Review: Maybelline Velvet Matte Liquid Lip Color in MAT12

Maybelline Velvet Matte in MAT12

Price: P349 for 5mL/0.17 oz.

I’m at that stage where I don’t have enough energy to play with toys, but get excited anyway when there’s something new or different. Cases in point: Maybelline’s new Cream to matte liquid lipstick, which I had to get – in spite of my not being a big fan of liquid lipsticks – just because it  reminded me so much of those little plastic lipstick toys we used to play with as kids.

even coverage no matter how badly you mess up

Mat 12 is a slightly peachy light pink; a little lighter than what I would consider a true MLBB (My Lips, But Better!) shade, but it's a close cousin. Coverage is medium and always so even, but not buildable for those with darker lips. Finish is velvet matte, true to its name; it’s a matte that catches a bit of light. 

  

Unlike the usual matte lippies though, this doesn’t settle as a dry matte layer. This means that it’s less drying than your ordinary matte lippies, and that it doesn’t emphasize lip texture, but those come at the cost of wear time. It transfers all over the coffee cup, so wear time for me is at around 2-3 hours – average compared with ordinary lipstick, but short compared with other mattes. You can get maybe one more hour of wear time if you blot a bit after it settles, or blot then set with some powder.

The applicator glides on smoothly enough, but is a rather disturbing shape (sorry, my dog currently on the doggy version of a “period” ), and usually grabs onto more product than I need. The shape also doesn’t help with coloring the tips of the cupids bow (the two pointy peaks at the top of the lips).

But all that can be forgiven because, boy, does this feel smooth. The feel is comparable to a lightweight silicone face primer. A quick check of the ingredients confirms this, as dimethicone as the first ingredient. Let’s not talk about whether that’s safe to ingest.

ingredients

Finally, the best of all is that it doesn’t have any discernible odor or taste. Do you know how rare that is for a liquid lipstick!? 

Summary:

Pros

• MLBB-ish shade
• Doesn't emphasize lip texture
• Not drying
• Smooth texture
• No taste or scent

Neutral

• Velvet matte finish
• Average wear time for lipstick

Cons

• Transfers
• Poor wear time for matte lipstick
• Applicator isn't very efficient
• Fades into a lip line

Performance Rating: 4/5

Longevity: 3/5

Scent: 5/5

Packaging: 4/5

Price:4/5

Rebuy: Yes. Consider me a liquid lippie convert.

PS: Word of warning though, that this can sometimes leave one of those weird lip lines when it wears off, so make sure to have well-moisturized lips before using (as you should anyway before using mattes)