Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick Review

I bought this a while ago from Sephora back when you could use YouShop to get it to NZ.

The packaging is lovely with a clear bottom to see the colour and the lid is a dark gray. I like that the packaging is somewhat oval so you can tell when it is closed. It has a satisfying click when it is done up tightly.

I have this in the shade Icon which is a lovely dark blue/red. I find this an incredibly flattering shade. The sort of shade that makes your teeth look extra white. It is a very strong shade with a lot of pigmentation, so it isn't for the faint of heart.

It comes with a doe-foot applicator that you would typically find with a lip gloss. I find this not the best applicator for this product. I often use a lip brush to apply this as it is such a strong colour you need to apply it very precisely. However the fantastic thing about this product is that once it is on you don't need to reapply all day. In face you will probably have to use make-up remover to get this off. It has a matte finish but not in a drying way that I have found with other matte products. I have worn this with a gloss over the top if my lips have been dry and it didn't effect the wear of the product.

I love this product for a night out as it looks so polished without nearly as much effort as applying eyeshadow. I'm planning on purchasing another one as soon as I can.

I've come to associate liquid lipsticks with long lasting. Maybe that's a bias. But these are so messy. They're creamy and feel lovely, but after lunch I tend to have red lipstick on my chin :S I really have to take care when applying these and they're more hassle than they're worth.

I have one of these and it is then shade Iconic. This shade is a deep blue, vampire red.

Liquid lipsticks have fast become my favourite type of lipstick - I love that they are usually matte formulas, easy to apply and generally aren't high maintenance. Unfortunately, I found the opposite with this.

Before I discuss what I didn't like, I'm going to talk about what I do like.

The packaging. Oh my gosh. It's SO beautiful and high end looking. The lid is a gorgeous blackened gold and the entire tube (and lid), is pinched at the ends - which sounds weird but is really pretty. On packaging alone, this gets 5 stars. It's gorgeous.

The shad itself is also beautiful. I'm a massive red lip fan and this is the perfect Elvira blue, blood red. The formula is super, super pigmented and only requires one coat on your lips. I haven't had any issues with streakiness or cracking/flaking when wearing this.

However... Maybe it is just me but I found the wearing of this awful. It felt comfortable and isn't fully matte, so it doesn't dry your lips out. But boy did this bleed on me... I never wear a lip liner with my other liquid lipsticks, so haven't worn one with this. I definitely recommend wearing a liner with this as it feathered and bled something chronic on me. Each time I've worn this (three occasions), it has bled and made a massive mess around my pout within hours. Not attractive. I noticed that when using a liner it still bled, although it took slightly longer to bleed than without one.

I'm unsure if it bleeds on me due to my skin type or something - as others haven't seemed to have had this issue. Considering how pricey it is, it was a bit of a let down to have it bleed so badly on me. Luckily I got this as part of a sampler but I definitely wouldn't pay full price for it.