Hello everyone!

Unless you have been living under a rock, you would know that the Kylie Lip Kit has been what virtually every lipstickaholic is dying to slather on their lips since last November.

The massively successful liquid lipstick and lip pencil duo, developed by Kylie Jenner of the controversial Kardashian family, met with such great demand in its early days that the spike in traffic for kyliecosmetics.com slowed down and crashed its server (no thanks to international shipping), robbing the tardier shoppers like myself the chance of being one of the first worldwide to own the coveted lip kit. No sooner had everything been snapped up than disgruntled supporters started crying foul on Kylie Cosmetics Facebook page about people carting out multiple sets just to resell them on eBay for more five times their retail price. The problem was so prevalent that it kinda prompted Kylie to restock more often and I eventually got my hands on not one, not two but EIGHT lip kits (and planning to buy the newer shades to complete my collection).

“You must be crazy!”

Admit it, you know you need to have one even though you were never a fan of Kylie Jenner. As a matter of fact, me neither! But as the internet goes berserk over her kits, the excitement starts building and it inadvertently catches you. You clinch one lip kit just for the hell of it, wear it and find yourself liking the shade and texture. Then, what do you do? YOU CAMP AT YOUR COMPUTER AT UNGODLY HOURS (IN GMT+8 TIME ZONE) FOR MORE! That’s what happened to me.. except that I was already a compulsive lipstick hoarder long before I knew about her business venture so yeah… my spending spiraled out of control  😳  On a brighter note, that also means more makeup reviews! Yay!

After more than two weeks of agonizing wait (to be exact, five days for my order to be shipped out, eight days for it to reach my U.S. address and another five days for my shipment to arrive at my doorstep – all in the name of saving money 😥 ), the Lip Kit Box with the iconic black dripping paint design on the sides (which has now been changed due to cases of theft from doorsteps) was finally delivered to me. The sturdy box, meant to fit nine lip kits (3 x 3), looks really fancy and adorable. But for a flat domestic shipping fee of US$8.95 or S$12.30 (it’s US$14.95 or S$21 for direct shipping to Singapore, just in case anyone is wondering), I expected waaaaaay swifter delivery. 13 days is ridiculously long, don’t you agree? -_-

#1 True Brown K

I read that Kylie personally illustrated the signature full-lip motif with dripping fluid set in the same shade as the liquid lipstick encased in the packaging. Well.. I don’t know if anyone else shares the same sentiments but I’m not really fond of the packaging design. There’s just too much white space around the motif that it looks super plain. And don’t get me started on the lousy material used for the box. C’mon Kylie, with the millions of dollars you’ve earned from us, surely there’s more than enough money to engage a professional designer? I mean, it’s not like your stuff are that cheap okay..

My first purchase from Kylie Cosmetics is a deep chocolate brown with grey undertones because the other shades I had set my eyes upon were sold out in a flash. But being a devout dark lipstick wearer, I was contented with my one and only choice of lip kit available.

Like the other shades, True Brown K has a strong vanilla scent. It is matte and mostly opaque. Even without the use of the lip liner, the perfectly-sized lipstick applicator that is neither too fluffy nor thin is able to line my lips perfectly. Both glide on smoothly on the lips and are extremely easy to use. The lipstick, however, does leave a slightly chalky and drying finish which feels (but not quite visibly) flaky after three hours.

For a cheaper alternative, I recommend Limbo by ColourPop (reviewed here) which costs only a fifth of the price. It’s almost a 1:1 dupe right there too!

#2 Candy K

Due to my past experience with similar dusty pinks like Candy K, I presumed it was going to wash me out and make me look ghastly. Therefore, this warm pinky nude was not among my preferred choices of lip kits initially. I had only bought it to complete my collection.

In a strange turn of events, I received more compliments wearing Candy K than I would usually get with my other conventional nude shades. Even a stranger couldn’t resist asking me where I bought it from! I supposed it wouldn’t be advisable for her to wait by her phone at 7am (sometimes 4am.. these are times I’m glad I’m nocturnal) for the product to be restocked so I recommended her ColourPop’s Clueless (reviewed here) instead which is the purple version of Candy K with more blue undertones. Unfortunately I don’t have Clueless anymore, so no swatch comparison for that. My apologies!

No doubt, Candy K took me by surprise with its lovely shade of matte pink which complemented my tanner Chinese skin tone so darn well, but I can’t say the same for the runny quality of this particular lipstick shade which makes it prone to spillage if not handled properly. Its only advantage is that is dries down a lot faster. Having said that, Candy K, too, feels drying and I didn’t like that hairline cracks form instantly after I stretch my lips.

Bianca by ColourPop, a pale pink-mauve, is another dupe you can consider if Kylie Lip Kits are beyond your makeup budget. Scroll down to Dolce K and Posie K for more swatch comparisons against Candy K.

#3 Dolce K

Here comes the brown cousin of Candy K! This highly sought-after shade is described as a deep beige nude but more accurately a dusty mocha brown. The lip pencil, though, seems to appear a shade lighter than the lipstick, which kinda blends into my natural lip colour. The lipstick has mostly opaque coverage with a velvety and lightweight texture which feels almost non-existent on the lips.

With a single application, the Dolce K lipstick fills the lips effortlessly but fails to conceal most of the lip lines while further emphasising those on the upper lip. It, however, dries down pretty quickly and leaves a smooth and evenly matte finish. Nonetheless. I really love this colour and have worn it out on several occasions already! 🙂

Dolce K gets my stamp of approval because I don’t have an exact dupe of it!

#4 22

The launch of 22 spells the end of using names suffixed with ‘K’ for the lip kits. It’s about time because I was starting to feel annoyed by the redundant K’s which served no useful purpose apart from adding an extra syllable to the product name.

The liquid lipstick component of 22, a vibrant burnt orange named after Kylie’s lucky number, appears very opaque but feels a tad drying on the upper lip. This flattering shade is a lot thicker in consistency as compared to the pioneer shades which led me to believe that there were improvements made to the quality of the liquid lipsticks. Upon application, it leaves a vivid and extremely pigmented pop of warmth that adds dimensions and fullness to the lips.

Basically, there’s not much to complain about this kit besides the fact that my pencil broke (but not really an issue as it can be sharpened). It’s a gorgeous colour that goes with most skin tones (especially fair skin), so I don’t know why it isn’t as popular.

22 is truly a unique shade for me. Even the closest dupe I have in my stash is nowhere as vibrant as this!

#5 Posie K

Kylie picked “Posie K” from a sea of suggestions from her fans left on one of her Instagram updates inviting everyone to name her then-upcoming lip kit. Even today, I still have no idea what “Posie” means. It is supposed to be a misspelling of Posy? Or Posey? Hmmm, maybe Posey because just like its definition, Posie K seems impressive in pictures but turns out to be the complete opposite. It’s a pity because the colour is really gorgeous.

This cool mid-tone berry feels weightless but tends to accentuate the lip lines. The poor consistency of the lipstick forced me to reapply on certain areas which did not receive its full coverage. It leaves a very drying finish, feels chalkier than the other liquid lipsticks and worsens when it comes in contact with liquid. Something must have gone wrong in the formula of Posie K because the quality is strikingly different from that of the other Kylie Mattes I bought.

All in all, for the price of US$29, I think it’s a bargain (although still quite pricey for poor students like me) for a reasonably good liquid lipstick and lip liner, especially since it’s from a celebrity-owned brand.

Finally, having used both Kylie Mattes and ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip Liquid Lipsticks, I would also like to shed some light on the widely debated similarities between the two. While it is true that there are blatantly similar shades from both brands (and as with many other cosmetic brands), their finish are totally worlds apart. In contrast to Kylie Mattes, I personally find ColourPop Mattes absurdly drying, so much so that they tend to crumble minutes after application. On top of that, I feel more comfortable wearing Kylie Mattes as they don’t give my lips the awful contracted feeling that ColourPop does. I guess the old saying, “What you pay is what you get”, aptly describes the disparity in quality between the two here!

Do you agree with me? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Stay tuned for my reviews on the other Kylie Mattes I have as well as all the Metals! Thanks for reading! 🙂

Kylie Lip Kits are available online only at kyliecosmetics.com. Kylie Cosmetics ships worldwide but shipping fee varies from country to country.