You know when you’re just starting out with lipstick, and there are so many options out there that you don’t really know where to start, so you start putting together a laundry list of what you’re looking for until finally you’ve arrived at the lipstick unicorn… I’ve got it! I want a long-wearing, pigmented, hydrating, comfortable matte that I can blend out for a blotted effect or wear boldly without a liner. Keep dreaming, right?
Guess what? You can wake up now, because I found her!
This is just a mini from the 2022 Sephora Favorites Holiday Lip Set that I couldn’t help but pick up last year, and that’s the whole point of those little lip sets, isn’t it – to find little product gems and fall in love! I know the Vice Lipsticks have been at the top of the favourites list for a lot of people for some time now, and I’m delighted to join the party!
Cost
CAD: $29 or $8.53/g
This would be on-par with MAC lipsticks, ever-so-slightly less expensive per gram.
Formula description
According to Urban Decay, this is a creamy, “super-pigmented, longwear vegan lipstick that goes on smoothly and evenly, leaving lips feeling nourished and hydrated”. It is touted as giving “high-impact, long-lasting color in a single, hydrating swipe.”
I have to say: absolutely!
The formula feels creamy and hydrating, and it really does just glide on, to the point that I’m initially worried about its longevity (but it turns out I don’t have to be). It is hydrating without feeling like there’s a layer on your lips – I hardly notice it’s there at all.
The pigmentation is there and it can be built up, so I tend not to bother with a lip liner when I reach for this lipstick, but it’s creamy enough that I can also go for a softer more blotted effect. I love this flexibility!
Finish and colour payoff
The Vice Lipstick formula comes in various finishes but Backtalk is a satin finish. To my eye it looks nearly matte, but not quite – this could quite possibly pass as my actual lips.
By the way, one reason I love matte formulas is because I enjoy the “flat” opaque wash of colour. I don’t usually wear foundation, so there is already natural variation in my skin, and I find that a shine on the lips creates more variation and it’s not as flattering. This lipstick is does not, making it one of my go-to’s for no-makeup days!
Wear
Considering how lightweight and hydrating this lipstick feels on application, I was very surprised to find that it also wears very well! This could be in part due to the shade being close to my natural lip colour, but even still, if I look closely, I can see fading just on the inside of the lips after eating, but from normal viewing distance? It hardly budged.
Shade description
Described as a “mauve nude pink” which to me is very accurate. I find I can build up the mauve with a heavier application, and it reads more pink with a lighter application and natural light.
Fragrance
Barely there – whatever it is, it’s very neutral and innofensive. I don’t get a particular “taste” from it.
Similar from my collection
I don’t think I have anything that’s dupe-level close to this colour in my collection. Because of the mauve, my first thought would be MAC – Matte Lipstick – Mehr or L’Oreal – Colour Riche Intense Volume Matte – Le Nude Admirable (two favourites of mine). Those two are of course matte finishes rather than the satin of Backtalk, but they are also a deeper mauve than Backtalk. Le Nude Admirable has the potential to read a bit pink in the right light, but not as much as Backtalk, and I never get pink from Mehr.
Final thoughts
I have enough lipstick, I have enough lipstick, I have enough lipstick.
But if you were to ask me for “just a good general lipstick recommendation”, this would be it! I can totally see why it receives “HG” status in the beauty community – it really is the whole package.
What is your HG lipstick? How did it earn its status?
