1) My own opinion of the products, not the brand based on my experience with a number of products that I have purchased.
2) I am a fan of both brands, so this is in no way a bashing review of one or the other.
3) The review will be based on current formulas, not older ones.
So let's get started with the brand I've had the longest: Jeffree Star's Velour Liquid Lipsticks.
Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipsticks
I bought my first liquid lipstick from Jeffree Star in 2015, around when they first launched. My very first colours were Unicorn Blood and Celebrity Skin.
Celebrity Skin
Unicorn Blood
I need to point out here that this is the one an only time I was ever able to wear Celebrity Skin, as it came broken. I am not blaming Jeffree's brand for this. The package was open when I received it, so I blame my broken product on Canada Post.
Since getting these products, the formula has changed quite a bit, considering that all brands change their formula over time in order to evolve. I get that completely. The latest ones I have are Mannequin, Androgyny and Masochist. All beautiful products, all with different formulas.
Androgyny
This new formula has its hits and misses for sure. The only one I have a photo of right now is Androgyny, but I have worn all three to work as part of the review.
I work in a call centre, so my mouth is always moving, I drink a lot of water (through a straw) to keep hydrated, and I work 8 hour days. I bring my lipstick to work with me just in case I need to touch up through out the day. I usually don't with Jeffree Star's, which is why I was surprised when I had to with these three new ones.
I wore Androgyny first, because it was the shade I waited over 6 months for, and was surprised by how different this formula was compared to the old ones. I have not purchased a Jeffree Star lipstick since before his winter collection launched, so I was expecting a new formula. I was not expecting the formula to be this different.
The initial application was the same, solid, pigmented formula. It did not streak on application and I only needed one coat to distribute the colour on both the top and bottom lip. The key differences were the smell and stickiness of the product on my lips.
The smell was a strong, sour, almost ammonia smell that lingered after the product was on my lips. It was so strong, I had to hold my breath while applying the lipstick. All of my other lipsticks from Jeffree Star have NO scent, so this new scent shocked me.
The stickiness lingered throughout the day. When I pursed my lips together, they stuck together and moved some of the product around on my lips. This lasted all day long, but was very unnoticeable. No one at my job saw the streaks I did, and all complimented how the colour looked on me and many asked if they could swatch it on their skin (I only allowed this if they had a lip brush, which some did).
By lunch, I had only had a couple sips of water through a straw and a piece of gum, and there was a clear streak of colour missing from the middle of my lips. My straw had some residue on it from the lipstick, which upset me because the old formula never transferred. There was also a line of sticky goop that never happened before. I had to wipe this away and reapply the lipstick after I had eaten lunch, which made the stickiness of my lipstick worse. I was tempted many times to remove it all together and go bare, but I was determined to last the rest of the day.
Androgyny and Mannequin share the same formula, which is very liquidy and light. Masochist has a completely different formula, one I found harder to apply. It's very moussey, very thick and has an even thicker smell. The stickiness is minimal, very unlike Androgyny and Mannequin. I did not have to reapply Masochist, but I found that this one was very streaky and, when worn without a lip liner, it transferred and bled throughout the day.
Now for the pros and cons...
PROS
- Very pigmented
- Easy application
- Light, liquidy formula that is easy to apply (Andro and Mannequin only)
- The smell is overwhelming
- It leaves sticky residue after very little wear
- Not completely transfer proof, as water made it transfer to a straw
- Had to reapply throughout the day, as the formula stuck together and caused the colour to bunch together
FINAL THOUGHTS
As much as I love Jeffree's brand, I feel like his old formula worked better for me. Would I buy from him again? Probably not. His formulas are just too inconsistent and the smell is atrocious and almost makes the lipstick unwearable. It is so strong, the scent is close to three day old cat litter. I am a cat owner, and I have never smelled anything so horrible, except for the short time before my boys were neutered and they started spraying. I know I mention the scent a lot, but I feel like it is the only major flaw of the product. If the scent was gone, I could deal with the stickiness and the goop, but for $18 plus $15 shipping (All in USD, by the way. I'm Canadian, I'm spending over $40 for ONE lipstick with the shipping and conversion rates), I expect the product to be as close to perfect as possible. As Jeffree Star once stated himself, "If it is not perfect, do not put it out." As much as I respect him as a business owner and cosmetics guru, this product is not perfect by any means.
MOVING ON!
Kylie Jenner Lip Kits
I got my very first lip kit in November of 2015. I was part of the very first launch and was excited when my purchase came to me in such a quick manner (within 2 weeks. Which is fast by my standards). My very first lipkits were Candy K and Dolce K.
Initial Snapchat post after unboxing
Candy K
Dolce K
My initial response to Kylie's lip kits was excitement but hesitation. At this point, I had only ever used Kat Von D's liquid lipsticks (which I despise, by the way), and Jeffree Star's. So I was hesitant to try these out of fear of being disappointed. I was not disappointed, as the formula back then was flawless. Moving on though, to probably the worst formula ever.
Kourt K
The photo above is after applying the lipstick and wearing for less than 30 minutes. It had already started to peel, it was chunky, streaky, dry and just unwearable. I had emailed customer service and got no response. I went onto the Kylie Cosmetics Facebook page and saw that many people were having the exact same problem.
The next day, I wore the lipkit to work. I was determined to make it work. I lasted 2 hours. By first break, the inner portion of my lips had patchy colour and I was pulling strips of the lipstick off of my tongue. It was peeling off of my mouth just by drinking water and talking. I was very upset, especially since I was so excited for the purple lipstick. Purple lipsticks are one of my favourites to wear, and this one happens to be my favourite shade of purple. I was disappointed and ready to not buy from Kylie again.
I ordered True Brown and Mary Jo at the same time, and both of their formulas were perfect. One thing that I was upset about was that my lip liner for Mary Jo came broken. I had to sharpen it, as the tip fell off into my lap. I believe this was an error of the cosmetics factory and not with Canada Post, as my package came to me completely perfect and untouched.
A few months later, Kylie launched a few other colours that I did not purchase because I was still heart broken by Kourt K. My sister, determined to not have my experience be swayed by one shade, bought me the rest of them. I received Koko, Posie, Dead of Knight, Exposed and 22 one week after my sister ordered them. She also got me one of the lip glosses, but that's a whole other thing. After receiving these ones, I owned every single Kylie Lip Kit.
Snapchat swatches of four of the colours
Exposed
Posie K
It turns out that the only formula that is unlike the others is Kourt K, because the new formulas I received were almost perfect.
They all have the butterscotch scent that is a bit strong. It's clear the scent is there to cover up the raw material smell.
I did the same thing with Posie and Exposed that I did with Androgyny; I wore them to work to test out the formula. I wore Exposed first, just because it was my favourite out of the bunch. The formula is thin, a bit patchy but can be built up without changing how it feels on the lips. I found that the formula is not dry at all, it is also not sticky. I forgot that I was wearing the lipstick by the time I got on the bus, which was great. It didn't stick when pursing my lips and did not transfer to any of my straws. It lasted all day without any touch ups. By midday, it did get a bit chunky on the inner rim of my lips. I gently wiped it away and the aftermath wasn't too bad. It was very unnoticeable, which was a definite pro. The next day I wore Posie, and had the same experience. No transfer for the entire 8 hour shift, and no need to reapply.
PROS
- No transferring for a full 8 hours
- They came quickly
- The formula is light weight and comfortable
- The scent is nice and covers up the smell of raw materials
CONS
- The scent is STRONG. It fills up the surrounding area very quickly.
- Customer service is bullshit. My emails regarding Kourt K were ignored. To this day I have not heard anything from them regarding this.
- There have not been any public responses about Kourt K's formula, despite many complaints.
Kylie's formula had some hiccups, for sure. I am constantly on the look out for people who have problems with their lip kits before purchasing them because I refuse to buy another shoddy product from anyone. Despite the one lip kit I can not wear, would I ever spend my own money on another one of Kylie's products? Absolutely. While her customer service team needs a swift kick in the ass, her new formulas redeemed my experience with Kourt K. For $29 for the lip kit and $15 for shipping, I feel confident that my money is well spent when purchasing these lip kits. For anyone looking to buy their first Kylie Lip Kit, skip over Kourt K. There haven't been any changes to the formula that have been publicly documented, and too many people have had too many bad experiences to waste their money on something that has not been addreseds and/or fixed.
I know a lot of people hate Kylie Jenner, mainly based on her name. And I know a lot of people have an issue with Jeffree Star, based solely on the recent controversy that is surrounding him and his brand. My opinion of the products is not in any way biased because of these points. I am a subscriber of Jeffree's on social media and youtube. I love watching him on his multiple platforms. I also follow Kylie and watch the entire Kardashian/Jenner clan every Sunday. First and Foremost, I am a FAN. My opinion today was based on the actual products that I purchased as a CUSTOMER. I kept my review of both brands as unbiased as possible.
Thanks for reading!
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