I started November off with the intention to take part in the #30DayLippieChallenge to pare down my collection, which, spoiler alert, is massive and is no smaller after the challenge.
I took a little break partway through to deal with a dryness issue (it’s an ongoing issue, not caused by an errant lipstick formula), but I came back to wrap it up in early December.

I love lipstick. I really do. The lower relative cost of a lipstick versus a palette or other makeup product makes it easy to add items to my collection easily.
We have access to an incredible number of formulas, formats, and colours that we can access for as little as $3 a tube – it can be that perfect finishing touch to make you feel sassy, sweet, fun, edgy, fashionable, classic, and on and on and on.

The Losers:

I tried to be brutal. I tried to cut anything that didn’t work for me for any reason… but this is what I ended up cutting:

• Anything that dries out my lips excessively was binned right away.
• I’ve discovered most lip stains come across as way too pink or orange for me, which means I really don’t like most of them. I have found one I like, but it definitely wears down a bit orange. More testing is needed.
• The Sephora brand was the most beautiful colour but the worst formula I tried all month – others have not noticed the same texture issues I had, but the smell is universally agreed to be gross.
• Most of the lip products I got from my NoMakeNoLife box are really not my speed. I think this speaks overall to a difference in makeup preferences. I prefer bold, loud colours, and the products I got all leaned towards to a cute, shimmery, sheer look. Based on my cursory research, that seems to be more on trend in Korean beauty circles.
• The little Fenty mademoiselle mattes were totally different from tube to tube – one was beyond atrocious, but the other colour was ok, but not great. After a close instagram poll, both went to the bin.
• True to colour issues rose up with a handful of drugstore products. A rimmel, a wet and wild, and a loreal all were discarded for not quite looking as it did in the picture. It’s hard, especially now with covid restrictions to find a good colour match. Not to mention that swatching on your hand doesn’t look the same on the lips.

The Winners:

There were three of the best of lipsticks I tried in this challenge!

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What I loved about Rimmel’s 550 – Play With Fire:

• Absolutely incredible comfort
• Beautiful colour and pigmentation
• A double ended liquid lipstick – comfort AND all day wear? pinch me!
• This red has a blue undertone, which means it doesn’t come across as pink when I wear it!

What I loved about Juvia’s Place Velvety Matte Lipstick in A Mauve Moment:

• This colour is perfection!
• Super comfortable
• Everything about it feels high end
• It smells incredible.

What I loved about Maybelline’s Super Stay Matte Ink Crayon in 55 -Make it Happen:

• The wear time is so impressive!
• The colour selection is great
• Make it Happen, has perfect pigmentation right away. One swipe and done!
• Easy application, easier still to fix

Lipstick Thoughts:

I’ve learned some things that I think will help me pick lipsticks that are a better fit in the future:

• Figure out my undertones! For the obvious reason that I don’t know what my undertones are, I am often surprised at what colour a lipstick ends up being on me. Maybe if I figure that would avoid buying things I don’t like once they get on my face.
• Stick to bullets. Dare I say it? Is the reign of liquid lipsticks nearly over? I prefer a bullet for many reasons, and would rather reapply a few times rather then dry my lips out. The biggest thing for me, is with a bullet lipstick I can at least clean it and send it to a friend rather than a liquid lipstick which is basically garbage if I don’t like it.
• NYX’s wild card. I love NYX makeup – but I have found (and noted several times throughout the challenge) that the colours never quite match what is on the packaging online. I think being mindful of the potential range, and maybe even playing with my screen’s colour setting a bit before purchasing may be a worthwhile venture (I shop online mostly in case that screen comment didn’t make sense).
• I won’t say I should ditch the matte lipsticks, but as someone who struggles with lip dryness, it’s better to find a velvet matte formula or buy formulas I know works for me.
• Think about it first. I know, the header to this is “mindfully mine”, but truly, I am an A+ consumer when it comes to lipstick – fast and furious and without a care. But as with so many things I buy, I need to slow down and consider how it will fit in with what I have, and how it will make me feel later, not just now. And for the love of pete, no more warm toned berry lipsticks! I have, like, 500.

Summing Up:

What I found in this experiment is how little things like lipstick are a great little opener to chat with so many awesome people that I have on my friends list, who I care about, but I don’t always chat with. It was without a doubt, the most awesome fringe benefit of this challenge.

I am really self conscious about my mouth area, even before the dry irritated skin patches took up residence on my top lip. I’ve always been weird about my teeth, I feel like my lips are too thin, and some days I feel like I have cryptkeeper lines on my upper lip. But by forcing myself to wear a lipstick, good or bad, and take a photo for thirty days, I kind of got used to my lips. Truly, these things I obsess about really aren’t that big a deal in the long run.
So, to me: Wear the lipstick. No one is looking at you as critically as you are.