You know, I love lipstick.
No wait, I think you already knew that. Let’s start again.
I REALLY love lipstick. That’s more like it! Unfortunately it’s second only to my love for blush, so I gracefully give up my lipstick queen title to the Lipstick Queen herself, Poppy King.
I’d first heard of Poppy King and Lipstick Queen a few years ago when I started dabbling in makeup. Lipstick Queen is an Australian brand of… you guessed it, lipstick and selected lip products. It’s quite niche in distribution and in its size and I’d never had any luck hunting down this brand anywhere.
Then last year, a gift package arrived from Down Under bearing 2 Lipstick Queen lipsticks in the popular Saint and Sinner series and in the signature RED shades. Ah, my friends, they know me so well! 😀
Saint and Sinner are 2 sides of the same coin, as it were, where the colours are the same but have different textures and formula. Saint is supposed to be a Sheer range with 10% pigment while Sinner is the matte opaque range with 90% pigment. Like a Saint, the Saint lipsticks come in a shiny gold tube while Sinners languish in the tactile, slightly rubbery feel of a matte case.
The question therefore is – Are you a Sinner or a Saint? 😉
The colour chosen for me was Saint Red and Red Sinner.
Lipstick Queen Left: Red Sinner Right: Saint Red
You might notice how the bullet of the lipsticks look like they’re sweating. Sadly, it will happen and I notice it more significantly on the Sinner lipstick than the Saint. I attribute this to 2 things – formula and weather.
You see, the Sinner formula contains shea butter for moisturizing properties and in our warm and humid weather, I believe this is what’s causing the beading that mars the appearance of the lipstick. It doesn’t change the formula though. It swatches buttery smooth, but it isn’t pleasant to look at. This is less apparent on the Saint formula which has a glossier finish. However, the material used for the body of the case feels a bit sticky. You might notice how the colour of the case doesn’t look quite even on the gold tube.
If you can get over these 2 things, then you will love the formula of the Lipstick Queen lipsticks. They both apply very smoothly without tugging on lips, and despite what I was led to believe, they are both pretty opaque and pigmented!
Lipstick Queen Swatch 1 layer Left: Sinner Red Right: Saint Red
I was led to believe that Saint Red would be just a nice blush of red on lips. I mean, 10% of pigment, that’s hardly anything right? But nope! Look at that lovely bright glossy red! It isn’t sheer at all, not in my book at any rate!
Sinner Red is a deceptive one too. If you look at the colour in the bullet, it looks rather like a rose. This nondescript colour made me let my guard down so when I swiped it on my arm, I was quite surprised to see just what a strong and deep red colour appeared. 90% pigment? Check! Opaque? Check!
On lips, Saint Red on me is a brighter red with a glossy finish. Not sheer at all, mind you! But a very lovely finish. Sinner Red gives you a rich opulent velvety shade in just 1 swipe over lips and pulls a bit deeper on me. It is supposed to be matte and although I am a little averse to matte lispticks, I didn’t find these drying or ageing. There was a little bit of shine. Enough so it didn’t look flat.
I honestly expected Sinner Red to look like the classic Hollywood bombshell red so this slightly rosy shade surprised me. But I liked it. It’s actually very wearable unlike the siren red I was expecting, and it’s allowed me to wear it more often than I expected.
So, Saint Red with the glossy sheer red gloss on lips…..
… or Sinner Red with the matte, opaque, velvet sheen? Which works better? 😉
In a nutshell
Lipstick Queen is a brand of lipsticks that hail from Australia. The popular range in the brand are the Sinner and Saint ranges where the same shades come in 2 different textures. Saint – the glossy, sheer texture and Sinner – the matte, opaque and pigmented version. I have both Sinner Red and Saint Red but found that both shades weren’t exactly the same. Saint Red is a brighter red, while Sinner Red is a deeper richer, more blue toned red. The textures of both are lovely and they glide on lips smoothly without tugging and deliver rich colour with just 1 swipe. However perhaps due to the warm weather locally or the shea butter formula of the lipstick, I find that the bullets do tend to sweat and the body of the Saint lipstick feels a bit sticky after a while in this heat. Beautiful products though and I’d love to check out more colours in the line.
Pros: Smooth application, Well pigmented even for a sheer lipstick, Not drying, Matte colour is not too flat
Cons: Formula sweats in heat and humidity, Not easily available
Who will like this: Anyone who likes sheer lipsticks with a glossy wash of colour will like the Saint formula; Anyone who likes strong opaque lipsticks with a matte texture will appreciate the Sinner texture
So which are you – a Sinner or a Saint? I think I’m more of a Sinner 😉
Have you come across or tried any Lipstick Queen lipsticks? Which formula appeals to you more?
It has been let slip that we might see Lipstick Queen pop up on our local shores some time very soon but you’ll know when I know for a fact. If it does, I do think it would be very nice indeed! Rarely do we have a makeup brand dedicated to just lipstick and that my friends, is a brand after my own heart! 😀
Paris B
Lipstick Queen Saint Red and Sinner Red (Website) Price: US$20 Availability: Not yet available in Malaysia until further notice, Available at selected online or department stores in Australia, UK and worldwide
Lavender says
I think saint looks better on u. Maybe in pics – I can’t tell
Paris B says
Haha you aren’t the only one who thinks so, Lavender! Its a nice colour I will agree too
Catherine says
I never heard about these. Sinner would be my choice!
I love wearing lipsticks but around my mouth is the place where all dry skin flakes like to show up. On the other hand that would be good excuse to buy one of these sweet peelings for lips which always seem useless! 😀
Paris B says
Oh dear sorry to hear about the flaky skin! Is it something in lipsticks that you are allergic to? I layer on a thick layer of Lucas Papaw Ointment before bed every night and it helps keep flaky lips and skin at bay 🙂
Margy says
I love those shades on you! Also, your eyemakeup is gorgeous! May I ask, how did you do it? I think I have a similarish eyeshape to yours and I always look like I’ve shot myself in the face with Homer Simpson’s makeup gun if I try playing around with eyeshadow!
Paris B says
Hi Margy, thank you! I used this eyeshadow duo and its really easy (and also how I do my eye makeup daily) I just apply the lid colour from lashline and over my whole lid, then take a highlight shade and apply over it to create the 3D look. You can do it with any eyeshadow duo and is very fuss free! Do try it, and I’m sure you can keep away that Homer Simpson gun forever 😉
mrsdjones says
Wow Paris! Sinner is so Gorgeous! You look like a pro model there 😉 So pretty!
Paris B says
Awww… *blush*… no seriously, I’m blushing 😀 Thank you!
lisa says
Sinner red is really so flattering on you. I like the matt effect it gives. Makes me want to explore this line of matt colours now.
Paris B says
Thank you Lisa 🙂 It surprised me too because I’m not one usually for matt lipsticks, but these seem to work well without drying. That’s so important!
Jyoan says
Saint for me! I wanted to say Sinner because I am conventional enough to want my lipsticks opaque, but then I saw your lip swatches, and hey, Saint truly does not look one bit sheer.
I prefer Saint because it looks more dewy on your lips, while Sinner looks matte.
Paris B says
Nope, Saint isn’t sheer at all! It makes you wonder, if 10% pigment gives you that sort of colour, how much LESS pigment do we get in something that’s very sheer?!