Liqqquid lipstickkks.

There is no denying that we have an excessive supply of liquid lipsticks or lip creams in the cosmetics market today. No matter how annoyed I get when I see the amount of random brands popping out every single day, I still, end up buying them and adding them into my collection.

Just last week when I was in Kuching, Sarawak, I felt so bored with almost nothing to do (it was a long weekend before the Raya Haji celebration by the way), so I spent most of my time at Sephora and at local makeup stores. What was supposed to be “window shopping to pass the time” turned into purchase after purchase.

Now let’s take a look at two of my most recent lip cream purchases.

I visited a local makeup store, Makeup on Fluke, for the very first time during my weekend stay in Kuching because I’ve read raving reviews on the shop and the products it carried….and I felt like it is my duty as a Sarawakian girl to help another.

Makeup on Fluke offered a wide variety of makeup brands more commonly sold on Instagram or online (most of which are sold by girls over here in Peninsular Malaysia), but to see these brands with my own eyes before deciding whether or not I should purchase is definitely a plus point – because more often than once, I’ve experienced buying cosmetics that are sort of, indah khabar dari rupa.

Anyway, the product that I opted for from the shop was, guess what….a lip cream. The brand is called Mineral Botanica and it is manufactured in Indonesia. Impressive right?

Not trying to belittle our own local brands but if you ask me to compare between Mineral Botanica and the lip creams we are forced upon right here in Malaysia, Mineral Botanica looks very professionally thought of and doesn’t look like a rushed end product that is produced for the sole purpose of jumping on the liquid lipstick bandwagon. The brand itself has a wide array of products that look very impressive, and if I could, I would love to try them out!

So going back to my lip cream. It was love at first swipe, completely defeating my so-called perspective of how lip creams and liquid lipsticks are getting too out of hand nowadays. Here I am, buying yet another one!

But in all fairness, any makeup lover would have fallen in love with the lip cream anyway. The color that I chose was in Champagne Beige, a nude tone with a pink, coral-y finish. Nothing too bright, but nothing too pale either. It kind of reminds me of Patrick Star, Spongebob’s best friend if that makes sense?

It won’t make too much of a statement when worn with an underwhelming look, but if you’re into the no makeup makeup, then this would be the perfect shade for you but mind you, the color isn’t exactly a natural shade. It’s just not “out there”. I wish I could find a better way to explain it though.

L-R: MAC Please Me, Mineral Botanica Champagne Beige, NYX Lip Cream in Tokyo, Topshop lipstick in Pillow Talk

Texture wise, it’s creamy and easy to apply. The only beef I have with it is that it isn’t easy to build up. A swipe can cover your lips because of it’s pigment but for someone who has lips as big as mine, you’re going to need at least two coats….and that’s the problem. The second coat tends to streak the first, so building up the color on your lip can get a little challenging.

Apart from that, color, smell, dryness; everything else is almost perfect. It doesn’t dry up your lips perhaps due to some oils present in the formulation so don’t expect it to be as apocolypse-proof as Kylie’s ok?

Another purchase that I made, this time at Sephora, is a cult favorite. Sephora’s Cream Lip Stain in Red.

I’ve only ever tried this once, when I used some of Zaira’s. I immediately fell in love and understood why it is so popular, but when I pay visits to Sephora, I always end up forgetting to buy a tube for myself. Maybe because every single time I enter Sephora, I am more bounded to the other counters. Does that happen to everyone else? I mean, I’m more than likely to be more drawn to the other flashy brands rather than the Sephora brand itself.

So anyhoo when I was at the Sephora in Kuching, nothing really grabbed my interest because there is so much more to select from in Kuala Lumpur, so I finally remembered to get this lip stain! How unfair of me to only remember this lip stain only when I have nothing else to ogle over!

When I applied it to my lips once again after the last time using Zaira’s tube, I fell in love again.

Not only does it smell like my favorite childhood drink (which is Enercal, by the way – it sponsored my kindergarten or something at one point so the smell of this lip stain really does remind me of my childhood), it is by far the best red lip cream that has ever touched my lips.

I love how it smells, I love how the color looks when it dries, I love how it doesn’t suck up all the moisture on my lips… I just love it!

Before I praise this product any further, I have got to be honest, this is the only red lip cream that I own, so for me to say it is the best in the market wouldn’t be too appropriate. There are other selections available but I don’t think I would be purchasing them any time soon. When I think of lip creams, the color red doesn’t often pop in my mind first, so for now I guess I’ll just stick to this one.

The only downside it may have is it can bleed when you eat, since it isn’t smudge proof. It may get on your chin or around your lips, but if you always have a wet tissue and a mirror around, simply re-apply it and all will be forgiven.