Lipstick Tart: Revlon Super Lustrous Matte Really Red (006)

Lipstick Tart is back after a while without any reviews, and it’s a good ‘un! I have decided to make the scoring a little clearer. You can read more about this here.

I have heard whispers about the shade of Revlon’s Super Lustrous Matte Really Red, how lovely it is for vintage gals and so on. However, a few years ago I purchased ‘Pink About It’ from the same Matte range, and to say it dried my lips out was an understatement. So, I was somewhat discouraged to try it.

However, a new year requires a few new lipsticks in the armoury. And not discouraged by snow, I decided to venture to the High Street (in a fifties dress and heels, no less) to have a browse. ‘Pink About It’ this lipstick has now been discontinued, and the matte range appears to have a new formula. I decided to give ‘Really Red’ a chance, because matte reds are few and far between, and are very popular with vintage gals, as they were all the rage in the forties.

The Revlon UK website says the Super Lustrous Matte range is ‘ultra-creamy saturated lip colour that delivers beautiful, lightweight matte colour without any dryness, caking or fading’. ‘Super lustrous’ and ‘matte’ in the same sentence is a bit of an oxy moron. We will see!

Packaging

This is the fashion equivalent for function over form. Comfort over style. Sturdiness over aesthetics…you get the picture. It’s plain, boring, but it works. This one won’t get crushed in your hand bag.

The case has an unsightly code etched into it, which I found a little troubling. And – I don’t know if this is just a ‘Boots’ thing, which is where I purchased mine - but the outer cellophane was really hard to get off – I had to resort to some scissors. And, the sticker (which tells you important things such as the ingredients – this is important, if you have an allergy), left a sticky residue. The stick was easy to remove though, unlike some brands. The tube has a clear top so you get a sneak peek of the colour before you purchase it.

Colour and texture

A blue red, to suit brunettes the best. Me like. Although…it is not the deep red that the label at the bottom of the tube seems to indicate.

I put my hand behind the stick so that you could see it as I see it…the wood of the coffee table in the background was making the colour look a little orange. And it isn’t orange at all.

It is a matte texture, and it is matte on the lips.

Application and coverage

Smooth, even coverage with just one application. I wonder whether applying just one layer of matte helps stop lips drying out. The pigment is so strong in matte colours that one application is enough. And modern lippies have much better longevity than in days of vintage yore, rendering a second coat unnecessary in some circumstances. It really depends on the type of lipstick – a shade with more sheen would require two coats. For this lipstick, one coat is enough, but two doesn’t dry the lips out, as it happens (I was thinking of Ruby Woo when I wrote this!)

I confess in this photo I was experimenting with wearing a tiny amount of chap stick underneath, which has given it a bit of sheen. This undercoat didn’t affect the longevity of it, surprisingly.

Wearability

It feels velvet on the lips when I purse them together (which I do a lot, I have realised, for some reason!). It doesn’t have a smell or a taste, as I know that some of you find this unpleasant.

You will note that I mentioned I wore chap stick underneath it. I tried it again without the undercoat, and I was very surprised to note that the results were the same. I wore this all day without feeling that my lips were dry. When I took it off at the end of the day, it didn’t leave my lips with little pieces of raised dry skin. It isn’t drying at all. Magical.

Longevity

Yes. Yes, yes yes. Excellent. When I had my first cup of tea, I set the cup down, eyed the rim and thought ‘I’m not sure if you and I are going to get along, Revlon Really Red’. But a quick check in the mirror allayed my fears. A cup of tea and half a burger and chips later only shifted it partially at the lip opening.  If pushed for time, I should think that one could get away with not touching up after lunch.. Bravo, Revlon!

Sans undercoat, après tea

Price

Revlon Matte Really Red is available nationwide priced £7.49. At date of posting it is available from Boots stores and online for £5. Is it worth the money? Yes. If you don’t have a matte in your lipstick purse, I recommend this one.

Anything else?

Okay, I am going to be really picky and say that the name isn’t quite right. If you have read my reviews before, you will know that I love a name, loathe a number, so the fact it actually has a name is a good thing. But ‘really red’ suggests to me a true red. Or a really deep red. This isn’t either. It doesn’t make a difference to me, but if you couldn’t quite see the colour through the clear top and there wasn’t a sample available, it seems a little….misleading. But it is a terribly minor thing.

Verdict: A lovely shade, a fabbylous texture, leaves your lips looking and feeling velvety. 10/10.

Go. Buy it!

Jemima x