CLINIQUE Pop Matte and Pop Liquid Color + Primer: First Impressions

Matte lips and liquid lipsticks are nothing new but they probably have not seen this much popularity as they have in the past year or two. Now the big brands are finally jumping onto the bandwagon, and Clinique has launched their new Pop Matte and Pop Liquid Color + Prime lipsticks.

I was more curious about the Pop Liquids because this is something new for the brand, and people are into intensity and long-wear now. However, the Pop Liquid Matte Lips are not the dry-to-matte, budge-proof type. In fact a lot of the luxe and high-end brands are opting to go with a creamier semi-matte velvet formula that focuses more on comfort rather than a hardcore transfer-proof paper-matte formula.

And that's great. 

I do want that dramatic velvet matte effect you get with things like Kat von D and Tarteist Lip Paints, but at the same time they are not very comfortable on the lips, and can look cakey and cracked if your lips are not in good condition. 

But with the more high-end velvet liquids, you get more of a "soft-set" formula that dries down only slightly and lasts like a regular matte lipstick, but has a less waxy and more lightweight feel. They will still kiss off, but they last and don't slide around too much so your color is still mostly intact after a few drinks.

Clinique Pop Liquid Matte Lips in Boom Pop (bottom) and Sweetheart Pop

The best thing to me is that these are ridiculously comfortable to wear and easy to touch up. Even the most hardcore liquid lipsticks will wear off around the center of the lips after eating and drinking, and when you try to apply more, sometimes it just looks patchy or cakey. With these creamier formulas you don't have that much of a problem because the product evens itself out more easily. They also give coverage but don't emphasize dryness or lines.

The only con I can see to these right now is that maybe some of the liquid lipsticks are not fully opaque, and the lightweight formula does shift around a bit during application so it might take a bit of work to even those colors out. Sweetheart Pop went on totally opaque, but Boom Pop does go on slightly patchier initially. Both shades I tried also did not "darken" too much compared to budge-proof liquid lipsticks.

I did also find these ironically creamier looking than the Pop Matte lipsticks in tubes. They retain a bit of a sheen surprisingly, although that does go away after some time when the emollients slowly evaporate or absorb into your lips. You do end up with matte lips after a while, even though they are not that powdery-velvety matte you'd get from budge-proof formulas.

Now the lipsticks themselves were a surprise hit for me as well. These are very smooth and lightweight (and the colors are gorgeous). But what they nailed was that very velvety finish, which is matte but not heavy or cakey. The formula does not drag on the skin or feel thick and dry.

Clinique Pop Lip Color + Primer

Clinique's launching their new Pop Lip Color + Primer range on 9 April in Singapore.

And that's what is so interesting about the range. They're formulated with flexi polymers and micro-refined pigments to help colors go on smoother and stay vibrant for longer.

Longwearing lipsticks often start to feel dry and get patchy after a few hours, so to prevent that, Clinique has formulated these lipsticks with sodium hyaluronate, ceramides, shea butter, and murumuru butter, to hydrate the lips. Which is a good thing because I often get chapped, flaking lips, and always avoid full coverage lipsticks even though I love them. At least now there's a chance that I can wear them even when my lips are a bit under the weather.

First off, I'll say the color payoff is beautiful and the shades are gorgeous. There are 13 shades available in Singapore at SGD$33 each, and they are grouped into 4 categories - nudes, tawnies, pinks, and violets. But I say ignore that because the color grouping is a bit confusing. Poppy Pop (bright tangerine coral) and Cherry Pop (blue red) are both listed under the "tawnies", and an ultra dark burgundy brown called Cola Pop is listed under "nudes". 

But there is a nice distribution of shades from nudes to brights to deeper tones, so there is a color for everyone.

My 4 favorite shades from the Pop Lip Color + Primer range: Cherry Pop, Punch Pop, Plum Pop and Nude Pop

After playing around with all the shades at a recent press event, I picked the above 4 - both for their smooth even payoff, and also the fact that they are quite universally skin-flattering. I had gravitated towards the 2 deep, dark shades (Berry Pop and Cola Pop) but they didn't go on as evenly compared to brighter, richer, shades in this range (hot pink, red, berry).

As for whether these last all day, I'll say no cream-textured lipstick lasts all day.
These DO last a good long while for cream lipsticks, and some of the stronger shades leave a stain, but if you're drinking, eating, talking, they will wear away slowly, just like any other lipstick. You will still need to wear a base layer of good lip pencil in order for these to last all day, which is the same for any other range.

The good thing is I didn't notice these feathering or bleeding much, and they do feel quite conditioning on the lips. But eventually the conditioning oils will still get absorbed or vaporize, and the shine and hydration will fade away. I can't say yet if the conditioning formula with ceramides and plant butters can help smooth over ragged lips, because I haven't encountered that problem lately, but hopefully the humectants and emollients in the formula can help minimize the chance of that happening.

But all in all, this is a very nice range with a great formula and nice colorsso it's well worth a look if you're in the market for vibrant, creamy colors.