Purchasing a new liquid lipstick is always a bit of a risky business due to my sensitive lips. As my lips are prone to taking bad reactions to super drying formulas, I don’t really spend a lot of money on new ones as it’s a bit of a gamble. When the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips Collection was released I was incredibly tempted to pick up a few shades. The packaging, as always, is beautiful and the range of colours looked so pretty and universally flattering. Even though I’ve never purchased a CT product I haven’t fallen in love with, I didn’t want to spend £24 on a lipstick I could potentially only get one use out of. When I received an email from Latest in Beauty letting me know that a full-sized lipstick was available to add to one of their beauty boxes (The Sunday Times Style Beauty Awards Box) I immediately hopped onto my laptop made an order. It’s a good thing too as it was sold out in what seemed like minutes.
The Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips in Pin Up Pink has been shortlisted for Best Lip Product in the 2018 Style Beauty Awards. So what makes it different from all the other liquid lipsticks on the market? Something that stood out to me when reading the description is that Hollywood Lips actually contains hyaluronic acid and anti-ageing firming actives which are said to slow down the appearance of ageing for smoother, plumper looking lips. The formula has a light, fluffy, whipped texture which is practically weightless on the lips. I often forget that I’m wearing it.
The tube feels incredibly light but contains 6.8g of product which appears to be pretty standard throughout my liquid lipstick collection. Pin Up Pink is such an easy colour to wear. It’s described as a coral pink but translates a little darker on my lips than shown on the website’s images. The wand is an odd shape but actually hugs the lip and makes it easy to define the edges without over tracing them. It really does feel like velvet when applied. It doesn’t completely dry down, doesn’t crack, fade or flake throughout the day and stays looking matte but feeling comfortable. It is definitely not super drying and didn’t require many touchups, as I said, I forgot I was wearing it! I need only one coat to drench my lips in colour.
If you’re looking for a similar formula without the high-end price tag, I recommend you try out the Essence Matt Matt Matt Longlasting Lipgloss Collection which retails for only £2.30 each at Wilko.com (swatches available here). There isn’t an exact shade match (02 Beauty – Approved does come close though) but they share the same non-drying velvety whipped texture. The Essence ones are quite strongly scented (reminds me of raspberry ripple) and are nowhere near as long lasting and obviously, don’t have the same long-term benefits to your lips, but they are definitely worth a look if you suffer from sensitive lips like I do.
The Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips Liquid Lipstick in Pin Up Pink retails for £24 and is available to purchase here.