Hello everyone!

In case you haven’t noticed, my recent beauty reviews have been steering away from my usual favourites of MAC because there are a lot of buzz around some new brands lately and I wanted to share how their hot-selling products fare against my Asian skin tone since no one is doing it (well, not that I know of). If you’re missing those MAC updates, don’t worry – they will be back. Soon. But first, I wanted to put another brand in the spotlight today and that is none other than.. *drum rolls* Dose of Colors!

Founded in 2013, Dose of Colors (DOC) is the brainchild of Armenian makeup artist Anna Petrosian who aspired to have a brand of her own to experiment with colours. It is a relatively new indie beauty company based in California, USA, which is not only cruelty-free (verified by PETA) but also eco- and vegan-friendly.

I had been seeing this brand around a lot on the internet lately and I gotta admit that I used to dismiss it as another wannabe brand riding on the popularity of liquid lipstick until I checked out their Instagram page. Despite its young age and being largely an e-commerce business (although they do have brick-and-mortar stores in some parts of the U.S.), it has already garnered over an impressive two million followers on their Instagram account. That’s an even larger following than well-established and high-end brands like Laura Mercier (920k) and Clinique (one million). Surely, to have a following that massive (that’s unless they paid for it.. but I highly doubt that), it must mean something, right? So I threw in the towel, paid for my first DOC order… and I’ve never looked back since!

Traffic to the website must have been overwhelming that night I made my purchase as it was the day these three highly sought-after shades were restocked. Thus. I was half-expecting the order to be processed at snail’s pace. But I was dead wrong. Delivery was almost immediate – my order was shipped on the same day my payment was made (just four hours apart from each other) and it was received by my forwarder six days later. I think my eyes widened a little in disbelief when I saw the notification emails. Gold star for efficiency!

As a self-proclaimed advocate for creativity, colourful and stylish logo and packaging design like those of DOS drive me wild. The simplicity of the typeface in the logo is very distinctive to the brand, eye-catching yet professional-looking. I also love the semi-opaque packaging (super smooth to touch) which reminds me of the smart glass on the LRT trains that changes to translucent when passing by apartment buildings.

In terms of functionality, the cap “clicks” when it is securely closed. The reflective band next to it, although does add a more luxurious feel to the overall appearance of the product, isn’t reflective enough to serve as a mirror surface. It would be awesome if it is so it could save me a trip to the toilet when I need to reapply the lipstick. But I’m willing to forgive that minor flaw because the soft and cushiony doe-foot applicator is perfectly tapered for an extremely clean and precise application. Literally no lip brush needed to line the lips! Another gold star for product design!

*gasp* How now, brown cow?! Even before using the products, I’ve already fallen head over heels for them! 😳

#1 Brick

Most of the liquid lipsticks do not come with clear colour description on the website so I had to rely on the given images to judge the shades. I hate to do that because the colours may vary from computer to computer depending on the colour resolution of the screen, so what seems like warm red on mine may actually be a burgundy in real life. But thank God everything turned out pretty close to my expectations.

Brick is a deep brown-red. It has a faint chocolatey scent and applies evenly on the lips. It does not sink into the creases on my lips but it accentuates the lip lines to a small extent. Never mind, it is not very obvious from afar. It feels lightweight and neither hydrating nor drying but the tackiness remains even after several minutes of leaving it to settle. It dries down to an opaque matte finish with a natural sheen. It is not entirely transfer-proof although that makes it very easy to be removed.

#2 Cork

This is my favourite shade among the three reviewed here. Stand out with Cork, a medium-toned yellow-brown which goes on smooth and velvety on the lips to give an opaque finish. It leans more towards the dry side, thus definitely has the tendency to flake after some time. Its emphasis on the lip lines can be quite noticeable even from a distance and even though it doesn’t feel as sticky as Brick, it has a strange rubbery texture (rub your lips against each other and you’ll know what I mean). Nonetheless, this is a very unusual shade to have to complement any skin tone and style.

Swatch comparison after Desert Suede.

#3 Desert Suede

Desert Suede is a matte dusty mauve with a strong grey undertone. The initial application glides on smoothly like the other shades with great colour payoff. Then, the horror comes once it dries down completely. True to its name, this shade makes my lips looks like mudcracks in deserts, especially on the upper lips (a very common issue I have with light-coloured lipsticks). It is a little drying so you gotta smile at all times with this shade on because those awful lip lines become intensely obvious when you don’t. On the plus side, it feels lightweight and the tackiness is pretty negligible here.

Generally, the formula hold up pretty well and has surpassed my expectations. Furthermore, Dose of Colours carries mostly wearable shades so I certainly see myself buying from them again (in fact, I’ve already added Black Rose to my cart – just waiting for the right time to cart it out!). If you’re conscientious about animal welfare and the environment, Dose of Colors is one guilt-free cosmetics brand you can consider supporting. The prices are reasonable for the high quality of the packaging and the incredible pigmentation of the colours but I would personally look out for their bundle sales (typically 5 for US$75 and they sell out snap) to take full advantage of that that shipping fee.

What do you think about these lipsticks by Dose of Colors? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

MATTE LIQUID LIPSTICKS BY DOSE OF COLORS ARE AVAILABLE ON doseofcolors.com FOR US$18 PER PIECE. Final Prices do not include flat shipping rate of US$5.50 for all shipments within the U.S. regardless of item quantity purchased. International shipping rate varies and will be calculated at time of checkout.