The Body Shop Matte Lip Liquids

With liquid lipsticks being one of the biggest beauty trends of 2016, more and more affordable brands are jumping on that liquid lipstick train. When someone mentions The Body Shop, personally I think of the way too many skincare products that reside in my stash, or their wonderfully scented treats, from body butters to shower gels to perfumes. I don't immediately think of them for their makeup (although my HG primer is actually from The Body Shop). Their newest launch, is in fact their Matte Lip Liquids* (£6), something that if done right, could make them the name on everyone's lips (see what I did there?). I've been trying two of them out for a few weeks now, so here are my thoughts...

There are 12 shades to choose from (although there are quite a few similar shades) and I picked up two: Windsor Rose and Mauritius Dahlia. I expected Windsor Rose to be more of a tawny rose nude because of the shade on the packaging, whereas in reality it is more of a brownish nude. Mauritius Dahlia is the polar opposite, a deep wine shade. I decided to go for both a nude and a more bold tone, because from experience, the formulas can really vary with liquid lipsticks. When swatched, neither of the shades were as strongly pigmented as I expected, so being honest, I didn't have the highest hopes for these.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past couple of years, chances are, one of the first things you'll notice is the similarity in packaging to the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams. So many brands have duped these now, which is slightly annoying for me as they're not my favourite formula when it comes to liquid lipsticks. The Body Shop Matte Lip Liquids have a similar moussy texture to the Soft Matte Lip Creams, but these are just a little thicker.

Application is via a doe-foot applicator, and particularly in the case of the deeper Mauritius Dahlia, it takes a while to build up an opaque level of pigment. The moussy texture dries within a few minutes to leave a soft, powdery finish, which wasn't what I was expecting. They also have less transfer than I anticipated too, which is fab as that's what usually puts me off these types of lip creams. They aren't the most long-lasting of the bunch, you can expect to reapply after about 2-3 hours or after food, but they're not overly drying compared to a lot of liquid lipsticks.

Although The Body Shop Matte Lip Liquids are nothing groundbreaking, they offer more of a happy medium between the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams and a traditional liquid lipstick, and I love the fact they dry into a soft, velvety finish. I've definitely gotten more wear from Windsor Rose, and I think it's a really easy-to-wear, everyday shade. Whilst I won't be replacing my entire liquid lipstick collection with this formula, I would like to pick up another nude shade, as they are really affordable as liquid lipsticks go. If you're on the lookout for a liquid lipstick that doesn't make your lips feel like the Sahara desert, I'd definitely recommend popping into store and checking these out!

What is your favourite brand of liquid lipstick?

*Post contains samples via The Body Shop Sampling Programme. All views are my own.