Review: Essence Liquid Lipstick

I'm always on the lookout for budget lip products that exceed expectations. And when I was browsing an Essence stand recently I thought I'd found a good one. However I've been highly disappointed. When I first picked this up, I noticed that this had the name Longlasting Lipgloss but on the lid it claimed to have a matte finish. Thinking it was some kind of hybrid I picked it up and took it home to test it.

There is nothing wrong with the colour of this product. It's a bright tomato red shade that is perfect for this time of year. It's not the colour, when I applied it, I was very happy with how the colour complimented my skin tone. And it's not the applicator that I have an issue with. It's a standard doe foot applicator that is slightly longer than most but that only aids application and doesn't hamper it in anyway. They're both credits towards this product and this would have turned into a good/non disappointing review if it hadn't have been for the formula.

The formula of this product is the let down. I was confused when I read the words lipgloss and matt on the packaging and assumed that it was some kind of hybrid. No. It's not a hybrid, it doesn't dry down to a matte finish. It doesn't even dry down to a satin finish. It's a gloss. A shiny, sticky looking gloss that personally doesn't work with bright opaque colours. After applying this I allowed it a good ten minutes to set on my lips and even was nearly late for work as I gave it every chance to impress me. Yet it didn't. It stayed shiny and almost wet looking on the lips and made them feel sticky or tacky everytime you put them together or opened your mouth to speak. I unfortunately had to change my lipstick and was as I said very nearly late for work.

It reminds me a lot of the Loreal Matte Glosses that they released a few years ago that didn't even show an intention of drying to a matte finish. Unlike those, this disappointing product only cost £2 and whilst it may have been expected from such an inexpensive product, I do consider it a waste of money. If you're looking for a inexpensive liquid lipstick that is opaque, dries to a matte finish and comes in a range of colours then I'd highly recommend checking out the NYX Soft Matte Lipsticks.

Have any of you tried these? Or do you have a high street liquid lipstick recommendation? Let me know in the comments.