I have a confession to make: I wasn't expecting much from Kylie Jenner's Lip Kit. After all, it didn't need to be good to sell. Thanks to months of teasing and a viral-marketing strategy put into effect mere hours before it dropped — its own Instagram account debuted Sunday night and amassed hundreds of thousands of followers hungry for updates on the lipliner and liquid lipstick duos almost instantly — it was going to sell no matter what Jenner and her team put into the Kylie-branded boxes.
And that it did: All three colors of $29 Lip Kits sold out almost immediately and within minutes they started hitting eBay, selling now for upwards of $300. So, like I said, it didn't need to be good. But I have some news: It actually is good. Thanks to an intimate launch event in Los Angeles, we were able to get our hands on a kit early.
The Color
I gravitated toward Candy K, the lightest hue, which Kylie later told me was also her favorite. The color is a dusty rose; I'd describe it as a light '90s brown, but warm enough to look like you're living in 2015, even with fair skin. Translation: It's a killer shade.
The Lipliner
The lipliner is soft and glides on easily. It's super-pigmented — a little darker than you might expect and a touch deeper than the lipstick. And it lasts: The sharp line I created on my lips only started to get fuzzy hours after I topped it with balm.
The Lipstick
The lipstick goes on light and dries quickly, with a more viscous consistency than most liquid lipsticks I've tried. Tip: Stick to thin layers. At first it's a bit sticky, but then it dries to a nice matte texture that, while initially very dry-feeling, is actually more comfortable than a lot of matte lipsticks I've tried. I would equate it to Sephora's long-wear Cream Lip Stain or even Chanel's Ultra Wear Lip Colour, sans gloss. Hours after applying it, I put it to the ultimate test: a sub sandwich lunch with extra sauce, not eaten like a lady. It came out mostly intact (and I came out full), with only a single small smudge and a bit of fading on the inside of my lips.
My only problem with the lipstick, which you'll notice right away, is that it's heavily scented...like vanilla. In fact, it smells exactly like the Lip Smacker Sparkler in Vanilla Frosting, which, if you're a millennial like me, you'll probably find both ridiculously juvenile and wonderfully nostalgic.
Instead of reapplying after lunch, I took Jenner's advice and topped it with a little balm (Nivea's A Kiss of Moisture), which re-emulsified the lipstick a bit, leading to slightly blurred edges. (It's good to blend in any fading after a few hours, but I wouldn't top with balm in the beginning.) For my final test, I wiped it off with a plain tissue, and thanks to the balm having added moisture, it left no residue or stain.
Moral of the story? If you nabbed one, be psyched. If you didn't, it's not worth 10x the price on eBay, but definitely watch for the restock.
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