Now I can't speak for all affordable lipliners when I say they're good BUT I've found a few affordable brands that sell EXCEPTIONAL quality lipliners, at an amazing price. So, I've done a little bit of swatching of some of my favourite shades and compared them to high end/other affordable options - just so we can do a little compare & contrast! All of the shades of lipliner will be listed underneath each swatch picture! Put your detective cap on and lets investigate.

(I couldn't find ANY links to the Primark Lip Liners so just pop in your local Primark and have a look for the shades!)

Top To Bottom (Primark: Toast Lipliner, MAC: Stripdown, NYX: London, Charlotte Tilbury: Iconic Nude.)

Well look what we have here! NUDE SWATCHES! 

Primark Toast lipliner is what caught my eye in the shop, totally up my street. When I put this on my lips I thought oh my life this is my new fave. Creamy, pigmented, glides on, no pulling. 

MAC Stripdown, forever my love, but a lot dryer than the Primark & Tilbury. 

NYX London, the driest of them all, but an incredible shade and this formula is very comparable to the MAC formula, just a tiny little less pigment. Tugs a little when applying.

Charlotte Tilbury Iconic Nude, a waxy formula, excellent pigmentation, tends to crumble on the lips after so long.

Left to Right (Primark: Spice, Laura Mercier: Red Chocolate).

Now this is interesting. I was drawn to Primark - Spice in the shop. When I arrived back to my studio, I thought wow this is so similar to a Laura Mercier one I have! Except it was more than similar (it was better) and there was a difference of £18!

Primark Spice - creamy, pigmented, glides on, no tugging.

Laura Mercier Red Chocolate - Pigmented, slightly dry, slight tugging, ridiculous price in comparison to the Primark one - FOR THE SAME COLOUR AND BETTER FORMULA.

Left to Right (Primark - Victoria, NYX - Copenhagen, Charlotte Tilbury - Bad Romance)

Berry Swatches! Now these are all completely different shades, so I can't say that there's a particular "dupe" but you can get a pretty good idea of the quality and price from this. 

Primark Victoria - Plum shade with reddish undertone, creamy, pigmented, no tugging.

NYX Copenhagen - Similar to MAC lipliners, drier than Primark, good pigmentation, slight tugging.

Charlotte Tilbury Bad Romance - Waxy texture, BEAUTIFUL pigmentation and shade, slight tugging, goes a little bit patchy over time with general wear.

Left to Right (MAC - What a Blast!, NYX - Summer Tease, NYX - Kitten Heels, MAC - Cherry)

Oranges & Reds. Not the lipliners I get to use most often on my clients - but when I do, it matters. These are just a few of my favourites and you can't just have one red lipliner in your kit, because every red has a different undertone.

MAC What a Blast! - (Think this is discontinued) This is my favourite lipliner formula from MAC (The Prolongwear Formula) because it's more creamy than the standard ones (but more expensive) I find this formula is the EXACT SAME as the Primark formula and the NYX Slide on Glide on Formula. Thank you, goodbye.

NYX Summer Tease - this is the ‘slide on, glide on’ style lipliner from NYX which is the formula I prefer more than the others. It’s WAY creamier and you get so much more pigment pay off.

NYX Kitten Heels - not the best red lipliner, a little dry and tugs a little too but not bad considering he price.

MAC Cherry - a good red lipliner, pigmented, slightly dry.

Left to Right (Rimmel - Cappucino, NYX - Sugar Glass, Kilo 402, Kiko 403)

These are just a few of my favourite nude lipliners that I gravitate most towards during an appointment. They’re reliable, pigmented, smooth, creamy, long lasting and ALL AFFFORDABLE! YAAAY

Rimmel Cappucino - This is a must-have for your kit, looks beautiful with a super pale nude lip, pigmentation is amazing would just prefer it a little bit more creamier.

NYX Sugar Glass - part of the ‘Slide on, Glide on’ formula which is actually my favourite NYX lipliner formula. It’s creamier than the suede mattes and the pigmentation is so much better.

Kiko 402 & 403 - Ahhh Kiko, we love you. I wish I had more spare time to waltz into kiko and add everything to my basket. That brand, is amazing. As are these lipliners! Both classic nudes and again they’re the creamy, pigmented, glide on type!

Left to Right (Primark - Blush Melba, Primark - Tickle, NYX - Lifes a Beach, Primark - Taupe, Rimmel - Spice)

Few more nudes here accompanied with some pinks. I rarely get clients asking for anything other than a nude lip, but when you get that question - you need to have GOOD pink/red/dark lipliners at hand. 

Primark Blush Melba & Tickle - I feel like I’ve sung about these Primark lipliners throughout the whole post, but they’re just that good! These are both perfect pink shades and so extremely pigmented & creamy.

NYX Life’s a Beach - what an incredible shade, not my fave formula it could be more creamy, good lipliner for the price.

Primark Taupe - I should have popped this into my nudes category but hey ho! I think this was one of the lipliners I didn’t even know I was picking up but I feel like this is one that I’ll get a lot of use from! I’m not going to talk about how much I love this formula any more!

Rimmel Spice - Pigmented, could be slightly more creamy, tuggs a little but amazing lipliner for the price.

Okay my lovelies that wraps up today’s post! My favourite formulas are 100% the Primark, Kiko & NYX Slide on Glide on! They’re so affordable and the quality is second to none! I hope this makes you feel differently about lipliners and hey - if you can get 19 lipliners for £19 instead of 1 lipliner for £19, whos the winner? I hope this was helpful to any aspiring mua’s as it’s tips like this that will really help you build your kit up with more affordable products without compromising on quality! And if you just love lipliner - I hope I’ve found you a bargain! Leave me a comment down below about your favourite lipliners and favourite affordable products! See you soon x

Rebecca x